BLUES (13-15-4) at CANUCKS (16-17-4) 10 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-MW,NHL.TV
Goalie Jacob Markstrom, who has a .937 save percentage during his five-game winning streak, will start for the Canucks after backing up Anders Nilsson in a 5-2 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. The loss ended a six-game point streak (5-0-1) for Vancouver that included a 6-1 win in St. Louis on Dec. 9 Goalie Jake Allen will make his fifth consecutive start for the Blues, who have won three of four since the loss to the Canucks. St. Louis is coming off a 4-1 win at the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday and is 5-3-1 in its past nine games after going 1-5-0 in its previous six.
Players to watch
Blues forward Jaden Schwartz has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past four games. He will be playing in his 400th NHL game. Vancouver center Elias Pettersson had his point streak end at seven games against Tampa Bay, one short of Pavel Bure's franchise rookie record set in 1991-92. He had five points against the Blues on Dec. 9 and has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in his past eight games.
They said it
"He is just an elite player. He can shoot, he can pass, he has all the tools. It's tough to take it all away." -- St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko on Pettersson "When you beat someone 6-1 10 days ago, they are going to be ready, so we need to prepare for a tougher game." -- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Chris Tanev
Sanford was recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Monday but will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … Stecher is out indefinitely after a high hit against Tampa Bay. Baertschi has been cleared for contact for the first time since he was injured on Oct. 24; however, he won't return until after the Christmas break.
Stat pack
Tarasenko scored in Edmonton to end a seven-game pointless streak. … Boeser has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games.
