The St. Louis Blues had their two-game winning streak snapped on Sunday when they lost a tight one to the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-3. They hung tough with the Western Conference leaders with goals from Jakub Vrana (3), Jordan Kyrou (30), and Tyler Pitlick (5), but an empty-netter by former-Blue Alex Pietrangelo stopped the comeback and sealed the game with just 0:07 left. This one marked Ivan Barbashev’s return to St. Louis since he was traded to Vegas on Feb. 26. He recorded one assist and logged 19:09 of ice time to lead all Vegas forwards.
Now sitting at 29-32-5 (63 points), the Blues welcome the surging Minnesota Wild to the Enterprise Center for the final time this season. Since Feb. 17 (13 games), the Wild have not lost in regulation, bringing their record from 29-21-5 to 38-21-8. Their luck may be turning, however, as they’ll be without their star and leading scorer, Kirill Kaprizov, for the next three to four weeks while he’s sidelined with a lower-body injury.
The Blues and Wild have split the season series 1-1-0, but the Blues lead the all-time series at 47-29-5-9.
Blues vs. Wild
When: Mar. 15 @ 8:30 PM CT
Where: Enterprise Center – St. Louis, MO
TV Broadcast: TNT
Radio Radio Broadcast: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Blues Projected Lineup
Forward
Alexey Toropchenko – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Jakub Vrana – Pavel Buchnevich – Kasperi Kapanen
Brandon Saad – Brayden Schenn – Sammy Blais
Nathan Walker – Logan Brown – Tyler Pitlick
Defense
Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Marco Scandella – Justin Faulk
Torey Krug – Tyler Tucker
Goalie
Jordan Binnington
Berube Making History
When the puck drops tonight, head coach Craig Berube will be coaching in his 500th game. He will become just the sixth person in NHL history to have played in at least 1000 games and coached at least 500. From 1986-2003, he played in 1054 games for the Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, and Washington Capitals, totaling 61 goals and 159 points. As a head coach, he spent 2014-15 with the Flyers before joining the Blues for their Cup run in 2018. His record behind the bench is 180-132-53, good for a .638 points percentage (P%).
Buchnevich Still Streaking
In recording his 38th assist of the season against Vegas, Pavel Buchnevich has scored at least one point in nine straight games, dating back to Feb. 23. In that same stretch, he’s recorded 15 points (four goals, 11 assists). A point tonight would give him his second 10-game point streak as a member of the Blues.
Related: Blues Weekly: Vrana, Blais, Kapanen, Offseason, & More
Wild Projected Lineup
Forwards
Sammy Walker – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johanssen – Joel Erikkson-Ek – Matthew Boldy
Sam Steel – Frederick Gaudreau – Oskar Sundqvist
Mason Shaw – Connor Dewar – Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Jacob Middleton – Jared Spurgeon
Alex Goligoski – Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill – John Klingberg
Goalie
Marc-Andre Fleury
Sunny Comes Home
Oskar Sundqvist will face off against his former team for the first time. The Blues dealt him and Jake Walman to the Detroit Red Wings last season as part of the trade that netted Nick Leddy. In five games since joining Minnesota, he’s registered two assists, five hits, and four penalty minutes (PIM) while playing in their bottom-six. During his time in St. Louis, “Sunny” was a fourth-line mainstay alongside Barbashev and Alexander Steen, scoring 83 points and 307 hits in 242 games over four-plus seasons.
Who to Watch
St. Louis Blues: Pavel Buchnevich
As stated earlier, Buchnevich will be looking to extend his point streak to 10 games tonight. He’s been spending more time as the second-line center, which should lead to increased opportunities. He’ll be playing alongside two speedy playmakers in Vrana and Kapanen, both of whom are off to solid starts with the club.
Minnesota Wild: Mats Zuccarello
Zuccarello has four points (two goals) in the Wild’s last three contests. With Kaprizov out of the lineup, he’s been forced to take more shots rather than looking to make a pass, thus leading to his uptick in production. His 62 points rank second on the team, while he leads the club with 40 assists.
