Coyotes at Blues Preview: Toothless

Last night, the Arizona Coyotes lost a 3-2 duel to the Dallas Stars, bumping the Stars into a tie with the Blues for first in the Central Division. They peppered Ben Bishop 41 times, and only two got through. They netted one power play goal on a five minute major courtesy of Jamie Benn’s dangerous boarding hit on Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but failure to score any more than that plus some puck mismanagement snatched a winnable game away away from Arizona, who had won their previous two.

So, needless to say, the Coyotes may be frustrated tonight They’re two points outside of the last wild card slot and missed a prime chance to snag two points. The Blues, on the other hand, need to hope that their case of the February doldrums are over and done with. Banking two points against the Coyotes tonight is crucial for the Blues to reassert themselves in the Central. Their win against New Jersey Tuesday night was a good start, one that got a monkey off of Jaden Schwartz’s back, but there has to be more than just a solid win here and there.

The Blues will probably be sporting a new-look defense. Newest acquisition Marco Scandella skated with the team yesterday and should be taking the ice tonight.

The wheels came off of the Coyotes game in the last six or seven minutes last night. If the Blues can keep a constant pressure on the Yotes, who they see for the final time tonight, they should be able to hand Arizona their second loss in a row.