[sc:NHL250 ]Injuries, injuries and more injuries have hampered both the St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils. The two banged-up teams meet tonight in a heated matchup in Scottrade Center. The Blues will be eager to snap a two-game home losing streak in the first of a four-game homestand. Meanwhile, the Devils are gunning for revenge after losing the first matchup 2-0 in New Jersey.
Can the Devils pull off a surprise at St. Louis? Or will the Blues be all business in a victory? Get more hockey action with our complete preview for the Predators vs. Blackhawks.
The New Jersey Devils have found trouble scoring this season, averaging 2.21 goals per game (second to last in the league). But a horrid offense hasn’t stopped the Devils from winning, entering this contest after a 2-1 win against Minnesota on Sunday. Defensman Jon Merrill scored his first goal in 82 games, while Adam Henrique got his 15th goal of the season for New Jersey.
Missing a handful of key players could still hurt the Devils, especially facing a tough defense like St. Louis. Leading scorer Mike Cammalleri (35 points) has missed five straight games; New Jersey is also without Patrik Elias and Jiri Tlusty was placed on injured reserve last week.
[sc:NHL240 ]Despite all their injury woes, the Devils do have the trio of Kyle Palmieri, Henrique and Lee Stempniak to power the offense. They’re three of the top four goal-scorers on the team this season. Palmieri has netted a team-high 17 goals, while Henrique and Stempniak have 15 and nine goals respectively. But all of them were listless against the Blues in the first meeting, a shutout loss, on November 10.
If the Devils are to win this game, it’ll be through goaltending. Corey Schneider is 3-3 in his last six starts despite a very solid 1.68 GAA. He’s 3-4-1 with a 1.93 GAA in nine career matchups with the Blues. Schneider stopped 26 of 28 shots in a 2-0 loss to St. Louis in November.
The total has gone under in the Devils’ last four road games.
Betting on the St. Louis Blues (24-14-7)
The St. Louis Blues gritted it out on the road, taking a 2-1 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. The Blues were without center Paul Stastny and defenseman Jay Boumeester; both players may continue to miss this outing against the New Jersey Devils. Carl Gunnarsson and Magnus Paajarvi are also out due to upper body injuries and are week to week.
Despite all their injuries, the Blues are still one tough squad. They still have their core of Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen. Tarasenko is the lifeblood of the Blues with team-highs of 44 points and 24 goals. Steen has been solid with a team-high 24 assists.
Tarasenko has been hot in January with five points in five games. But he’s been kept out of the net at home, failing to score a goal in his last three games in St. Louis. Tarasenko could explode in this game; he’s been pretty solid in four career games against the Devils, collecting two goals while adding one helper.
Steen has been much better as he’s on a six-game home point streak (two goals and six assists). If Steen can find his teammates open for precious shots on goal, then he could help the Blues get past New Jersey’s solid goaltending. Speaking of goaltending, Brian Elliott is expected to start for the second straight time after making 26 of 27 saves against the Kings.
Elliott has a 1.96 goals-against average in his last nine games, but has struggled against the Devils in his career. He’s 2-4 with a 2.71 GAA and .889 save percentage in six career starts against New Jersey.
The Blues have won their last three home games against New Jersey.
Writer’s Prediction
New Jersey surprises as they upset the Blues at home.
