Blues at Canucks preview

BLUES (14-5-1) at CANUCKS (9-8-2)
10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, FS-MW, NHL.TV

Nilsson is 4-1-0 with a .942 save percentage and has won his past three starts. He missed three games Nov. 6-9 for the birth of his child and has played once in Vancouver's past nine games. He made 30 saves in a 3-2 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
St. Louis called up center Wade Megan from the American Hockey League after Oskar Sundqvist blocked a couple of hard shots during a 4-1 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday; however, Sundqvist skated Saturday morning and expects to play. The Blues have lost two of their past three games after starting the season 13-3-1.

Players to watch

St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn has four goals and 10 assists during a six-game point streak and is tied with linemate Jaden Schwartz for the scoring lead on the Blues with 25 points.
Canucks rookie right wing Brock Boeser has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games and leads Vancouver with 16 points.

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They said it

"The puck hit the wrong spot and it hurt, but I am all good now. Yesterday I had some doubts [whether I could play] but not today, especially after this morning skate." -- Sundqvist, who was questionable to play after blocking two shots Thursday.
"Maybe you know them a little bit but then the game happens so fast, so it's all about reading the play. You can't cheat but you need to be aware who is shooting and know their tendencies a little bit." -- Nilsson on knowing Blues shooters after spending the final two months of the 2015-16 season with St. Louis.

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Sobotka -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen
Magnus Paajarvi -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Joel Edmundson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Carl Gunnarsson -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen
Carter Hutton
Scratched:Nate Prosser, Wade Megan
Injured:Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Jay Bouwmeester (ankle)

Canucks projected lineup

Sven Baertschi -- Bo Horvat -- Brock Boeser
Daniel Sedin -- Henrik Sedin -- Jake Virtanen
Thomas Vanek -- Sam Gagner -- Loui Eriksson
Markus Granlund -- Brandon Sutter -- Derek Dorsett
Alexander Edler -- Derrick Pouliot
Ben Hutton -- Erik Gudbranson
Michael Del Zotto -- Alex Biega
Anders Nilsson
Jacob Markstrom
Scratched:Patrick Wiercioch, Alexander Burmistrov, Brendan Gaunce
Injured:Chris Tanev (hand), Troy Stecher (knee).

Status report

Bouwmeester and Berglund have practiced during the Blues' three-game Western Canada trip and will be re-evaluated when they get back to St. Louis. … Tanev and Stecher skated Saturday and will join the Canucks for a six-game road trip that starts Tuesday. Virtanen returns to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games.

Stat pack

St. Louis leads the NHL with 19 goals from its defensemen. … Vancouver has three goals from its defensemen; two were scored by Tanev, who hasn't played since Nov. 7.