Blues 6 - 1 Blue Jackets
Final
  for this game

Blues make a stop in Columbus

Apr 3, 2011 - 3:34 PM (Sports Network) - A pair of Central Division rivals will play for pride this evening in Columbus, as the Blue Jackets welcome the St. Louis Blues to Nationwide Arena.

The Blue Jackets and Blues, who have 81 and 80 points on the season, respectively, have been officially eliminated from playoff contention, but St. Louis has a chance to win the season series with Columbus tonight.

The Blues have won three out of five encounters with Columbus, although St. Louis claimed the last two decisions after regulation. All told, the Blues have won six of 10 in this series and they have taken two of the last three encounters in Ohio.

St. Louis last played on Friday, when it was dealt a 3-2 regulation loss by Jarome Iginla and the visiting Calgary Flames. Iginla's goal with 5:03 to play -- his second tally of the game -- was not only the game-winner, but also represented the 1,000th point of his career.

David Backes had a goal and an assist while Matt D'Agostini also scored for the Blues, who had won three of four prior to Friday's setback. Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves in defeat.

St. Louis led the game by a 2-0 score at one point, but allowed the Flames to score the contest's final three goals.

"Obviously we're not happy with how things turned out," said Backes. "It's a learning experience and we have to figure out how to buckle down when we have the lead."

Columbus also held a lead in the third period of Friday's game against visiting Chicago, but the Blackhawks rallied for a 4-3 shootout win.

The Blue Jackets had taken a 3-2 edge on Samuel Pahlsson's goal with 6:38 left in regulation, but Bryan Bickell notched the equalizer just 1:35 later. After a scoreless overtime session, Viktor Stalberg scored the lone goal of the shootout to lift the Blackhawks to the victory at Nationwide Arena.

"We'll work on the shootout part but we don't back off in overtime," said Columbus head coach Scott Arniel. "These guys learn how to play in pressure packed situations. It's unfortunate we've lost so many shootout games, but we've done a great job of learning how to play under pressure."

Anton Stralman had three assists in the loss, while Mathieu Garon finished the game with 26 stops for Columbus, which has dropped two straight and six of seven.

Garon could also start tonight's game, as Steve Mason was sidelined Friday with a lower body injury, forcing David LeNeveu to serve as the backup. Mason is questionable for this evening.

Columbus will be without defenseman Jan Hejda for the next two games after he was suspended for elbowing Chicago's Marcus Kruger in the head on Friday.

Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury and is questionable for today. Nash is leading Columbus in both goals (32) and assists (34) this season.

Columbus is completing a brief two-game homestand today and is 17-17-5 as the host this year. The Blues are just 14-20-5 on the road in 2010-11.






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