St. Louis Blues at New York Islanders
The St. Louis Blues will not go quietly into the night. They sit 11th in the Western Conference, just six points back of the eighth spot after winning five of their last six games including two of the first three on their current six-game road trip.
St. Louis stumbled a bit in its most recent outing, falling 7-3 to the Colorado Avalanche this weekend. However, the Blues managed to keep their scoring pace, averaging more than four goals per game in their last six outings – almost two goals over their season scoring average.
“You can’t go on one loss,” left winger Andy McDonald told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “There’s going to be stretches where you’re just not sharp mentally and physically ... you’re not going to be where you are normally. But that’s part of it. The key is to not have back-to-back (losses).”
The team had an energetic practice following Saturday’s loss and addressed its defensive issues heading into this week’s schedule. St. Louis is allowing 2.7 goals against per game and has limited opponents to just nine total goals in those five wins.
The Islanders have trouble finding the net, scoring just seven goals in their past three games, all losses, and averaging 2.5 goals a night – 28th in the NHL. The Blues already own a win over New York, taking a 4-1 victory at home back in late November.
Pick: St. Louis
Edmonton Oilers at Montreal Canadiens
The Edmonton Oilers may have got ahead of themselves after winning back-to-back games for the first time in more than a month last week. Edmonton followed those wins with a 4-1 defeat to the Ottawa Senators at home Tuesday.
Budding goaltender Jeff Deslauriers, who led the Oilers to those two victories, allowed four goals on 39 shots including three goals on 14 third-period shots. Two of the Senators’ four goals came with the man advantage, leaving a frustrated Deslauriers to vent to the media following Tuesday game.
“When you play five-on-four you’re going to score once in a while,” he told reporters, “but if the game is 1-1 and you’re playing more on the [penalty kill] then you slash your chance of winning obviously.”
That frustration comes at a tough time. Edmonton won’t get much of a chance to lick its wounds before hitting the road for four games in five nights, starting in Montreal. The Bell Centre is the most hostile arena in the NHL and will jump all over the Oilers and their young goalkeeper.
Pick: Montreal