The St. Louis Blues will continue pursuing a playoff spot on their road trip in a Friday night meeting with the Anaheim Ducks.
The Blues are coming off a comeback 3-2 shootout victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday — their final clash before the trade deadline — and are on a 6-1-1 run to keep within striking distance of the Western Conference’s wild-card playoff position.
“We’ve been playing committed hockey for a couple weeks here and it’s definitely showing,” goaltender Jordan Binnington said. “It looks like we’re tough to play against and we’re getting chances and we’re getting goals. That’s the way we want to play … We’ve got to believe and we do in here.”
Since a skid in the final weeks of January, the Blues have been clawing back into the playoff picture. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Friday’s trade deadline, they have been much better defensively and have shown an improved all-around game.
It also helps when key players are producing offensively, such as Robert Thomas extending his point-scoring streak to 11 games against Los Angeles. Not only did Thomas net the late game-tying goal, which improved his run (five goals and 15 points), but he also added the shootout winner.
“Trying not to think about it too much,” Thomas said of his streak. “We’re getting chances from everyone up and down the lineup, and it just happens I’ve been able to get a couple.”
The news is not all good for the Blues. On Thursday, the club announced defenseman Colton Parayko will require a procedure on his left knee that will sideline him for six weeks, essentially the remainder of the regular season. Parayko has 15 goals and 35 points in 62 games.
The Ducks return home after suffering a 3-2 loss in Vancouver on Wednesday.
Anaheim, which beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-2 the night before in the first half of a two-game trip, kicks off a three-game homestand. The Ducks are trying to remain within shouting distance of a playoff spot with 21 games remaining but are in tough with only two wins in their last six games after a run in which they won seven of eight outings.
The Vancouver loss was a potent reminder of how fine of an edge they are walking to remain in the playoff fight.
“We were sloppy the whole night,” coach Greg Cronin said. “We couldn’t collect passes. We had the puck inside the blue line, lost the puck inside the blue line multiple times. We just were sloppy. It was just a sloppy game for us.”
The status of No. 1 goaltender John Gibson is up in the air for multiple reasons. Gibson, a strong candidate to be traded, left the Vancouver game late in the second period after Canucks forward Drew O’Connor collided with him.
“I didn’t really see it from the replay but the guy crashed the net pretty hard,” said goaltender Lukas Dostal, who took over in net. “I hate to see that, because with John we’re very good friends and I really admire him as a goalie. It’s just unfortunate.”
Showing signs they know it will take a Hail Mary finish to make the playoffs, the Ducks on Thursday traded forward Brian Dumoulin to the New Jersey Devils for a second-round draft choice and Herman Traff, a forward selected in the third round of the 2024 draft
–Field Level Media
