Preview: Blues at Blue Jackets

[November 12, 2016]  Vladimir Tarasenko snapped a seven-game goal drought in overtime to send the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets last week. The timely tally ignited a four-game point streak for Tarasenko, who looks to continue his hot hand on Saturday when the Blues wrap up their abbreviated two-game road trip with a date against the Blue Jackets.

Tarasenko has set up one goal in each of his last three games - including Thursday's 3-1 setback to Nashville - and has nine points (six goals, three assists) in 10 career meetings with Columbus. The 24-year-old Tarasenko's individual accomplishments aside, St. Louis has dropped four of six with only four total goals being scored in the losses. Columbus had been singing a different tune during its 4-0-1 streak before allowing four goals in the first period en route to a 5-2 setback in Boston on Thursday. Former Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky yielded four tallies on nine shots before being relieved by Curtis McElhinney, but is expected to be back in net on Saturday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Ohio (Columbus)

ABOUT THE BLUES (7-5-3): The team's offensive struggles have been the norm this season, prompting forward Scottie Upshall to tell the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that players need to be willing to put their bodies on the line. "Scoring goals is hard and it's a matter of sacrificing your body," the 33-year-old Upshall said. "It's a matter of going to the net and winning puck battles, things we've been good at doing. Right now, we're taking the easy way out." The lack of offense has been hard on goaltender Jake Allen, who has dropped six of 11 decisions this season and split his last two outings despite yielding a total of three goals on 53 shots.

ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (6-4-2): Captain Nick Foligno opened the scoring versus the Bruins with his team-leading fifth goal this season and fourth in his last six games. Rookie defenseman Zach Werenski has also stepped up offensively in that stretch, scoring a goal and setting up five others to raise his season total to 11 points. The 19-year-old needs 11 more to set the franchise record by a rookie blue-liner - currently held by Ryan Murray (21, in 2013-14) - and 28 more to top former captain Rick Nash's rookie club mark regardless of position, which was set in 2002-03.

OVERTIME

1. Both teams' penalty kills are on top of their game, as St. Louis has thwarted all 19 opportunities in its last four contests while Columbus is a perfect 18-for-18 in its last six.

2. Blue Jackets C Brandon Dubinsky is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

3. Blues LW Alexander Steen, who notched an assist on Tarasenko's OT goal versus Columbus, has just three points in his last nine contests.

PREDICTION: Blues 3, Blue Jackets 2

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.