Field Level Media
26 Jan 2023, 09:55 GMT+10
The St. Louis Blues will continue playing catch-up in their quest for the postseason when they face the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
The Blues lost ground in the playoff race when they won just three times during a seven-game homestand that ended Tuesday. That struggle left them six points out of the final Western Conference playoff slot through Tuesday's games.
The predicament puts extra focus on Thursday's matchup at Mullett Arena. The game will open the Blues' three-game road trip leading into the NHL All-Star break.
"We have to go into Arizona and take care of business there and then focus on the next one after that," Blues defenseman Justin Faulk said. "There's nothing more to it. We're in a hole, and we got to start digging out. If we look too far ahead, we're not gonna get anywhere."
The rebuilding Coyotes have lost 12 of their last 14 games. But the Blues can't take anything for granted after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres by 5-3 scores in their last two games.
In both losses, St. Louis failed to defend the center of its defensive zone in front of goaltender Jordan Binnington.
"We're asking him to make saves that I don't know if there's any goalies in the league that can make," Faulk said.
Blues defenseman Torey Krug said: "Our slot was just wide open; they could've just camped out there and the puck would end up on their stick."
The Blues are allowing an average of 3.56 goals per game this season, eighth-worst in the NHL through Tuesday.
"I think there's times that we chase too much instead of just keeping them on the outside and having a little composure, protecting that slot area and waiting for a broken play or blocked shot or anything like that," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We've just got to have more patience there, and we really don't."
Krug returned Tuesday from a lower-body injury that had sidelined him since his last game on Dec. 23. Winger Vladimir Tarasenko returned from a broken hand that had shelved him since Dec. 31.
On the other hand, the Blues placed winger Pavel Buchnevich on injured reserve with an ankle injury that required minor surgery. And captain Ryan O'Reilly remained out with a foot injury.
This will be the Blues' first game this season against the Coyotes, who are coming off of a 5-2 loss to visiting the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
Like Berube, Arizona coach Andre Tourigny wants to see better defensive zone coverage from his team.
"I did not like our start; we were a little bit sloppy on our assignments defensively," Tourigny said. "There was about [a minute] there in the second where we gave up two goals, and that broke the game a little bit.
"But we were able to crawl back, we had a lot of fight, and the guys never quit. I like the way we arrived in the third. We put pucks at the net, recovered loose pucks, put a lot of bodies at the net, and we played with a lot of passion."
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of San Jose Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Jose Sun.
More InformationJoel Embiid poured in 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers swamped the reeling San Antonio ...
Trae Young responded to not being named an All-Star by scoring 27 points and De'Andre Hunter added 26 points to ...
Cole Anthony came off the bench to lead seven Orlando scorers in double-figures with 20 points, and the Magic rode ...
Joel Embiid poured in 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers swamped the reeling San Antonio ...
Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. caught fire in the middle two periods as the visiting Toronto Raptors rallied from ...
Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby joined forces to win the Breakaway Challenge at the ...
OSLO, Norway: Ending a three-year run of profits as stock and bond prices were hit by rising inflation and Russia's ...
NEW YORK, New York - Strong economic data failed to stem profit-taking on the major U.S. bourses on Friday, while ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US has again asked Mexico to investigate claims that workers at an auto parts facility of American ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Tesla confirmed this week that the US Justice Department has requested documents related to its Full Self-Driving and ...
TOKYO, Japan: Toyota has announced that it sold 10.5 million vehicles in 2022, maintaining its position as the world's top-selling ...
NEW YORK, New York - Technology stocks had a hay day Thursday with Facebook parent Meta rocketing up nearly 30 ...