Leafs try to fix home-ice funk against Blues
Posted January 6, 2011 7:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The St. Louis Blues are looking to re-establish their momentum, and their lone season meeting with the Toronto Maple Leafs is a good place to start.
The Blues look for their sixth win in seven games as they attempt to continue their dominance of the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Thursday night.
St. Louis (20-13-5) had its five-game winning streak snapped with a 4-2 loss to Dallas on Sunday, giving up three unanswered goals in the third period.
“We had an opportunity to steal a game we probably didn’t deserve,” defenceman Barret Jackman said. “We just weren’t able to do it.”
The Blues may be in ideal position to rebound from the loss to the Stars, as the Maple Leafs (14-20-4) have dropped six of eight overall and seven of nine at home.
St. Louis is 8-0-2 in its last 10 meetings with Toronto, including a 4-0 victory at home Feb. 12 in the only matchup last season. The Blues have seven wins and one tie at Toronto since falling at Maple Leaf Gardens on Feb. 4, 1998, including a shootout victory in the latest visit to Air Canada Centre on Oct. 13, 2008.
Fantasy notes: David Backes has picked up 13 points in his past 12 GP for the Blues. Mikhail Grabovski remains a hot play for the Leafs with goals in nine of his past 12 GP. | Follow Chris Nichols on Twitter
Alex Steen continues to be a major offensive cog for the Blues, leading them with 13 goals. The center has nine goals and seven assists over the last 16 games while being held without a point in just three of them.
He’s found the net in each of the last two contests, and scored a short-handed tally against the Leafs in February.
David Backes set up T.J. Oshie’s short-handed goal in that contest, giving him one goal and two assists in the last three meetings with Toronto.
The right wing leads the Blues with 30 points, getting six in the last five games – including a goal against the Stars.
Backes, though, hasn’t managed a point in four road games and has netted just two of his 10 goals away from St. Louis.
