The St. Louis Blues (26-29-5) travel to take on the San Jose Sharks (18-31-12) at SAP Center at San Jose on Thursday in a matchup of teams out to halt losing streaks.
St. Louis is coming off a high-scoring 5-3 loss against the Kraken on Tuesday, their sixth defeat in a row. The Blues committed only two penalties in the game, holding Seattle without a power play goal.
Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Brandon Saad scored one apiece for the Blues. Thomas and Buchnevich both added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Jordan Binnington only had 21 saves on 25 shots against (.840%) in the loss.
San Jose lost for the third straight game, falling 3-1 to the Canadiens on Tuesday. Jacob MacDonald netted the lone goal for the Sharks. Kaapo Kahkonen saved 29 of 31 shots (.935%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Blues won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 5-3 victory in November, their sixth straight win against San Jose. Calle Rosen (1G 1A), Buchnevich (0G 2A), and Thomas (0G 2A) each had two points to lead St. Louis. Kevin Labanc and Erik Karlsson each had two points (0G 2A) to lead San Jose. Binnington got the win, saving 27 of 30 shots (.900%).
FACING OFF
St. Louis is averaging 3.00 goals per game for the season, 21st in the NHL, and they are taking on a Sharks team that is allowing 3.61 goals a game (28th). Meanwhile, San Jose has found the net 2.93 times a game on average, 23rd in the league, and the Blues are allowing opponents to score 3.65 goals per game (29th).
St. Louis averages fewer shots a game (28.8) than most teams in the league, ranking 28th, though the team’s 10.6% shooting percentage is ninth. San Jose has proven to be one of the league’s least successful shot-stopping teams, ranking No. 28 with a team save percentage of .893%.
The Blues’ 19.89% power play percentage ranks 20th in the league, while the Sharks are 25th with a conversion rate of 18.40%. San Jose has been more successful at penalty killing, boasting the league’s third-highest PK% at 83.89%. St. Louis ranks 22nd at 76.51%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Jordan Kyrou (54 points), Thomas (51), and Buchnevich (47) have been the top skaters this season for the Blues. Buchnevich has been another offensive leader for St. Louis, scoring 18 and assisting 29.
In the net, Binnington (21-20-5) is St. Louis’ top goaltender. He has a 3.27 GAA and a .896% save percentage. Karlsson leads the Sharks in scoring with 77 points (7th in the league).
He has 19 goals and 58 assists (3rd). James Reimer (9-15-6) has the best goals against average for San Jose at 3.29. He has a save percentage of .895%.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is looking to avoid a sixth successive defeat away from home this season. San Jose is looking to snap a three-game home losing streak this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
SJ Sharks (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
