The St. Louis Blues have entered the second of this three-game grudge match against the Los Angeles Kings this week. After taking a commanding 4-1 victory on March 1, they are looking for a similar result. Every game is crucial, no matter who the opponent is, but with the Kings free-falling in the Western Conference playoff rankings, the Blues need to take advantage of this game.
Let's give this a preview.
Red Hot Blues versus Slumping Kings
One team is on fire, and the other is trying to desperately get a win before they fall out of their playoff spot. The Blues have gone toe-to-toe with some of the leagues best teams since the re-entry after the 4 Nations Face-off, and they have been stellar. There are no signs of slowing down, and it seems like they may just go for it all when Friday's Trade Deadline rolls around.
Before that happens however, they have to try and beat a familiar foe. As I mentioned above, these two teams saw each other a few days ago and will face each other again right after the Deadline has passed on March 8. The Kings are free-falling out West, as they are currently on a four game losing streak, (0-3-1). Can they turn it around in either of these two slugfests against the Blues.
The Blues, at 29-27-6 for 64 points, sit just one three points back of Calgary for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference. The Kings, at 31-20-8 for 70 points, have Vancouver and aforementioned Calgary right on their heels at just under five points back before knocking themselves into the wildcard bracket.
Players to watch
All eyes are on Robert Thomas in this one, as he is looking to etch his name in the Blues history book. Well, almost. He is sitting in a tie for the second-most amount of games in a row with an assist at 10. If he can gain an apple against the Kings, he will pass Craig Janney and Bernie Federko for second-most games in a row all time, at 11.
For the Kings, the legacy of Anze Kopitar continues to live on into the twilight of his career. The 37-year-old center has not lost his step with 14 goals and 34 assists on the year for 48 points. Winger Kevin Fiala is another player to watch for the black-and-silver, as eight of his 24 goals on the year have come from the man-advantage.
It will be interesting to see if the Blues button up their penalty-kill after that abysmal performance in the 6-3 shellacking from Dallas the other night. The puck drop will be at 9:30 CT from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.