With a 1-4-1 record over their last five games, the St. Louis Blues look to get themselves back on track, staying in the Sunshine State against the Florida Panthers. They sure have had a lot of back-to-backs this season, and have generally been successful with a record of 3-2-1.
If they didn't have a tough enough task with the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, they now face off against the defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Blues have a record of 15-16-3 for 33 points and are in sixth place in the Central Division. The Panthers have a record of 20-11-2 for 42 points and currently lead the Atlantic Division.
Let's preview the game.
This is gonna be tough
There is no sugarcoating it: this is going to be a tough matchup for the Blues. Their recent struggles and the dominance already demonstrated by the Panthers, who are looking like favorites to repeat as Stanley Cup champs, are painting a very clear picture. This will have to be a complete effort, from every mmebter that steps out onto the ice tonight.
Over the last miserable five-game stretch, the main concern was the lack of offensive output. Both in goals and shots on goal, the Blues were seriously lacking in both of those departments, and that hindered any chance at success. But, as evident in last night's do-si-do with the Lightning, they put up 32 shots on Andrei Vasilevskiy, outshot the Lightning as a whole, and lost handily, 3-1. That was one of the three big takeaways from the game.
That said, all eyes are on the netminder for the Blues. Reports are that it could be Joel Hofer over Jordan Binnington, who was chased after allowing three goals on 11 shots last night. On the other side, it will be Sergei Bobrovsky starting for the Panthers. He has been sensational this season, once again, with a record of 15-6-1 with a shutout.
Another possibility for tonight will be the return of defenseman Philip Broberg, who sat out last night with an illness. His return will improve the Blues chances of winning immensely. Subbing him back in next to fellow defenseman Justin Faulk has been a solid pairing this year, with an xGoalsFor of 7.1, which is the second highest of defensive pairings this season.
The puck drop will be at 6:00 PM CST.