By Elise Butler / Notes by Brett Barczewski
When: Sunday, March 23 at 5 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com
QUICK HITS
BLUES The St. Louis Blues (36-28-7) reeled off their fifth win in a row on Saturday afternoon, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Enterprise Center.
It was an impressive night for the team's fourth line, which contributed goals from Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker. Each had two points on the night (one goal, one assist), while Radek Faksa had an assist and +2 rating.
"They lead us with our habits," said Head Coach Jim Montgomery. "We've been preaching habits for a long time now, and we're seeing that. We weren't very clean the first two periods, but that line was... It's nice to see them get rewarded and they made some really high-end plays."
The Blues are now 11-2-2 since the 4 Nations break and have climbed into the second Wild Card spot with 79 points. However there's no relaxing - Calgary (77 points), Vancouver (76 points) and Utah (75 points) are all within striking distance and have games in hand.
St. Louis hosts Nashville on Sunday and the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday to close out the four-game homestand.
PREDATORS The Nashville Predators (26-35-8) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Bridgestone Arena.
Toronto opened up a two-goal lead in the first period, but the Predators scored five unanswered goals to complete the comeback win. Forwards Filip Forsberg (two goals, one assist) and Luke Evangelista (one goal, two assists) led the way with three-point nights.
Juuse Saros got the nod in net on Saturday for Nashville, meaning the Blues could see backup Justus Annunen in Sunday's matchup.
The Blues and Predators are in the midst of meeting three times in the span of 10 days; the two clubs faced off just five days ago in Nashille and will clash there again this upcoming Thursday. St. Louis has claimed the first two games in the season series, winning 7-4 on Dec. 27 and 4-1 on March 18.
The Predators rank seventh in the Central Division with 60 points on the season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Alexey Toropchenko enjoyed a multi-point game against the Blackhawks on Saturday, including scoring what was eventually the game-winner, the second of his career. The forward has seven points (three goals, four assists) and a +6 rating in his last eight games. Toropchenko has 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 69 games this season, just four points shy of matching his career-high set in 2023-24.
PREDATORS Forward Luke Evangelista had a three-point night (one goal, two assists) for the Predators in their win against Toronto on Saturday. The 23-year-old is in his third year with Nashville and has posted 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 55 games this season. He was selected by the Predators in the second round (42nd overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues recalled Dalibor Dvorsky, the 10th overall pick in the 2023 Draft, from the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night. Forward Pavel Buchnevich did not play in the game against Chicago and is listed as day-to-day with an illness. If Dvorsky plays Sunday, it will mark his NHL debut.
- Zack Bolduc has goals in his last two games. He is up to 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) on the season, ranking third among all League rookies in goals and eighth in points. He leads NHL rookies with a +15 plus/minus rating.
- Dylan Holloway extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Saturday. He has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in that stretch.
- Jordan Kyrou extended his point streak to five games with an assist on Saturday. He has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in that stretch.
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