The St. Louis Blues, who did not hold a morning skate Thursday, are four points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and trail the Nashville Predators by two points for third place in the Central Division. Their five-game winning streak ended with a 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Wednesday. Afterward, coach Mike Yeo said the Blues will need to play with more intensity against the San Jose Sharks than they did against the Ducks, especially early in the second period when they trailed 1-0. "I thought a real pivotal moment for me was how we started the second period, and not just the first shift," Yeo said. "I'm talking the first five minutes of the period. We have a chance to go on the power play and to even the game, and I just don't think we went out with enough urgency. Not only did we not generate momentum and get enough attempts to the net, but we gave up a shorthanded goal." Goaltender Jake Allen made 20 saves against the Ducks, but backup Carter Hutton will start against San Jose in the second of back-to-back games. Hutton had a 23-save shutout in a 4-0 victory against the Sharks at SAP Center on Jan. 14. For his career against San Jose, he's 3-0-1 with a 0.98 goals-against average, .971 save percentage and two shutouts. The Blues, who defeated San Jose 3-2 on Nov. 17 at Scottrade Center, will go for the three-game season series sweep.
