Rivalry Night on NBCSN: Sinking Blues return to Detroit

Throughout the season, NBCSN will feature the NHL’s fiercest rivalries on Wednesday nights. Tonight the St. Louis Blues will head to the Joe Louis Arena for a match against the Detroit Red Wings at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Red Wings and Blues have been very familiar opponents this season. This with be their fourth meeting together, meaning that both teams have dedicated roughly a third of their early schedule to playing together. However, after this match, they won’t face each other again until April 7.

When the two sides met on opening night, St. Louis embarrassed the Detroit Red Wings and earned a 6-0 victory.

“It was one of those games where nothing worked for us,” Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall told the Detroit News. “We didn’t do anything right. We were two steps behind and taking penalties. Our penalty kill was horrible and power play was dreadful.”

That fueled the fears of fans that the Red Wings’ dynasty ended with the retirement of blueliner Nicklas Lidstrom, but that contest didn’t start a trend. Detroit was able to bounce back in a big way and beat the Blues in their following two contests.

Meanwhile, St. Louis is in a free fall. After a great start to the season, the Blues have lost five straight games and that’s largely corresponded with the absence of starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak (groin).

Brian Elliott, who was brilliant last season as St. Louis’ backup netminder, has a terrible 3.57 GAA and .849 save percentage in nine games this season. With that in mind, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock has suggested that 22-year-old Jake Allen might get his first NHL start on Wednesday.

“Before he came up to back up, Jake was playing the best hockey he’s ever played in his life, so we can’t discount that,” Hitchcock said in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report. “We’ve got to be cognizant of that, and Brian’s struggled. So sometimes a mental break for Brian might work too. We just have to discuss it and see what’s best for the goalie and the team.”

Regardless of who starts, you can expect the Blues to battle hard as they attempt to right their ship.

Probable goaltenders: STL – Allen (0-0-0, 3.87 GAA, .750 SV%) | DET – Jimmy Howard (6-4-1, 2.78 GAA, .906 SV%)

Top scorers: STL – Kevin Shattenkirk (1-12-13, 12 GP) | DET – Henrik Zetterberg (5-13-18, 12 GP)

Notable Injuries:
St. Louis – Forwards: Jamie Langenbrunner (hip) Goaltenders: Halak (groin)
Detroit – Forwards: Todd Bertuzzi (back), Darren Helm (back), Mikael Samuelsson (groin), Jan Mursak (shoulder) Defensemen: Brendan Smith (shoulder), Carlo Colaiacovo (shoulder) Goaltenders: Jonas Gustavsson (groin)