The St. Louis Blues are seeing the Nashville Predators three times in a span of 10 days while continuing their playoff push.
The Blues (36-28-7, 79 points) will host the Predators (26-35-8, 60 points) on Sunday in the middle contest of that set.
St. Louis won 4-1 on Tuesday in Nashville. The Blues will return to the Music City on Thursday to complete this sequence.
On Dec. 27, the host Blues defeated the Predators 7-4. Joel Hofer was in goal for both victories over Nashville, but Jordan Binnington likely will be the starter in Sunday’s game after Hofer played Saturday night in a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blues carry a five-game winning streak into Sunday’s contest. They have gone 12-2-2 in their last 16 games to move into the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The Calgary Flames are right behind the Blues with 77 points, with two games in hand. The Vancouver Canucks (76 points) and Utah Hockey Club (75) each have played one fewer game than the Blues.
The Blues needed their fourth line to pick them up against the Blackhawks. Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker each scored a goal to get St. Louis into gear.
“We had a pretty slow start, but we found a way to get back into the game by playing hard, making simple plays and playing for each other and being selfless,” Toropchenko said. “We were just on top of them and grinding, grinding, grinding.”
The Blues count on Toropchenko, Walker and center Radek Faksa to set a physical tone. But against Chicago, that line scored twice off the rush.
“They lead us with our habits,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’ve been preaching habits for a long time now. We’re seeing that. We weren’t very clean the first two periods, but that line was. Every time they got on the ice, we either got a face-off in their end or they changed in the offensive end.
“It’s nice to see them get rewarded, and they really made some high-end plays.”
The Predators snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) with a 5-2 victory over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. Filip Forsberg (two goals, assist) and Luke Evangelista (goal, two assists) each registered three points in the game.
While the Blues are highly motivated by their playoff chase, the Predators are playing out the string. Coach Andrew Brunette called out his veterans after Nashville’s 4-1 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, but he clarified those remarks Saturday before his team rebounded against the Maple Leafs.
“I’m not knocking our team for attitude,” he said. “I think we’re in a hard spot. I’ve been in that spot, and it (stinks). I think it’s important you handle yourself the right way,
“Guys have been through all kinds of different things. It’s really hard on them right now. We just have to find a way to get to that finish line to find that positive feeling.”
Beating the Maple Leafs was a step in that direction.
“As the game went on, it looked a little bit more like us, where we were transitioning fast, putting pucks in areas and we were predictable,” Brunette said.
Juuse Saros earned the victory against Toronto, so Justus Annunen likely will get the call vs. the Blues.
Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich is questionable for Sunday’s game after sitting out Saturday due to illness. Alexandre Texier replaced him in the lineup.
–Field Level Media
