Final
Blues seek rebound effort against Sabres
Nov 19, 2013 - 4:04 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The St. Louis Blues will try to rebound from a disappointing start to a three-game road trip when they visit the Buffalo Sabres in Tuesday's clash at First Niagara Center.St. Louis recently went 4-0-1 during a five-game homestand, but the Blues couldn't carry that success onto the road, as they dropped a 4-1 decision Sunday in Washington. The loss dropped the club to 4-2-1 on the road this season compared to a stellar 9-1-2 mark on home ice.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice for the Capitals on Sunday, tying Alexander Steen of the Blues for the NHL lead in goals. Steen, who has 17 goals in 19 games this season, also had a 13-game point streak snapped in the loss against Washington.
The Blues fired 47 shots at Washington goaltender Braden Holtby, but only Vladimir Sobotka was able to score for St. Louis, which had won five of six coming into the game.
Jaroslav Halak was pulled less than 16 minutes into the game after allowing three goals on six shots. Brian Elliott stopped 13 shots the rest of the way.
"We got great effort from Sobotka's line. That line was outstanding," said Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock.
St. Louis played Sunday without Patrik Berglund, as an upper-body injury caused the forward's streak of 171 consecutive games played come to an end. Berglund is questionable for Tuesday's game.
The Blues will close their swing on Thursday when they visit the Boston Bruins.
Buffalo, meanwhile, is set to play its third game of the season under Ted Nolan after going 1-1-0 in the interim head coach's first two outings.
Nolan began his second stint as Buffalo head coach after Ron Rolston was fired from the position as part of an organizational shake-up that also saw general manager Darcy Regier lose his job.
Nolan, who had previously coached the Sabres from 1995-97, led the Sabres to a 3-1 win over visiting Toronto on Friday, but Buffalo dropped the back end of the home-and-home series on Saturday. James van Riemsdyk scored twice to lead the Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory in the second meeting.
Jamie McBain and Tyler Ennis scored for the Sabres on Saturday, while Jhonas Enroth gave up all four goals on 22 shots.
Buffalo enters Tuesday with an NHL-low 11 points on the season and the club is just 2-8-1 on home ice.
The Blues have dominated Buffalo in recent seasons, taking 12 of the past 14 meetings in this series. The Sabres have dropped seven of their past eight home games versus St. Louis.
- ST. LOUIS: 4
BUFFALO: 1
Final
Nov 19 9:28 PM - ST. LOUIS: 3
BUFFALO: 1
End of 2nd
Nov 19 8:38 PM - ST. LOUIS: 2
BUFFALO: 1
End of 1st
Nov 19 7:45 PM - ST. LOUIS: 0
BUFFALO: 0
1st Period - 20:00
Nov 19 7:08 PM
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