ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues have prepared themselves for this moment all season. And for them, it’s an opportunity not many gave them a chance at accomplishing as recent as the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The formula is simple: a win by the Blues (43-30-8) in regulation against Utah Hockey Club (38-30-13) and they’re in. Anything else, there would be some help needed.
But what the Blues, who are 0-2-1 the past three games after a franchise-record 12-game winning streak, have going for them is their 11-game home winning streak and 12-0-1 the past 13.
“It’s a huge advantage for us,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Woke up this morning, my mother-in-law told me there’s only standing room tickets available. It’s going to be bumping in here. It’s going to be a great crowd, it’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
The Blues haven’t lost here since the first game out of the 4 Nations break, 4-3 in a shootout against the Winnipeg Jets and in regulation since Feb. 6 against the Florida Panthers.
“It’s been unreal, especially down the stretch,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “When we started playing some real good hockey, the fans were right there behind us and supporting us through every game at home. They’ve been so crucial to our recent success here and it’s obvious to have this one on home ice and have them behind us.”
- - -
What else could be said and what could Montgomery say regarding tonight’s game? Not much.
“It’s pretty simple actually,” Montgomery said. “There’s a reason why we’re here. We put ourselves in this situation. There’s an identity we believe in. We know how we’re go out and execute our game plan and we’re going to go out and do it.”
The players have to get back to what put them here, and that’s establishing their identity early on.
“It’s tough. You’ve got to control your emotions, the nerves, the excitement,” Neighbours said. ‘I think those are the two biggest things you feel, but No. 1, being excited. If somebody would have told us during the 4 Nations that we’d play Game 82 with a chance to book our ticket, we probably would have took it. It’s an exciting opportunity for us tonight.
“It’s a playoff atmosphere in this room and I’m sure it’s going to be in the rink with the fans and everything. We’re obviously taking this game very seriously. This is something that’s very important to us, something we’ve worked very hard for is an opportunity to compete in the playoffs and we can do that with a win tonight, so we’re excited about that.”
- - -
Utah, which will wrap up its season tonight, is coming in here red-hot, going 4-0-1 in its past five games, including a 7-3 beating of the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Utah, which is in its first season in Salt Lake City after moving from Arizona, has given the Blues fits in recent seasons, including winning two of three against them this season.
“It doesn't do you any good to worry about past records,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “We need one game. We have one game against them and we need to go out there, execute and win. They're a good hockey team, lots of skill. At the same time, we're confident in our group where we can go out there, play hard for one another in front of our fans and go out and get two points.
“… It's always better in front of your fans and just how good they've been with us all the way through the stretch run here. Exciting times. Obviously this is what we play for. Chances like this, opportunities like this are what make the game exciting. To go out there, play hard for one another, play hard in front of our fans, I think we're all looking forward to the opportunity.”
Two players the Blues will have to be wary of are Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. Keller has 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 31 career games against the Blues, and Schmaltz has 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) in 36 games.
“We're aware,” Schenn said. “Keller and Schmaltz have been good against us. At the end of the day, like I said, we don't worry about kind of what they've done in the past, it's the next game. There's no sense of looking back and wondering what past stats are against a team. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. So we just have to go out there, like I said, have a game plan, go out there and execute.
“I don't think it's anything against this team that we were doing when we were having success and that's forecheck hard, take care of the middle of the ice, win more net fronts. The little details or simple habits of a hockey game that are going to give you the end result that you want. It's not something that I can tell you either way. It's the simple things we've got to execute a little bit better, play a little bit more aggressive at times throughout the game that are let us have the puck more.”
- - -
Colton Parayko’s journey back to the Blues was targeted to be for tonight, but the defenseman progressed well enough and far enough that the Blues inserted him back into the lineup following left knee scope on Saturday in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Seattle Kraken.
Parayko played 23:21 and scored in his return after missing 17 games.
“I thought he looked really good in practice on Friday, so I went and chatted with him at the end of practice and I said, 'How does it feel?,’” Montgomery said. “And he said, ‘It's the best it's felt.’ And I said, ‘I planned all along that you'd play (against) Utah, you skate tomorrow morning, you let me know if you're playing.’ And as soon as he was on the ice for five minutes, he let me know.”
- - -
Four Blues will finish the regular season tonight having played all 82 games, including Neighbours, Schenn, Ryan Suter and Jordan Kyrou.
For Suter, it will be his fifth straight season (including the 56-game COVID-19 regular season of 2020-21) of playing every game. It will mark his 11th season of playing all 82 games.
For Neighbours and Schenn, guys that physically put it on the line every game, it’s a feather in the cap.
“It’s something kind of subtle, but something that means a lot obviously,” Neighbours said. “It’s a grueling season, especially with the way I play the game and how hard I play. A lot of maintenance, a lot of taking care of yourself. Just been fortunate to stay healthy.”
Montgomery added, “It’s remarkable. Him and Schenn. I think Schenn is at 82 games, am I correct? Both of them. They play the game with complete disregard for their bodies. So for them to be able to battle through a lot of games where they’re probably at 75 percent physically speaks about their commitment to the team.”
- - -
Blues Projected Lineup:
Jake Neighbours-Robert Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Snuggerud-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter-Nick Leddy
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Tyler Tucker, Dalibor Dvorsky, Matthew Kessel and Alexandre Texier. Dylan Holloway (lower body) is week to week. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
- - -
Utah Projected Lineup:
Clayton Keller-Logan Cooley-Dylan Guenther
Nick Schmaltz-Barrett Hayton-Josh Doan
Lawson Crouse-Jack McBain-Liam O’Brien
Alexander Kerfoot-Kevin Stenlund-Nick Bjugstad
Mikhail Sergachev-Sean Durzi
Ian Cole-Michael Kesselring
Olli Maatta-Nick DeSimone
Karel Vejmelka is projected to start in goal; Matt Villalta would be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Robert Bortuzzo, Mattias Maccelli, Michael Carcone and Kailer Yamamoto. John Marino (upper body) is out.