After a 6-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night (Nov. 30), the St. Louis Blues are back on the road against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday at 8 pm CST. This is the fourth time the Blues and Coyotes play each other this season and the second time the Blues will face Arizona on the road. In their last five, the Blues are 3-2-0 and another victory could be the start of a possible winning streak. The Blues’ longest winning streak this season was three games in a row from Nov. 9 to Nov. 14.
In that three-game span, the Blues beat the Coyotes 2-1 on Nov. 9 at home. Let’s take a look at what to expect in this upcoming matchup.
Blues vs Coyotes in the Standings
In their last three matchups, the Blues are 2-1-0 and have given up 12 goals this season to Coyotes. However, the Blues are about to face an Arizona squad on a three-game winning streak and with the Coyotes one point behind St. Louis in the Central Division, things could get tense for them. On the road, the Blues are 5-6-1 through 12 road matches with one of them over the Coyotes 6-5 on Nov. 22. The Central Division has been a wild ride, with Arizona and the Nashville Predators on the Blues’ tail waiting for them to lose.
Related: Blues’ Jake Neighbours Getting His Chance to Shine
With the way the Blues played in their last game against the Coyotes, it should be one of the more entertaining games on Saturday night. But first, they must fix their road troubles to win this game and break Arizona’s winning streak. Meanwhile, at home, the Coyotes are 6-4-0 through 10 home games played this season. Their home record mirrors St. Louis’ last 10 games played with a record of 6-4-0.
Blue to Watch For: Jake Neighbours
The Blues’ top goalscorer so far is not who you would expect, Jake Neighbours holds that category with nine goals. Neighbours became the leading goalscorer on Thursday against the Sabres, scoring two goals in that match. It’s hard not to bring him up when he went from scoring a goal every four or more games at the beginning of the season to riding a five-game point streak at one point.
In his last two games, Neighbours was on the first line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich and is projected to get first-line minutes against Arizona on Saturday night. In his last seven games, Neighbours has a total of seven points with most of them coming from goals (six goals). Along with leading the Blues in goals, he also broke his career-high and has 10 points through 22 games played.
Joel Hofer Giving Jordan Binnington a Break
Jordan Binnington looked solid in the Blues’ previous matchup against the Sabres stopping 42 of 46 shots to solidify the win for the Blues. Now facing the Coyotes, the starting role is projected to go to Joel Hofer on Saturday night after he was pulled in his last start against the Predators in an 8-3 loss. In three games played this season against the Coyotes, Hofer has a record of 2-1-0 followed by a .905 save percentage (SV%), 2.77 goals-against average (GAA), and no shutouts.
Hopefully, this start against Arizona will give Hofer the confidence he needs to overcome his last start. Judging by his numbers, he isn’t exactly the worst when playing Arizona. On Nov. 22, in their last matchup against the Coyotes, he had to relieve Binnington who stopped eight out of 13 shots before being swapped with Hofer eight minutes into the second period. However, with Binnington carrying most of the load, hopefully giving him a night off will smooth out the goals-against issue and relieve some of the pressure from both goaltenders.
Blues Gameday Notes
Here are some key points to keep in mind for this matchup:
- After scoring first and finishing with a victory over the Sabres in their last game, the Blues are now 11-0-0 when scoring first.
- Colton Parayko will play his 600th game on Saturday, only the sixth defenseman to reach that milestone in Blues history.
- The Blues were third in the league in goals (53) for November.
- On the power play, the Blues are 26th in the league in power player opportunities (67).
This will be the last time the Blues and Coyotes meet this season. The Blues will play the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday (Dec. 4) as the last stop on their two-game road trip.
