Preview: Coyotes at Blues

[March 27, 2017]  The St. Louis Blues have all but sealed a playoff spot with a strong month and their quest to avoid fourth place in the Central Division is on as they host the struggling Arizona Coyotes on Monday. The Blues have gone 9-1-1 in March to climb within one point of Nashville for third - a spot that would take away the prospect of meeting red-hot Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.

St. Louis goes for its 10th consecutive victory over the Coyotes - who are 1-4-1 in their last six games - and will visit Arizona on Wednesday before taking on league-worst Colorado on the road two nights later. The Blues look to rebound from a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Calgary on Saturday after Sean Monahan’s goal at 4:57 of overtime, while the Coyotes fell 4-1 at league-best Washington. Arizona has gone 1-3-0 on its five-game road trip and has scored just three times in its last four losses - including a 3-0 setback against St. Louis on March 18. The Coyotes signed 2016 first-round draft pick Clayton Keller from Boston University on Sunday, and the forward could make his NHL debut fewer than 20 miles from where he grew up in Swansea, Ill.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona, FSN Midwest (St. Louis)

ABOUT THE COYOTES (27-39-9): Defenseman Oliver-Ekman Larsson, who is second on team with 37 points, has snapped out of a long slump with goals in two of the four games on the road trip. Mike Smith has recorded just one victory in 10 starts this month (1-7-2) but owns a respectable .916 save percentage in that span while fellow goaltender Louis Domingue has won his last three contests. Radim Vrbata leads the team in scoring with 52 points, but he has been held to five in 13 games this month and could get some help up front if Alex Burmistrov (concussion) returns on Monday.

ABOUT THE BLUES (40-28-6): Jake Allen has played a big role in St. Louis' revival this month, going 7-1-1 with a .951 save percentage. “He’s playing with a ton of confidence right now,” coach Mike Yeo told reporters. “He’s very focused, very prepared going into every hockey game right now. I think he’s (channeling) his aggressiveness, and I think that’s a good indication of his confidence.” Vladimir Tarasenko has scored six goals in his last 10 games and leads the team with 34 – six shy of last season’s total - and 65 points.

OVERTIME

1. Arizona captain Shane Doan (lower body) is questionable after missing the last five contests.

2. St. Louis' Ivan Barbashev has stepped up with three points in three games with fellow Cs Jori Lehtera (concussion) and Paul Stastny (lower body) sidelined.

3. Arizona LW Anthony Duclair has notched three points in four games after recording one in his previous 12 contests.

PREDICTION: Blues 4, Coyotes 2

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