Blues at Coyotes preview

BLUES (26-8-6) at COYOTES (21-16-4)
9 p.m. ET; FS-A, FS-A PLUS, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Blues, who have the best record in the Western Conference, have outscored opponents 33-16 during their season-long eight-game streak; it's their longest run since an 11-game winning streak from Jan. 23-Feb. 19 last season.
Goalie Jake Allen, who is expected to start, is 7-1-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in nine games against the Coyotes.
Arizona has lost three straight for the first time this season, after alternating wins and losses through its previous eight games.

Players to watch

Blues forward David Perron has 10 points (four goals, six assists) during a six-game point streak.
Coyotes forward Clayton Keller has 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his past 14 games.

They said it

"We're frustrating other teams and making it hard on their top players. We're spending time in the O-zone and kind of wearing teams down. We're playing tight, aggressive and together." -- Blues forward Jaden Schwartz
"It just it seems like they [the Blues] get in your way, all over the ice, whether it's in front of your net, in front of their net, along the boards, there's always a stick or a person in your way. When you play teams like that, it's hard to play against, so you have to play the same way." -- Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Oskar Sundqvist -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Alexander Steen -- Robert Thomas -- Tyler Bozak
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Jacob de la Rose -- Ivan Barbashev
Justin Faulk -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Jordan Binnington
Scratched: Zach Sanford, Troy Brouwer, Jake Walman
Injured: Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Sammy Blais (wrist), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body)

Coyotes projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Christian Dvorak -- Conor Garland
Clayton Keller -- Carl Soderberg -- Nick Schmaltz
Lawson Crouse -- Derek Stepan -- Phil Kessel
Michael Grabner -- Brad Richardson -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Jakob Chychrun -- Alex Goligoski
Jordan Oesterle -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Antti Raanta
Adin Hill
Scratched:Michael Chaput , Christian Fischer
Injured:Niklas Hjalmarsson (leg), Darcy Kuemper (lower body)

Status report

Stepan, who left the Coyotes' 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday to go into concussion protocol, is expected to play. … Hjalmarsson, out since Oct. 12, should resume practicing within the next few days, Tocchet said.

Stat pack

The Blues are 18-0-4 when they score the first goal. … Schwartz has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak. … Schenn has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak. … Arizona is 5-1-1 against St. Louis since the start of the 2017-18 season. … Schmaltz has eight assists in his past six games. … The Coyotes are 8-10-1 at home this season.