Blues at Jets preview
St. Louis seeks seventh straight win; Hellebuyck in goal for Winnipeg
by Darrin Bauming / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BLUES (24-8-6) at JETS (21-14-2)
8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-MW, NHL.TV
The Game
The St. Louis Blues look for their seventh straight win when they begin a home-and-home set with the Winnipeg Jets at Bell MTS Place on Friday.
The Blues have won their past six games, outscoring their opponents 24-11.
Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal for the Jets, who have lost three of their past four games (1-3-0). Winnipeg is 2-4-0 in its past six games after going 6-1-1 in its previous eight.
The Central division rivals, who will play at St. Louis on Sunday, meet for the first time since the Blues defeated the Jets in six games in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.
Players to watch
Blues forward David Perron has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak.
Jets center Mark Scheifele has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games.
They said it
"I think both teams are feeling the Christmas pounds. I think just being mentally ready to play; I don't think your legs are going to feel as good as they normally do… If you're ready mentally from the start of puck drop tonight, I think you're going to give yourself a better chance to win." -- Blues forward Brayden Schenn
"We've had three days off and so have they… They've got a loaded roster. They've got a heck of a team and they're rolling right now, too." -- Jets defenseman Neal Pionk
Blues projected lineup
Oskar Sundqvist -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Jordan Kyrou
Alexander Steen -- Robert Thomas -- Tyler Bozak
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Jacob de la Rose -- Ivan Barbashev
Justin Faulk -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Zach Sanford, Troy Brouwer, Niko Mikkola
Injured: Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Sammy Blais (wrist), Erik Foley(concussion), Carl Gunnarsson (upper body)
Jets projected lineup
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Blake Wheeler -- Jack Roslovic
Gabriel Bourque -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton
Jansen Harkins -- Nicholas Shore -- Logan Shaw
Josh Morrissey -- Tucker Poolman
Luca Sbisa -- Neal Pionk
Anthony Bitetto -- Nathan Beaulieu
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Scratched: Carl Dahlstrom, Joona Luoto, Eric Comrie
Injured: Dmitry Kulikov (upper body), Bryan Little (ear), Mathieu Perreault (concussion protocol), Andrew Copp (upper body)
Suspended: Dustin Byfuglien
Status report
Perreault skated Friday and Little was on the ice but there is no timeline for a return for either.
Stat pack
Laine has six goals in his past seven games. … Schwartz has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak. … Pietrangelo has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past eight games. … O'Reilly has six points (one goal, five assists) in his past six games.