The Ducks are in search of their first win in three games following a 14-game point streak (12-0-2).
"We're used to higher standards," Ducks left wing Andrew Cogliano said. "I think we're disappointed in terms of just how easy we gave up goals. I think we've been much better at playing good, defensive hockey. To lose a game like that [Wednesday], I think it's something we haven't been used to. We all know what we need to do. This is an important game for us. A tough team to play against in a tough building."
The Ducks can leapfrog the Los Angeles Kings and into first place in the Pacific Division with two points Friday.
The Blues are in a tight race of their own in the Central Division. They enter Friday one point behind the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars for first place. Those two teams play Friday night in Dallas, where the Blues will play Saturday.
St. Louis is in search of a fifth straight win, which would tie a season high.
"We're playing another top team in the League that we're going to need our 'A' game again tonight to come out victorious," Blues captain David Backes said. "It's going to be a result of us concentrating on the process and making sure we take care of our task at hand every night and two points that's in front of us. If we do that more often than not, the rest will sort itself out.
"We know we've got divisional matchups and all those things mixed in, but we can't get wrapped up in looking at the standings and getting distracted from what we can really control, and that's each night bringing our 'A' game and seeing how it sorts itself out at the end of the night."
Here are the projected lineups:
DUCKS
David Perron - Ryan Getzlaf - Ryan Garbutt
Jamie McGinn - Rickard Rakell - Corey Perry
Andrew Cogliano - Ryan Kesler - Jakob Silfverberg
Nick Ritchie - Nate Thompson - Mike Santorelli
Cam Fowler - Kevin Bieksa
Hampus Lindholm - Josh Manson
Simon Despres - Korbinian Holzer
Frederik Andersen
John Gibson
Injured: Sami Vatanen (upper body) Brandon Pirri (ankle), Chris Stewart (jaw)
Scratched: Clayton Stoner, Shawn Horcoff
BLUES
Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri - Paul Stastny - Troy Brouwer
Patrik Berglund - David Backes - Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson - Kevin Shattenkirk
Joel Edmundson - Colton Parayko
Jake Allen
Anders Nilsson
Injured: Alexander Steen (upper body), Brian Elliott (lower body), Steve Ott (hamstrings)
Scratched: Magnus Paajarvi, Robert Bortuzzo
Status report: Holzer will replace Vatanen in the lineup, his first action since Jan. 23 (20 games). "You just have to have a positive mindset," Holzer said of the lengthy time away from NHL competition. "You just want to come in and help the team win. That's all I'm focused on."... Horcoff's 20-game suspension has ended but he will be a healthy scratch. ... Ott skated with teammates for the first time since Dec. 5 after tearing both hamstrings. ... Steen and Elliott were on the ice for a third straight day but are not ready to play.
Who's hot: Andersen is 4-1-0 with a 1.81 goals-against average and .946 save percentage against the Blues in five games. Getzlaf has 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists) in 33 games against St. Louis. ... Allen is 3-0-0 with a 0.87 GAA and .966 save pct. in four games against the Ducks. … Fabbri has four points (two goals, two assists) in the past four games. Shattenkirk has a three-game point streak (four assists).
