ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:
CURRENT INJURIES
Scott Perunovich – Shoulder (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Oct. 4)
Marco Scandella – Right Hip (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Sep. 20)
Logan Brown – Upper-Body (Placed on IR on Nov. 9)
2022-23 Total Man Games Lost: 73
Recent Transactions
November
23 – Activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off injured reserve
23 – Assigned defenseman Tyler Tucker to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
10 – Placed defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve with an upper-body injury
10 – Recalled defenseman Tyler Tucker from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
BLUES VS. LIGHTNING
-This will be the first of 2 matchups between the Blues and Lightning this season (Jan. 14 in STL)
-The Blues went 1-1-0 against Tampa Bay last season, with each team winning at home
-The Blues lost their last game against Tampa Bay, but won their 5 previous matchups with the Lightning
-Since Mar. 4, 2014, the Blues are 11-4-0 against the Lightning
-The Blues have scored a power play goal in 3 straight games against the Lightning, going 4 for 9 (44.4%) on the power play in that span
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
11/26 – at Florida
11/28 – vs. Dallas
12/1 – vs. Carolina
12/3 – at Pittsburgh
12/5 – at NY Rangers
BLUES POST HISTORIC 7-GAME WIN STREAK
-The Blues won 7 straight games (Nov. 10-21) following an 8-game losing streak (all of which came in regulation)
-Their 7-game win streak is the longest winning streak in NHL history by a team immediately after they suffered losses in eight or more consecutive games
-In the 4 major North American Sports Leagues, a team has posted a win streak of 7+ games after losing 8+ straight games just 6 times in NBA history and just 16 times in MLB history
-The last team to post a 7+ game win streak after losing 8+ games in a row, was the Houston Rockets (NBA), who won 7 straight games following a 15-game losing streak last season
-Since Nov. 10 vs. San Jose, the Blues’ 7 wins are the most in the NHL
-The Blues have scored 31 goals since Nov. 10, which is the 2nd most in the NHL (1. Dallas, 32)
-Since Nov. 10, Buchnevich shares 4th in the NHL with 11 points (1. Crosby/Robertson/Rantanen, 12), while Kyrou and Thomas share 11th in the NHL with 10 points
WIN STREAK BEFORE AND DURING (NHL Ranks*)
Oct. 15-Nov. 9 (9 games) Nov. 10 – Nov. 21 (7 games)
Points: 6 (T-31st) Points: 14 (1st)
Wins: 3 (T-31st) Wins: 7 (1st)
GF/G: 2.09 (32nd) GF/G: 4.14 (5th)
GA/G: 3.91 (29th) GA/G: 2.29 (7th)
PP%: 20.7% (18th) PP%: 26.3% (11th)
FAST STARTS ARE KEY FOR BLUES
-The Blues are 6-1-0 this season when leading after the first period and are 7-0-0 when leading after 2 periods
-Their 6 wins when leading after the first share 6th in the NHL (1. Boston, 12-0-0), while their 7 wins when leading after the 2nd share 9th in the NHL (1. New Jersey, 13-0-0)
-The Blues are also 9-3-0 this season when scoring first
-Their 9 wins when scoring first share 6th in the NHL (1. Boston/Vegas, 12)
-They have given up just 10 goals in the first period this season, which shares 3rd in the NHL (1. Dallas, 8)
-The Blues first period goal differential of +7 ranks 5th in the NHL (1. Dallas, +17)
DEFENSEMEN BIG REASON FOR BLUES SUCCESS
-The Blues defensemen have accounted for 18.5% of the Blues’ goals this season, which ranks 6th in the NHL (1. NYI, 24.6%)
-The Blues are 7-0-0 this season when a defenseman scores
-Their 10 goals share the 11th most by a defensive unit in the NHL (1. NYI, 17)
-They have also contributed 4 game-winning goals, which shares 2nd in the NHL (1. Boston, 5)
-Torey Krug and Justin Faulk share the team lead among defensemen with 4 goals, which also shares 9th in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Karlsson, 11)
-Torey Krug’s 3 power play goals share the lead on the Blues (Kyrou) and share 3rd in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Dahlin/Makar, 4)
-Justin Faulk’s 2 game-winning goals share the 3rd most among all defensemen in the NHL (1. Fox/Karlsson, 3)
BLUES CONSISTENT UNDER ARMSTRONG
-Since Doug Armstrong took over the reigns as the Blues General Manager in 2010-11, the Blues have posted a 531-302-99 record
-Their 531 wins since then rank 5th in the NHL (1. PIT, 552)
-The Blues have made the postseason 10 out of the 12 seasons since Armstrong became GM, 1 of 5 teams in the NHL to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (PIT, 12/WSH, 11/BOS & NSH, 10)
-Armstrong is also just 1 of 2 GMs to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (David Poile, 10)
-Since 2010-11, the Blues rank 8th with 2.91 goals per game (1. VGK, 3.22) and rank 3rd in the NHL with 2.57 goals against per game (1. BOS, 2.46)
-The Blues also have the 3rd best penalty kill (82.8%) under Armstrong (1. BOS, 83.4%), and have the 5th best power play (20.8%) in the league (1. WSH, 21.5%)
BLUES STAY STRONG UNDER BERUBE
-Since taking over on Nov. 18, 2018, Berube has led the Blues to a 166-90-36 record (368 points)
-The Blues 368 points since Nov. 18, 2018, rank 10th in the NHL (1. TBL, 399), while their 166 wins also rank 10th (1. TBL, 189)
-Their 3.22 goals per game rank 9th in the NHL under Berube (1. FLA, 3.53)
-The Blues have posted a mark of 2.82 goals against per game under Berube, which ranks 10th in the NHL (1. BOS, 2.51)
-The Blues also share the 3rd best power play in the NHL at 23.8% since Berube became head coach (1. EDM, 26.6%)
-Last season on Dec. 29 vs. EDM, Berube became the 7th different coach in NHL history to win 200 games and play in at least 1,000 career games
Wins as Coach / Games Played
Craig Berube – 241 / 1,054
Randy Carlyle – 475 / 1,055
Bob Pulford – 363 / 1,079
Craig MacTavish – 301 / 1,093
Red Kelly – 278 / 1,316
Brent Sutter – 215 / 1,111
Larry Robinson – 209 / 1,384
BINNINGTON FINDING HIS FORM
-During the Blues’ 7-game win streak, Jordan Binnington posted a 6-0-0 record, with a 2.00 GAA and a .940 SV%
-Since Nov. 10, Binnington’s 6 wins are the most in the NHL
-Since Nov. 10, his .922 SV% ranks 10th in the NHL (1. Murray/Ullmark, .942) (Min. 4 games played)
-Since. Nov. 10, his 2.57 GAA ranks 13th in the NHL (1. Ullmark, 1.76) (Min. 4 games played)
-Binnington is 5-2-0 on the road this season, with a 2.58 GAA, a .924 SV%, and 1 shutout
-His 5 road wins this season share 4th in the NHL (1. Georgiev/Thompson/Shesterkin, 6)
BUCHNEVICH STEPPING UP FOR BLUES
-Pavel Buchnevich recorded 4 points (2g, 2a) on Nov. 19 vs. Anaheim, the 2nd 4-point game of his career (also: Mar. 17, 2021 w/ NYR: 2g, 2a vs. PHI)
-Buchnevich has a 4-game point streak (4g, 3a)
-Buchnevich also has 11 points in his last 8 games (4g, 7a), after posting just 2 points (1g, 1a) in his first 6 games of the season
-Since Nov. 10, Buchnevich shares 4th in the NHL with 11 points (4g, 7a) (1. Crosby/Robertson/Rantanen, 12), and shares 7th in the NHL with 7 assists (1. Karlsson, 10)
-Buchnevich set career-highs with 30 goals, 46 assists, and 76 points last season
VLADDY CONTINUES HIS HOT PLAY FROM LAST SEASON
-Vladimir Tarasenko has 4 assists in his last 6 games
-Tarasenko shares 5th on the Blues with 13 points (4g, 9a) (1. Schenn/Thomas, 17)
-Tarasenko also shares 3rd Blues with 10 even-strength points (4esg, 6esa) (1. Schenn, 13 esp)
-Tarasenko recorded 3 assists on Oct. 19 in Seattle, including 2 in a span of 17 seconds in the first period
-His 2 assists in 17 seconds marked the fastest 2 assists by a Blues player since Brett Hull on Nov. 14, 1996 (12 seconds)
-Tarasenko posted 48 assists and 82 points (34g) last season, both of which were career-highs
-His 82 points last season were the most in a season by a Blue since Pavol Demitra recorded 93 points (36g, 57a) in 2002-03
BRAYDEN IS SCHENN-SATIONAL
-Brayden Schenn shares 1st on the Blues with 17 points this season (6g, 11a) (Thomas)
-He also shares 1st on the Blues with 6 goals and ranks 2nd with 11 assists (1. Thomas, 13)
-Schenn has a 4-game point streak (3g, 2a)
-Schenn has recorded at least 1 point in 13 of the Blues’ 19 games this season
-Schenn recorded 10 points in the first 10 games of the season, matching the 2nd best start of his career in the first 10 games of the season (10 points (6g, 4a) in 2020-21 in first 10 games / 11 points, (8g, 3a) in 2019-20 in first 10 games)
-Schenn has 24 power play goals since the start of the 2019-20 season, which ranks 2nd among all Blues in that span (1. Perron, 26)
THOMAS AND KYROU LOOKING TO BUILD OFF CAREER SEASONS
-Robert Thomas leads the Blues with 13 assists and shares 1st with 17 points (Schenn)
-Jordan Kyrou shares 1st on the Blues with 6 goals (Schenn) and shares 1st with 3 power play goals (Krug)
-Kyrou has a 6-game point streak (2g, 7a), while Thomas has a 4-game point streak (1g, 5a)
-Since Nov. 10, Thomas and Kyrou each have 10 points, which shares 11th in the NHL
-Last season, Thomas set career-highs with 72 games played, 20 goals, 57 assists, and 77 points
-Kyrou also set career-highs last season with 74 games played, 27 goals, 48 assists, and 75 points
-Thomas’s 57 assists last season led the Blues and were the most in a single season by a Blue since Pavol Demitra also recorded 57 assists in 2002-03
-Last season Thomas and Kyrou became the first set of teammates in franchise history to each record 40 assists in the same season prior to turning 24 years old
-They also became the 2nd set of Blues teammates to each record 70+ points in the same season prior to turning 24 (Brian Sutter, 70 points (36g, 34a) & Bernie Federko, 70 points (20g, 50a), in 1978-79)
THE CAPTAIN IS COMING ALIVE
-Ryan O’Reilly has 6 points in his last 7 games (3g, 3a)
-O’Reilly has recorded 7 points (4g, 3a) in his last 9 games after just recording 1 point (1g) in his first 10 games of the season
-O’Reilly scored the Blues’ first shorthanded goal of the season on Nov. 16 at Chicago, the 11th of his career
-Nov. 12 at Vegas was O’Reilly’s 300th game as a Blue
ALEXANDROV CALLED UP TO THE NHL
-The Blues recalled forward Nikita Alexandrov, along with forward Josh Leivo, from the Springfield Thunderbirds on Nov. 9
-Alexandrov, who was drafted by the Blues in the 2nd round (62nd overall) in 2019, made his NHL debut on Nov. 10 vs. San Jose, recording 2 hits and 2 shots in 9:31 TOI
-On Nov. 16 at Chicago, Alexandrov recorded his first career NHL point with an assist
-Alexandrov has posted 8 points (4g, 4a) in 9 games with Springfield this season
-He posted 30 points (12g, 18a) in 67 games with Springfield last season, which was his first full season in the AHL
-He also posted 8 points (2g, 8a) in 18 playoff games last season, helping the Springfield Thunderbirds reach the AHL Calder Cup Finals
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING NOTES:
LAST GAME
Lightning 3 vs. Boston 5
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a season-long, four-game winning streak snapped with a 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday night at AMALIE Arena…The loss moved TBL to 11-7-1 this season, including a 6-3-1 record at home…The loss to BOS was TBL’s first loss against an Atlantic Division rival this season (3-1-0)…After TBL outshot BOS 9-0 to start the contest, Nick Paul opened the scoring with a quick release for his seventh goal of the season with Steven Stamkos and Alex Killorn picking up the assists at the 8:57 mark of the first period…David Krejci beat Andrei Vasilevskiy with a slap shot to tie the game at one with 4:24 left in the opening frame…Nick Foligno and Charlie Coyle scored back-to-back goals 31 seconds apart to put BOS up 3-1 with 14:22 left in the second…Brad Marchand made it 4-1 at the 15:08 mark of the second period…David Pastrnak scored the fourth-straight goal for BOS 3:51 into the third period to make it a 5-1 game…Rudolfs Balcers completed a give-and-go with Pat Maroon just 11 seconds after the Pastrnak goal to make it 5-2 with 15:58 remaining…Paul got his second goal of the game at the 10:38 mark of the third to make it 5-3 with the final goal of the contest…Vasilevskiy made 24 saves on 29 shots against in the defeat.
PP: TBL – 1-3 BOS – 2-4
SOG: TBL – 35 BOS – 29
Attendance: 19,092
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Blues are playing the first of two matchups this season and the only meeting at AMALIE Arena…TBL posted a 1-0-1 record vs. STL last season, including a 1-0-0 record on home ice…Victor Hedman (2-2—4) led all TBL skaters in points vs. STL last season and was tied for the team lead in goals and assists…TBL is 5-4-1 in the last 10 home games vs. STL…TBL is 15-24-5 with three ties all-time vs. STL, including a home record of 11-9-2 with three ties…Nikita Kucherov (3-3—6) has recorded points in four of his five career home games vs. STL…Steven Stamkos (4-6—10) has picked up points in six of his nine career home games vs. STL…Andrei Vasilevskiy is 3-1-1 in five career home starts vs. STL…Martin St. Louis (4-13—17) holds the TBL franchise records for career points and assists vs. STL.
TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS VS. STL
- Martin St. Louis – 17 pts. (4-13—17, 15 GP)
T2. Steven Stamkos – 13 pts. (7-6—13, 16 GP)
T2. Victor Hedman – 13 pts. (2-11—13, 19 GP) - Alex Killorn – 12 pts. (4-8—12, 16 GP)
- Vincent Lecavalier – 10 pts. (3-7—10, 14 GP)
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Tampa Bay is playing the second game of a two-game homestand and will play nine of their 13 games in November at AMALIE Arena…TBL is 2-0-0 against Central Division opponents this season…TBL is 6-3-1 at home this season.
INJURIES
2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 52
Current Injuries:
Anthony Cirelli (Shoulder surgery; Out) 19 Games
Ross Colton (Upper-body injury; Day-to-day) 1 Game
Cal Foote (Lower-body injury; Day-to-day) 5 Games
Cole Koepke (Upper-body injury; Day-to-day) 2 Games
Nick Perbix (Lower-body injury; Day-to-day) 2 Games
TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 12 – Claimed F Rudolfs Balcers off waivers from FLA
Oct. 21 – Assigned F Gabriel Fortier to AHL Syracuse
Oct. 17 – Recalled D Nick Perbix from AHL Syracuse
BETTER CALL PAUL
Tampa Bay forward Nick Paul scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season for his fourth multi-point game of the year Nov. 21 vs. BOS…Paul has scored four goals in his last five games and six goals in his last nine…Paul has picked up points in eight of his last 12 games (7-4—11)…Paul (8-5—13) ranks third in goals and is tied with Brandon Hagel (5-8—13) for the sixth-most points among TBL skaters…Paul leads all TBL skaters with a plus-11 rating…Paul (6-2-8) trails only Nikita Kucherov (7-9—16) for the TBL lead in goals in November…Paul’s 13 points are the most he’s had through the first 19 games of a season in his NHL career…Paul ranks second among TBL forwards in shorthanded time on ice and is tied with Steven Stamkos for the best faceoff win percentage on the team.
TBL FACEOFF WIN PERCENTAGE LEADERS (MIN. 100 FACEOFFS)
T1. Nick Paul – 51.1% (120-of-235)
T1. Steven Stamkos – 51.1% (121-of-237)
- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – 50.5% (93-of-184)
- Brayden Point – 46.2% (109-of-236)
- Vladislav Namestnikov – 37.6% (38-of-101)
THE BIG RIG
Lightning forward Pat Maroon picked up two assists Nov. 21 vs. BOS for his first multi-point game of the season…Maroon (0-4—4) ranks 11th in assists among TBL skaters this season…Maroon leads TBL skaters with 40 penalty minutes this season…Maroon has recorded three assists in his last five games.
STAMMER TIME
Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos picked up one assist Nov. 21 vs. BOS and extended his point streak to five games (3-5—8), tying his longest point streak this season…Stamkos has picked up points in eight of his last 10 contests (3-9—12)…Stamkos has scored a goal in three of his last four games…Stamkos (10-11—21) is tied with Nikita Kucherov (10-18—28) for the team lead in goals, ranks second behind Kucherov in points and ranks fourth in assists among TBL skaters…Stamkos leads all TBL skaters and ranks tied for fifth among NHL skaters with six powerplay goals…Stamkos’s 491 career goals are tied with Jean Ratelle for the 48th-most in NHL history…Stamkos became the second player in TBL history to record 500 assists with the franchise Nov. 15 vs. DAL (also: Martin St. Louis, 588 assists)…Stamkos (491-502—993) has recorded more career goals and points than any player in TBL history.
TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS
- Steven Stamkos – 993 pts. (491-502—993, 941 GP)
- Martin St. Louis – 953 pts. (365-588—953, 972 GP)
- Vincent Lecavalier – 874 pts. (383-491—874, 1,037 GP)
- Nikita Kucherov – 644 pts. (256-388—644, 581 GP)
- Victor Hedman – 613 pts. (135-478—613, 915 GP)
KILLER INSTINCT
Bolts forward Alex Killorn picked up one assist Nov. 21 vs. BOS…Killorn has recorded points in eight of his last 11 games (5-7—12)…Killorn has picked up points in four of his last five contests (2-5—7)…Killorn (6-9—15) ranks fifth in points, is tied with Brayden Point (6-12—18) for the fourth-most goals and is tied with Victor Hedman (1-9—10) for the fifth-most assists among TBL skaters…Killorn’s plus-seven rating is tied with Nick Perbix for the second-best plus/minus among TBL skaters.
RUDY, RUDY, RUDY
Tampa Bay forward Rudolfs Balcers scored his first goal with TBL Nov. 21 vs. BOS…Balcers made his TBL debut Nov. 19 at NSH…Balcers has picked up five points (3-2—5) in 16 games this season between TBL and FLA…Balcers was claimed off waivers by TBL Nov. 12…Balcers is the fourth Latvian-born player to play in a regular season game with TBL in franchise history (also: Kaspars Astashenko, Kristers Gudlevskis, Martins Karsums).
HED RUSH
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman recorded one assist Nov. 21 vs. BOS…Hedman (1-9—10) trails only Mikhail Sergachev (4-14—18) for the TBL lead in points among defensemen…Hedman is tied with Alex Killorn (6-9—15) for the fifth-most assists among TBL skaters.
