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Blue Jackets host Blues in home-and-home finale

Mar 9, 2011 - 4:18 PM (Sports Network) - Wins have been hard to come by as of late for the Blues and Blue Jackets, but it is St. Louis that can pick up a second straight victory this evening against hosting Columbus. The two clubs wrap a home-and-home set tonight at Nationwide Arena.

The Blues took the opener of this set on Monday, 5-4, in a shootout. The victory snapped St. Louis' four-game losing streak and was just its second win in nine games, while Columbus went 0-3-2 on its road trip to match its longest losing streak of the season.

Due to recent struggles, the Blue Jackets are now seven points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blues are three points behind Columbus in the standings.

"It's tough," said Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash, who had two assists versus the Blues. "It's good to get one, but we need two [points]."

Alexander Steen had the decisive shootout tally in Monday's meeting at Scottrade Center, capping a high-scoring contest that featured six goals in the first period. Jakub Voracek, Matt Calvert and Fedor Tyutin all scored in the opening frame for Columbus, while Patrik Berglund, Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie countered for St. Louis.

McDonald ended with two goals and Ben Bishop stopped 19-of-20 shots faced through overtime after relieving Ty Conklin, who yielded three goals on eight shots while failing to make it out of the first period.

"It was awesome, another sellout," said Bishop. "Fans continue to support us even though we're where we are. It makes it a lot of fun for us to go out there and play. It was one of the most fun times I've had winning the shootout in front of that crowd."

Bishop won't get a chance to play in front of the Blues faithful again after a stop in Columbus, as he was assigned to Peoria of the American Hockey League on Tuesday with Jaroslav Halak coming off injured reserve.

Halak hasn't played since Feb. 14 due to a right hand injury and is 2-2-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average in his career versus the Blue Jackets. He is set to play tonight and will try to slow down Calvert. The rookie winger has eight goals in his last 10 games to give him 11 in 25 contests.

Steve Mason got the call for the Blue Jackets on Monday and made 32 saves, falling to 4-5-2 with a 2.97 GAA against the Blues.

Columbus center Derick Brassard returned to practice on Tuesday and has missed the last eight games with a hand injury. He is a game-time decision for this game and has 14 goals and 25 assists this season.

For the Blues, both Berglund and T.J. Hensick suffered lower-body injuries versus Columbus and did not practice on Tuesday. Both are day-to-day.

The Blue Jackets and Blues have split four meetings so far this year, but Columbus picked up an 8-1 victory in the only other matchup so far at Nationwide Arena back on Nov. 10. St. Louis has lost three of four and eight of its last 12 at Columbus.