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 St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock is stressing the importance of a
strong finish with matchups against the Avalanche and white-hot
Chicago prior to the All-Star break. "These are big games, two
division games now coming back," Hitchcock said. "We get a bunch of
defensemen back hopefully in a day, so that's going to help us quite
a bit. Overall we've got to keep going." Colorado has posted
back-to-back 2-1 victories over Buffalo and Winnipeg and is 3-1-0 in
its last four, allowing a total of four goals. The Avalanche have
won both meetings against the Blues this season, including a 4-3
victory on Jan. 6.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE BLUES (28-15-7): St. Louis appeared to be in deep trouble
when starting goaltender Jake Allen was injured in a shootout loss
at Anaheim on Jan. 8 that stretched the team's skid to five games,
but backup netminder Brian Elliott has been superb in his place.
Elliott is 5-1-0 since Allen was hurt, allowing two goals or fewer
on four occasions, and has turned aside 111-of-117 shots during the
three-game winning streak. "We're playing well, even if we're giving
up a lot of shots," Elliott said. "When someone makes a big block,
that makes a huge difference."
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (24-21-3): Former Blues defenseman Erik Johnson,
who has been sidelined for the past seven games due to a lower-body
injury, is expected to return to the lineup either Friday or
Saturday against Dallas. Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said he will
let the team's training staff make the call on the availability of
Johnson, the No. 1 overall pick by St. Louis in the 2006 draft. "It
took a little bit longer than I wanted, but fortunately the guys
have been playing great and that makes it easier when they're
winning to kind of make sure you're ready to go," Johnson said.
[to top of second column] |
OVERTIME
1. Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko has six goals and 11 points in
13 games versus the Avalanche.
2. Colorado has permitted one goal in its last 14 short-handed
situations.
3. D Carl Gunnarsson is set to return for the Blues. who are
0-for-11 on the power play over the past four games.
PREDICTION: Avalanche 3, Blues 2
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