The St. Louis Blues head to New York in a heavy-weight showdown tonight against the New York Rangers. The two teams are separated by one point in the overall standings, the Rangers with 71 points to the Blues’ 70. The Blues will look to extend their winning streak to five games, while the Rangers will look to break their two-game losing streak.
2 Storylines: Blues (32-14-6)
Pavel Buchnevich Returns to New York
For the first time since he was traded, former New York Ranger Pavel Buchnevich is returning to the place he called home for five seasons. He found immediate success and consistency among the top two lines with the Blues. This season, his 19 goals and 46 points over 46 games rank second on the team behind Jordan Kyrou. If he continues to score at this pace over the remainder of the season, he could eclipse the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career. Buchnevich is currently three points away from setting new career-highs after scoring 48 points in 54 games during the 2020-21 season.
The Blues acquired Buchnevich from the Rangers on July 23, 2021, in exchange for forward Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-round pick. Due to salary cap constraints, the Rangers knew they would be unable to re-sign the Russian forward and were forced to part ways with him as a restricted free agent. Four days later, he and the Blues agreed on a four-year contract worth $23.2 million.
Through no fault of his own, Blais has only appeared in 14 games with the Rangers this season after suffering from a season-ending ACL injury on Nov. 11, 2021, against the New Jersey Devils. Through his 14 games, he has recorded four assists.
Jordan Binnington Returns to Form
From Oct. 2021 until the end of Jan. 2022, Jordan Binnington’s play was less than stellar as he carried a .901 save percentage (SV%) that ranked 46th in the NHL, while his counterpart helped keep the team afloat with a .941 SV%. The performances were polar opposites of one another, as Ville Husso brought the club a 9-3-1 record, with a 1.90 goals-against average (GAA), while Binnington went 11-9-3 with a 3.27 GAA.
Related: Blues Need Binnington, Husso & Tarasenko for Stanley Cup Run
The Blues’ goaltender seems to be finding his groove again as the push for the playoffs rages on. Since Feb. 1, Binnington is 2-1-0 with a .928 SV% and 2.01 GAA. This is good news for the organization, as the club now boasts two reliable goaltenders that they can turn to each night.
2 Storylines: Rangers (33-15-5)
Igor Shesterkin Holding Rangers Together
The heir to the New York goaltending throne, Shesterkin has not only answered the call but has done so in MVP fashion. The 26-year-old Russian is 25-6-3 this season with three shutouts, a 1.95 GAA, and a .941 SV%. His statistics this season are good enough to bring him into the Hart Trophy conversation as possibly the ninth goaltender to ever take the honor in NHL history.
To add to his case, his goals saved above expected (GSAx), an advanced statistic to project how many goals a goaltender would usually allow based on the quality of shots they face each night, Shesterkin’s 31.1 ranks number one in the NHL among goaltenders appearing in at least 30 games. Only one other goaltender, Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes, has a number above 30, while the rest have not even reached 20. Heading into Wednesday’s game, the Rangers are listed as the NHL’s seventh-best team with a subpar offense that ranks 20th in goals for per game (2.89).
Former First-Overall Pick Lafreniere Finding His Groove
The start to his NHL career has not gone as many in New York would have envisioned. With his rookie season coming in the middle of a pandemic, Lafreniere produced 12 goals and 21 points over 56 regular-season games. Many hoped that the forward would have a bounce-back season once things returned to normal and, so far, that has not been the case. The former first-overall draft choice has 12 goals and 16 points this season, good enough for eighth on the roster.
“He looks [like a] confident, stronger player,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “I think he’s a young kid growing, he’s in better shape. He’s doing the right things” (from ‘Alexis Lafreniere finding his groove on Rangers’ top-line,’ New York Post, 3/1/22).
Over the last three games, Lafreniere has seen a shift to the top line, right-wing position, centered by Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider on the left-wing. With the adjustment to the lineup, he has produced two goals and three points with a plus-three rating. At 20 years old, the sky is the limit for a player with his raw talent and potential.
Players to Watch
St. Louis: Robert Thomas – two goals and eight points in the last six games. He has been shooting the puck more with 15 shots over those six games.
Rangers: Mika Zibanejad – two goals and five points in his last six games. He has a plus-three rating in those six games and averaging 20 minutes of ice time.
Projected Line Combinations
St. Louis Blues
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Brandon Saad | Ryan O’Reilly | David Perron |
| Pavel Buchnevich | Robert Thomas | Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Jordan Kyrou | Brayden Schenn | Ivan Barbashev |
| Dakota Joshua | Tyler Bozak | Oskar Sundqvist |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Niko Mikkola | Colton Parayko |
| Torey Krug | Justin Faulk |
| Jake Walman | Robert Bortuzzo |
| Starting Goalie |
| Ville Husso |
New York Rangers
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Chris Kreider | Mika Zibanejad | Alexis Lafreniere |
| Artemi Panarin | Ryan Strome | Dryden Hunt |
| Greg McKegg | Filip Chytil | Julien Gauthier |
| Barclay Goodrow | Kevin Rooney | Ryan Reaves |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Ryan Lindgren | Adam Fox |
| K’Andre Miller | Jacob Trouba |
| Patrik Nemeth | Braden Schneider |
| Starting Goalie |
| Igor Shesterkin |
Blues’ Next Game: Saturday, March 5th vs New York Islanders (11:30 AM CST)