About the Blues - 01-24-12
A preview of the Blues.
When and where: 8 p.m. EST. Scottrade Center.
TV: Root Sports, Fox Sports Midwest.
Record: 29-13-6, 64 points. The Blues are in fourth place of the Western Conference and second place in the Central Division.
Leading Scorer: David Backes, 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists).
Last Game: 3-1 road loss to the Red Wings, last night. Jaroslav Halak made 25 saves for the Blues.
Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 overtime road win, Nov. 23. Evgeni Malkin had two assists for the Penguins.
Blues Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Alex Pietrangelo (right). Before last night, he had scored in nine consecutive games.
Ex-Penguins on the Blues: Ville Siren, amateur scout.
Ex-Blues on the Penguins: Brent Johnson, G; Todd Reirden, assistant coach.
Useless Blues Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Johnson holds the Blues' franchise record for most consecutive goaltending wins. He won 10 consecutive games from Jan. 3 through Jan. 23, 2001.
Best Blues Video We Could Find: Former Blues defenseman Al MacInnis putting a hole in the boards with a slap shot during warm ups:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (25-12-2, 2.26 GAA, .913 SV%) for the Penguins and Brian Elliott (15-5-1, 1.68 GAA, .937 SV%) for the Blues.
Injuries: For the Penguins, right winger Arron Asham (head) is out. Centers Sidney Crosby (head), Jordan Staal (knee) and defensemen Simon Despres (knee) are on injured reserve. For the Blues, left wingers Andy McDonald (concussion), Alexander Steen (concussion) and defenseman Kent Huksins are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' primary lines and defensive pairings at today's morning skate were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Pascal Dupuis - Dustin Jeffrey - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Steve Sullivan
Eric Tangradi - Joe Vitale - Craig Adams
Kris Letang - Brooks Orpik
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin
Deryk Engelland - Matt Niskanen
-The Blues primary lines and defensive pairings against the Red Wings last night were:
David Perron - David Backes - T.J. Oshie
Vladimir Sobotka - Patrik Berglund - Matt D'Agostini
Jamie Langenbrunner - Jason Arnott - Chris Stewart
Chris Porter - Scott Nichol - B.J. Crombeen
Carlo Colaiacovo - Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Kris Russell - Roman Polak
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Blues, this happened:
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-Kunitz has appeared in 499 career games.
-Park has scored 99 career goals.
-Neal has scored 99 career goals.
-Kennedy has 145 career points.
-The Blues have the NHL's best home record at 21-3-3.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 7:45 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Harry How/Getty Images)