Blues at Predators preview
St. Louis, going for sixth straight win, visits Nashville in second of home-and-home
by Louie Korac / NHL.com Correspondent
BLUES (26-22-5) at PREDATORS (33-20-4)
12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, TVAS
The Game
The St. Louis Blues will be looking for a season-high sixth straight win when they play the Nashville Predators in the second game of a home-and-home at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday.
The Blues won 3-2 on Saturday at Enterprise Center behind goalie Jordan Binnington, who won for the ninth time in 11 NHL starts (9-1-1).
The Blues, 9-2-1 in the past 12 games, could start goalie Jake Allen, who hasn't played since a 5-2 loss at the Boston Bruins on Jan. 17. Binnington has made the past seven starts.
The Predators, 5-2-0 in the past seven games, could start Juuse Saros after Pekka Rinne made 30 saves Saturday.
Players to watch
Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a seven-game point streak, and 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in the past 12 games.
Predators forward Filip Forsberg has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 23 games against St. Louis.
They said it
"We're just building as a team. The chemistry around the room is unbelievable. You can see it on the ice. The boys are just playing the right way. Every line is chipping in at the right time." -- Blues forward Pat Maroon
"We've got to get a lot better. The whole 60 minutes has to get better." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette after the loss to the Blues Saturday
Blues projected lineup
Brayden Schenn -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden Schwartz -- Tyler Bozak -- Alexander Steen
Zach Sanford -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Pat Maroon
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Ivan Barbashev -- Robert Thomas
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Jordan Binnington
Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Chris Butler
Injured: David Perron (upper body), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body)
Predators projected lineup
Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Brian Boyle -- Kyle Turris -- Calle Jarnkrok
Kevin Fiala -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Craig Smith
Cody McLeod -- Colton Sissons -- Ryan Hartman
Roman Josi -- Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Dan Hamhuis -- Yannick Weber
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Matt Irwin, Frederick Gaudreau, Rocco Grimaldi
Injured: Miikka Salomaki (upper body), Zac Rinaldo (shoulder)
Suspended: Austin Watson
Status report
Laviolette didn't confirm any lineup changes. ... Fabbri has been a healthy scratch the past seven games but could play Sunday.
Stat pack
Arvidsson has 12 points (10 goals, two assists) the past 13 games. … Forsberg has six points (one goal, five assists) the past five games. ... Schenn has seven points (one goal, six assists) in a five-game point streak. ... O'Reilly has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) the past 10 games, 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) the past 19 games, and points in 15 of 19.