Threatening St. Louis Blues to take on the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets – NHL Preview
The threatening St. Louis Blues have a weak challenge on road as they prepare to face Columbus Blue Jackets in a National Hockey League (NHL) game on Tuesday, February 14, 2012, at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio.
The Blues are on a four-game winning streak and are ranked at fourth spot in the Western Conference with 75 points after 55 games.
The recent victories came against Ottawa Senators (3-1), New Jersey Devils (4-3 in shootout), Colorado Avalanche (3-2 in overtime) and San Jose Sharks (3-0).
Blues’ strength is their offence, which has performed well under pressure of late. However, against Sharks the defence was equally fantastic to watch.
Alex Pietrangelo scored in the first and third period while David Perron scored in the second to get the victory over Sharks.
On the other hand, goaltender, Jaroslav Halak, completed his sixth shutout.
Andy McDonald, who had returned on the rink after a gap of around four months, provided an assist for the first goal.
Pietrangelo said of McDonald:
“He's just another threat (on the power play). You guys know how dangerous he is. He's been like that his whole career. Tonight's a prime example. He hasn't played in four months. I don't think he missed a beat."
St. Louis can get its winning streak stretched to five as the lowly Blue Jackets are facing a terrible time.
Columbus is placed at the bottom of the Western Conference with 38 points after 56 games and by no means can qualify for the playoffs with the present form.
After losing six straight games, Columbus has, however, done well to win three of its last five games, but that record is not enough to convince observers that Blues can face a tough challenge.
In its last game, Columbus lost against Anaheim Ducks on the former’s home ice.
Corey Perry scored a hat trick for Ducks to stun the Blue Jackets, who scored three goals in the game with the final two goals coming when Anaheim was leading, 5-1.
Columbus’ interim coach, Todd Richards, said after the game:
"I think if we had given them 10 power-play opportunities tonight, they might have gotten 10 goals."
He added:
“They executed extremely well and we made some mistakes and then ended up paying for them."
Blues have a strong chance of winning the game.
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