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NHL on NBCSN: Red-hot Steen, Doan collide in Blues vs Coyotes

St Louis Blues v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - DECEMBER 21: Alexander Steen #20 of the St. Louis Blues warms up prior to facing the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on December 21, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2013-14 campaign tonight when the St. Louis Blues host the Phoenix Coyotes at the Scottrade Center at 8:00 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.

The Coyotes and Blues might not be two of the most popular teams in the NHL, but they are certainly worth of attention. Both of them have been playing exciting hockey and winning in the process.

Phoenix and St. Louis rank seventh and fifth respectively in goals per game after they were mediocre to bad offensively in the 2013 campaign. For the Blues, the big difference has been Alexander Steen.

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The 29-year-old forward has only been held off the scoresheet once all season and is currently riding a 10-game point streak. He’s never recorded more than 24 goals in a single campaign, but Steen already has 14 goals in 15 games this season. That puts him in a tie with the now injured Steven Stamkos for the NHL goal scoring lead.

Phoenix will counter with a forward that’s been almost as hot lately, its captain Shane Doan. Although the 37-year-old’s season numbers pale in comparison, Doan has scored in five of his last six contests. If the Blues manage to neutralize Doan though, the Coyotes are far from doomed. They have plenty of offensive depth with nine different players that have recorded at least 10 points in 2013-14.

St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak will consequently have his hands full, but he’s capable of rising to the occasion. After enduring a rough and injury-riddled 2013 campaign, Halak has bounced back this season with a 2.19 GAA and .913 save percentage. Phoenix will likely counter with netminder Mike Smith, who has been less than ideal so far, but still typically performs well enough to get the job done.

These two teams have combined for just six regulation losses all season, but the Western Conference has been dominant. As a result, Phoenix just has a four-point cushion between them and fifth place in its division and the Blues’ hold on a playoff spot is only six points.

So as good as they’ve been, neither team can afford to let up.

Follow @RyanDadoun