Blues at Devils preview

BLUES (40-17-10) AT DEVILS (26-28-12)
7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, MSG+, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Blues, who have outscored opponents 28-13 in eight consecutive victories, are in first place in the Central Division and Western Conference, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche.
A nine-game winning streak would be the longest for St. Louis since it won 11 straight from Jan. 23-Feb. 19, 2019.
The Blues can also defeat the Devils for the 13th time in a row; New Jersey has not defeated St. Louis since Jan. 21, 2014. It would be the Blues' longest winning streak against another team in their history.
Goalie Cory Schneider will start for the Devils, 8-4-2 in their past 14 games. Schneider is 2-0-1 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .957 save percentage in his past three starts.

Players to watch

Blues forward Brayden Schenn has scored a goal in five straight games, the longest active streak in the NHL.
Devils center Travis Zajac is one goal from tying Zach Parise (194) for fourth place on New Jersey's all-time list.

They said it

"During the winning streak, I think we've really tightened up defensively, tightened up our whole game with how we need to play and are finding ways to win games. We don't always score four goals a game; we're winning a lot of different ways." -- Blues coach Craig Berube
"We'll try [forward Miles Wood] on the top line. I don't want to touch [center Pavel] Zacha's line because they've been going well. [Wood] can bring more tenacity in the offensive zone, being harder on pucks and keeping pucks alive in the offensive zone." -- Devils coach Alain Nasreddine

Blues projected lineup

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

Devils projected lineup

Miles Wood -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Jack Hughes -- Travis Zajac -- Joey Anderson
Jesper Bratt -- Pavel Zacha -- Nikita Gusev
Kevin Rooney -- Michael McLeod -- John Hayden
Mirco Mueller -- P.K. Subban
Dakota Mermis
-- Damon Severson
Connor Carrick -- Fredrik Claesson
Cory Schneider
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scratched: None
Injured:Will Butcher (thumb surgery)

Status report

Kyrou returns to the lineup after missing two games with an illness. ... Butcher, a defenseman, will be out the rest of the season. ... New Jersey assigned defenseman Josh Jacobs and forward Jesper Boqvist to Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Stat pack

Binnington is 6-0-0, with a 1.49 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and two shutouts in his past six starts. … Schwartz has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 10 games against New Jersey. … Gusev has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games.