ST. LOUIS -- It's no secret when the St. Louis Blues (3-4-1) open a four-game homestand on Friday against the New Jersey Devils (6-2-1): stay out of the penalty box as much as possible.
The Devils are far and beyond the No. 1 power play in the NHL as of Friday at an astounding 44.7 percent after scoring on it three more times on Thursday in a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild.
New Jersey has scored at least a power-play goal in eight of its nine games with the lone exception going 0-for-1 against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 25, scoring 17 times.
"Special teams are really important tonight," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "Our penalty kill has to be really sharp for sure. We've got to be disciplined too at the same time."
So how do you stop it?
"First off, we have to focus in on ourselves and making sure we're in our spots and communicating," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "They've got a lot of motion that can make it tricky sometimes. Communication's going to be big of for us and making sure that we talk things out.
"Obviously the power play is a big threat. A good challenge for our penalty kill when we have to go up to the task tonight, but stay out of the box as much as possible, move our feet and try not to take penalties."
The Blues penalty is in the middle of the pack at 78.3 percent, which is 15th in the league and will need to bring its best effort and execution into this contest.
It has done that in the past five games, going 13-for-14 (92.9 percent), which is second in the NHL since Oct. 21, and the Blues are 17-for-18 (94.4 percent) against the Devils in the past six games.
"Structure, eating pucks, good sticks," Berube said of the Blues' recent PK. "All the stuff that you need in a penalty kill. Obviously at times it's desperation. Blocking shots and all those things that really help on a PK."
Puck drop is 7 p.m. on BSMW and ESPN 101.1-FM.
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As good as the Devils PP has been, it's no secret the Blues' PP is not.
They're dead-last at 4.0 percent, starting off the season at 1-for-25 and doing all they can to try and find the right combinations.
On Friday, they had Kasperi Kapanen at the net front on one unit, replacing Jake Neighbours, with Robert Thomas, Jakub Vrana and Pavel Buchnevich with Justin Faulk on the point, and Torey Krug on the point of another with Jordan Kyrou, Brandon Saad, Brayden Schenn with Kevin Hayes at the net front.
"Power play, again, it's going to be important," Berube said. "They have an aggressive kill. We're going to have to move pucks quick and they've got to go to the net because if you keep passing around, dusting it off, eventually they're going to kill that play. I thought our guys this morning were looking to shoot pucks right away and that was a good sign. The puck's got to go to the net on these guys on the power play."
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Not only do the Blues have to contend with New Jersey's power play but also the catalyst that runs it, 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes, who is off to a blazing trail leading the NHL with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) through nine games.
"He's fast, he's got skill, he sees the play well," Parayko said of Hughes, who's on a line with Tyler Toffoli and Timo Meier. "He's patient with the puck, he's just a great player overall. It's definitely a challenge, a good challenge. We've got to make sure we're on top of him all the time, know where he is on the ice at all times. He's got two other good linemates there. They've got a good line overall."
"He's got everything," Berube said of Hughes. "He's dynamic, skater, skill set, his head's up, he attacks all the time, makes plays, he can score, he can do it all. He's a real good player."
Devils forward Jesper Bratt isn't doing too bad himself with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) through nine games.
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Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo will replace Tyler Tucker in the lineup tonight, one candidate that will have to be effective on the power play tonight, but it will be another healthy scratch for Scott Perunovich, who has played in just two of nine games this season and doesn't seem to be getting much traction right not to get into the lineup.
"Right now, with the way our D-corp's lined up, I haven't minded our d-corps," Berube said. "I think they've defended pretty well and doing their job. I know the power play's not clicking like we want it to, but at the same time, he's just got to be patient. He's missed a lot of hockey over the last two years. Coming into camp this year, he had to beat somebody out of a spot and I don't think that happened. At the same time, he's got to work in practice and treat practices almost like games for himself and stay ready.
"I haven't minded 'Perun.' He's practicing hard, he's trying to do the right things and again, he's got to be patient."
A power play specialist who could perhaps help a foundering unit, Berube pointed out the team didn't register a goal in Calgary or Vancouver, going 0-for-6, in the games Perunovich played.
"Well, we put him in on the road for two games and the power play wasn't any better," Berube said. "That's part of the process of why we put him in there. I'm not putting it all on 'Perun,' but we put him in for two games and it didn't make the power play better at that point. But that's not saying that he's not going to be on the power play down the road. Right now, it's not in the lineup."
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The Blues' projected lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Kasperi Kapanen
Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Alexey Toropchenko-Kevin Hayes-Jakub Vrana
Sammy Blais-Oskar Sundqvist-Jake Neighbours
Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko
Torey Krug-Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella-Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Tyler Tucker, Scott Perunovich and Nikita Alexandrov. The Blues report no injuries.
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The Devils' projected lineup:
Tyler Toffoli-Jack Hughes-Timo Meier
Ondrej Palat-Michael McLeod-Jesper Bratt
Dawson Mercer-Erik Haula-Curtis Lazar
Alexander Holtz-Chris Tierney-Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler-Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl-John Marino
Brendan Smith-Luke Hughes
Akira Schmid is projected to start in goal; Vitek Vanecek would be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Cal Foote. Nico Hischier (upper body), Tomas Nosek (lower body) and Colin Miller (lower body) are out.
