Western Conference top spot up for grabs as Vancouver Canucks welcome St. Louis Blues - NHL Preview
Two of the Western Conference juggernauts will face each other when St. Louis Blues travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks in a battle for the top spot in the Western Conference on Thursday, March 1st, 2012.
This is the moment for St. Louis to show that they are more than just good at home ice by beating Vancouver at the Rogers Arena as they look to continue what has been an amazing run of results in their current road trip.
The Blues have won four straight games on the road and will complete their away run by facing Vancouver and then San Jose Sharks.
However, the Canucks are the real first test a high-flying Blues side will face in the current trip. The Blues won their first two games against Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets by 3-2 margins before destroying the struggling Calgary Flames and Edmonton
Oilers by 3-1 and 5-2 margins respectively.
The winning run has put the Blues second in the Western Conference with 87 points and just a single point behind their Thursday night opponents.
Vancouver’s grip on the top spot looks shaky as recent results have not gone their way. The Canucks have lost their previous two games against Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes respectively as they ended a run of six games away from the Rogers Arena.
Now back on home ice the Canucks will be looking to turn around their fortunes against the Blues and secure a much tighter grip on the conference.
Blues (40-17-7, 87 pts)
St. Louis’ throughout the season have struggled away from the Scottrade Center but recently have started to give results on the road.
The Blues put in their best performance on the road after pounding Edmonton Oilers 5-2 on Wednesday after controlling the game’s proceedings comfortably.
St. Louis though will have to put in an even bigger performance if they want to defeat Vancouver at the Rogers Arena.
Forward Andy McDonald is happy with the team’s run on the road and wants it to continue against the Canucks.
"You have to be able to win on the road to be successful. We know it is going to be tough every night and that we have to play a certain way and on this road trip especially we have stuck to that style.
"It's really paid off for us. Things are going well for us."
Canucks (40-16-8, 88 pts)
The Canucks ended their own six-game road trip on Tuesday going 3-3 and will be happy to return back to the Rogers Arena.
Vancouver has lost both its previous two games but managed to secure a single point in both games to maintain their lead at the top of the Western Conference.
A 2-1 shootout defeat on Tuesday to the Coyotes, frustrated Vancouver and they will be looking to get back to winning ways against the Blues.
Goaltender Corey Schneider told the media that the Canucks are in the most important phase of the season.
"I think with the schedule, this is going to be a big point in our season. It could go pretty bad or it could go pretty good. Fortunately we were able to salvage some points throughout the month."
Predictions
Tough to pick a winner but the Canucks will have home ice advantage which could work in their favour.
Both teams boast two of the best goaltenders and goals will be at a premium for the two offences.
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