St. Louis Blues vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Game Preview
The St. Louis Blues will aim to extend their current winning streak to four games on Saturday night, facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes for the first time in the 2014-15 season. (For what it’s worth, the two teams met during the preseason at Scottrade Center, with the Blues winning 3-1.)
The Blues have been absolutely dominant during their recent win streak, outscoring their opponents 20-4 over the past three games. It should be exciting to see if the Blues can maintain their prolific scoring pace, though ultimately their biggest focus must be on continuing to pick up wins and gain ground in the standings. The Blues sit three points behind the Chicago Blackhawks, who are currently in second place, and five points behind the first-place Nashville Predators in the standings.
More from St. Louis Blues
- An early projection of the St. Louis Blues’ opening-night roster
- St. Louis Blues sign Klim Kostin to three-year, entry-level contract
- St. Louis Blues: Nail Yakupov signs with Colorado Avalanche
- St. Louis Blues: An homage to Chris Butler
- St. Louis Blues agree to one-year contract with Oskar Sundqvist
In terms of the standings, Carolina is the worst team in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst team in the NHL, only ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. The Hurricanes, who have a 13-24-4 record, have only two players with double-digit goals (Eric Staal and Jiri Tlusty) and just two with over 20 points (Staal and Justin Faulk). By comparison, the Blues have five and nine players in those respective categories.
Coach Ken Hitchcock took all the drama out of the lineup-guessing for Saturday night’s contest, as he announced on Friday that the team will stick with the same lineup that won them Thursday night’s game, and goaltender Brian Elliott will get his fourth straight start between the pipes. That means that goalie Martin Brodeur, forward Joakim Lindstrom, and defenseman Ian Cole will be the healthy scratches. All three players have now had an extended break from game activity; it will be Cole’s third straight game out of the lineup, while it will be four for Brodeur and five for Lindstrom.