Preview: Blues at Bruins
When: Saturday, Nov. 16 at Noon CT
Where: TD Garden in Boston
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
QUICK HITS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues (7-9-1) are looking for revenge when they face the Boston Bruins on Saturday, just four days after the clubs’ last meeting which resulted in a 3-2 St. Louis loss. This will be the second and final matchup between the teams this season.
The Blues’ home-and-home battle with the Bruins had a brief intermission as the team began their three-game road trip Thursday in Buffalo, losing an overtime battle against the Sabres.
Forward Brandon Saad lit the lamp twice for the Blues, with Pavel Buchnevich adding another goal. The Blues began the third period leading the Sabres 3-2, but Buffalo’s Alex Tuch tied the game in the 13th minute, sending it to overtime. A goaltender interference call on Oskar Sundqvist at the end of the third allowed the Sabres to start and finish overtime on the power play for a 4-3 final score.
After earning their first point in four games, Head Coach Drew Bannister was pleased with his team’s performance even though it wasn’t a win.
“I thought our guys played really well,” Bannister said. “I was happy with the effort, I was happy the way we played. Guys did a lot of good things out there. They were competing and they looked much more confident.”
Defenseman P.O Joseph left the game midway through the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. With three defensemen—Torey Krug, Philip Broberg, and Nick Leddy—already on injured reserve, the team recalled Corey Schueneman from the Springfield Thunderbirds on Friday morning.
The Blues will continue their road trip down the east coast with back-to-back games against the Bruins on Saturday and in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
BRUINS After picking up the win in St. Louis on Tuesday, the Bruins (8-8-2) suffered a 7-2 loss against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Forwards Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak scored for Boston, but the Stars’ offense overwhelmed the Bruins and buried seven goals against netminder Jeremy Swayman.
The team will also be without Hampus Lindholm, one of their top defenders, for the forseeable future. He blocked a shot against the Blues and left the game, with Head Coach Jim Montgomery later saying Lindholm would miss “weeks.”
The Bruins recalled defenseman Jordan Oesterle, who has eight points (three goals, five assists) this season with Providence in the AHL.
Boston currently rank third in the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Veteran forward Brandon Saad netted two goals for the Blues on Thursday night, his second multi-goal game of the season (Oct. 22 vs. WPG) and eighth as a Blue. Saad has points in back-to-back games and four points in his last five (two goals, two assists).
SABRES Forward Brad Marchand is second on the Bruins in points, goals and assists, only trailing David Pastrnak, who leads all three categories. The Bruins captain earned his eighth assist of the season at St. Louis on Tuesday. In his 16th season with the team, Marchand has 942 points (406 goals, 536 assists).
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues have scored a power-play goal in three straight games against Boston, going five for nine (55.6 percent) over those three games.
- Pavel Buchnevich scored his fifth goal of the season on Thursday and has points in back-to-back games (one goal, one assist). Buchnevich also has four points in his last four games (one goal, three assists) and seven points in his last ten games (two goals, five assists).
- Jordan Kyrou recorded his 10th assist of the season at Buffalo, giving him an assist in three straight games (three assists). Kyrou also has a six-game point streak (three goals, three assists).