Panthers Return Home Looking To Break Out Of Recent Funk
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SUNRISE (CBSMiami/AP) – If the Florida Panthers are going to get back on the winning side of things, they'll have to beat a very good team to do it.
There are only three coaches with more wins than Ken Hitchcock, who has the St. Louis Blues playing at the top of their game.
A matchup against the Panthers could help them stay hot.
St. Louis goes for a third consecutive win and sixth in a row over the Panthers as these teams meet in Sunrise on Sunday.
The Blues (36-15-4) have compiled the NHL's best record since the beginning of January, going 14-2-1 over their last 17. They picked up another two points and Hitchcock earned career win No. 693 to break a tie with Dick Irvin on the all-time list in Thursday's 6-3 victory at Tampa Bay.
Alexander Steen had a goal and two assists while David Backes and T.J. Oshie added one of each, leading St. Louis to its sixth road win in seven tries.
"I thought we did a good job of jumping on them early," Steen told the league's official website. "The big thing is we're skating and moving to get open and that's what's generating the seams to make these passes and generating opportunities."
Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny and Dmitrij Jaskin also scored for the Blues, who were off Friday before going through a full practice Saturday.
"We put a lot of energy in against Tampa," Hitchcock said afterward. "It was good the guys got a break here, get some energy because we pretty much go back playing every second night starting (Sunday)."
St. Louis should like its chances of continuing its surge against Florida after taking five straight in the series by a combined 21-4 score. The Blues won 4-2 in this season's first meeting Dec. 8.
Brian Elliott is expected to be back in net after making 26 saves against the Lightning. Elliott has posted a 1.67 goals-against average in winning three consecutive starts versus Florida, though only one of those appearances has come since 2011-12.
The Panthers (24-19-11) return home looking to jump-start their offense after totaling one goal in back-to-back defeats. They were shut out for the first time since Oct. 13 in Friday's 2-0 loss at Dallas.
"I wouldn't say we didn't generate offense but we didn't generate great scoring chances," said coach Gerard Gallant, whose team outshot the Stars 37-28. "But hey, we worked hard and we competed and we got some good chances. I liked our game."
Al Montoya finished with 26 saves, but the Panthers could turn back to Roberto Luongo, who has allowed two goals in each of his last four starts, going 2-1-1.
Luongo, who stopped 24 of 27 shots in the Dec. 8 loss, is 2-3-1 with a 2.32 GAA in his last six starts against the Blues.
The Panthers will be without defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, who is suspended indefinitely pending an in-person hearing with the NHL's department of player safety for clipping - and injuring - Stars forward Tyler Seguin.
Getting back home could be key for Florida, which has scored 14 goals during a 3-0-1 stretch there.
The Panthers haven't defeated St. Louis since a 4-0 win Oct. 31, 2009.
Blues defenseman Barret Jackman is set to tie Brian Sutter for second place on the team's all-time gamesplayed list with 779. Bernie Federko holds the record with 927.
Stastny has seven goals and 14 points in 10 career games against Florida.
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