When: Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com
BLUES It came down the last minute – literally – but the St. Louis Blues (41-28-7) extended their win streak to 10 games with a 2-1 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. It was also their ninth straight win at home, matching a franchise record.
Despite directing 37 shots on net, the Blues spent most of the game stifled by Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot. Jordan Kyrou finally broke through to tie it at 1-1 with 29 seconds remaining in regulation. Cam Fowler then scored 3:27 into overtime to complete the comeback.
“We’ve kept faith for a long time now knowing that we can win hockey games no matter how much time is left,” Fowler said after the game. “Our guys just stuck with it. Everybody made some big-time plays that helped us win, so it’s fun to be able to keep this thing rolling.”
The 10-game win streak is the second-longest in franchise history and marks just the third time a Blues team has reached a streak of 10 or more wins in a row. They are the second team in the NHL this season to post a win streak of at least 10 games, trailing only Winnipeg who reached 11.
The Blues will now face the team who handed them their last loss, the Pittsburgh Penguins. The teams met on March 13 in Pittsburgh, resulting in a 5-3 Penguins win. St. Louis is currently tied with Minnesota in the two Western Conference Wild Card spots, with the Wild claiming the top slot due to more regulation wins.
PENGUINS The Pittsburgh Penguins (30-34-11) are coming off three days rest following a 1-0 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Penguins.
Captain Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal of the game in overtime to secure two points for his team and extend his personal point streak to 10 games (eight goals, seven assists). Goaltender Tristan Jarry made 31 saves in net for his first shutout of the season.
Two players who were on the ice for the victory against Ottawa were Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. With an eye to the future and a handful of injuries, the Penguins called up the two rookie forwards last week. It was the fourth NHL game for McGroarty, the 14th overall pick in 2022, and marked the NHL debut for Koivunen.
Despite Sunday’s win in Pittsburgh, it’s been a tough stretch for the Penguins, especially away from home. They have lost three in a row on the road, going 0-2-1 on their last trip while being outscored 17-7. They have dropped seven of their last eight road games and are 11-20-6 on opponents’ ice this year in contrast to a strong home record of 19-14-5.
The Penguins are tied for seventh in the Metropolitan Division this season with 71 points in 75 games.
BLUES Cam Fowler notched two points, including the overtime winner, in Tuesday’s win against Detroit. The defenseman has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last four games while playing upwards of 20 minutes a night. Fowler leads all Blues defensemen with 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) since Dec. 14, which was his first game as a Blue. Since Dec. 23, he shares sixth among all NHL defensemen with nine goals and is 12th in points with 29.
PENGUINS Sidney Crosby has remained a consistent force year after year for Pittsburgh and, despite the team’s struggles, that hasn’t changed this season. Crosby has already secured the 20th point-per-game season of his career, surpassing Wayne Gretzky (19) for most in NHL history. Crosby and Gretzky are also the only two players in NHL history with 14 or more 80-point campaigns. The Penguins captain leads his team in assists (54) and points (81) and ranks second in goals (27) in 73 games this season.
