early bird stl@pitt

[Aces High]

St. Louis (31-17-8-5) at Pittsburgh (24-27-4-5)

Game Info: 3:00 pm ET, Sat Feb 22, 2003
TV: KPLR, SNP


With the playoffs a little more than one month away, goaltending remains a question for the St. Louis Blues.

Brent Johnson figures to be back in net when the Blues meet Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins for the only time this season.

Fred Brathwaite allowed three goals on five shots before being pulled at 2:16 of the second period Thursday in a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Johnson stopped eight of nine shots the rest of the game.

It was the eighth time this season that coach Joel Quenneville had to pull a goaltender for a reason other than injury. St. Louis is rumored to be interested in Phoenix goalie Sean Burke.

``They're here and we're expecting much more from them,'' Quenneville said of Johnson and Brathwaite. ``They should be expecting much more from themselves.''

Brathwaite was making his second consecutive start in place of Johnson, who has allowed eight goals in his last 122 minutes over a three-game span.

The Blues, who have one win in their last four games (1-2-0-1), have seen their lead in the Central Division drop to only one point over the Detroit Red Wings.

While goaltending remains a concern for St. Louis, left wing Keith Tkachuk is taking care of the offense. Tkachuk is among the league's hottest players with 11 goals and 18 points in his last 10 games.

Pittsburgh is trying to remain in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but needs to put a win streak together to have any chance.

After consecutive victories over New Jersey and Edmonton, the Penguins had the misfortune of facing the red-hot Avalanche on Thursday and Colorado came away with a 5-2 victory.

Rookie Tomas Surovy and Michal Rozsival scored for Pittsburgh, which is 2-3 since trading star right wing Alexei Kovalev to the New York Rangers as part of an eight-player deal.

Not surprisingly, Lemieux, the NHL's leading scorer, has no points in those three losses. He has two goals and two assists in two wins without Kovalev.


STANDINGS: Blues - 75 points, 1st place, Central Division. Penguins - 57 points, 5th place, 23 PB, Atlantic Division.


TEAM LEADERS: Blues - Tkachuk, 28 goals; Doug Weight, 45 assists; Pavol Demitra, 65 points; Reed Low, 151 PIM. Penguins - Lemieux, 22 goals, 55 assists and 77 points; Steve McKenna, 94 PIM.


SPECIAL TEAMS (through Feb. 20): Blues - Power play: 20.4 percent (64 for 314), 4th in NHL. Penalty killing: 81.5 percent (243 for 298), 25th. Penguins - Power play: 21.0 percent (57 for 271), 3rd. Penalty killing: 83.8 percent (223 for 266), 13th.


GOALTENDERS: Blues - Johnson (14-9-4, 2 SO, 2.41 GAA); Brathwaite (12-9-4, 2, 2.66). Penguins - Johan Hedberg (14-13-3, 1, 2.82); Sebastien Caron (4-6-1, 2, 2.31).


2001-02 SEASON SERIES: Blues, 2-0.


LAST MEETING: Jan. 12, 2002; Blues, 4-1. At Pittsburgh, Scott Mellanby had two goals, and Cory Stillman and Tkachuk scored less than two minutes apart in the third period to lead St. Louis.


ROAD/HOME RECORDS
Blues - 15-9-5-2 on the road; Penguins - 13-13-1-2 at home.

 

[Aces High]

St. Louis Blues (31-17-8-5) at Pittsburgh Penguins (24-27-4-5), 3 p.m.


(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will have yet another Western Conference power on their hands today when they invite the St. Louis Blues to the Igloo.

The Pens, fighting to stay within range of a playoff berth in the East, dropped a 5-2 home decision to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, thus ending their two-game winning streak. Michal Rozsival and Tomas Surovy each scored for Pittsburgh, which suffered its seventh loss in its last 10 tries. Johan Hedberg stopped 25 of the 30 shots he faced.

Mario Lemieux had recorded four points in his previous two games but was kept off the scoresheet Thursday. No. 66 remains the league's top scorer, with 77 points (22g, 55a).

Pittsburgh, which fell to 13-13-1-2 on home ice, will play the third portion of a five-game Igloo set. The Pens will welcome New Jersey to town on Sunday.

St. Louis, meanwhile, hopes to break out of a 1-2-0-1 funk and rebound from Thursday's 4-2 loss to the surging Canucks. Keith Tkachuk recorded a goal and an assist, and Cory Stillman tallied as well, but it wasn't enough to overcome a 3-0 deficit. Fred Brathwaite allowed three goals on five shots before being pulled in favor of Brent Johnson in the second period.

Tkachuk extended his points streak to 10 games, which is the longest current run in the NHL. He has contributed 11 goals and seven assists during the tear and leads the team with 28 tallies overall.

The Blues, who enter today's action a point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings atop the Central Division, will visit Minnesota on Sunday to wrap up a brief road trip. They are 2-0-2 in their last four road games.

St. Louis has won two straight and three of the last four meetings with Pittsburgh, but is just 1-9-1 in its last 11 trips to the Steel City.

 

[Aces High]

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The St. Louis Blues try to extend their road unbeaten streak to five games on Saturday when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins, who continue a five-game homestand at Mellon Arena.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last four road games (2-0-2) and have lost just twice in their last 10 away games. They have the fifth-best road record in the league at 15-9-5-2.

St. Louis completed a 1-2-0-1 homestand with a 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Keith Tkachuk and Cory Stillman each had a goal and an assist and Blues backup goaltender Fred Braithwaite gave up three goals before he was replaced by Brent Johnson early in the second period.

St. Louis has been hampered by injuries as defenseman Chris Pronger, center Doug Weight and left wing Martin Rucinsky all are sidelined. Defenseman Bryce Salvador is questionable for Saturday due to an injured shoulder.

Pittsburgh fell to 1-1-0-0 on its homestand with a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Defenseman Michal Rozsival and rookie Tomas Surovy each scored for the Penguins, who failed to win consecutive home games for the first time since late December.

Pittsburgh has lost four of their last five home games to fall to 13-13-1-2 at Mellon Arena this season.

St. Louis is trying to win consecutive visits to Pittsburgh for the first time in nearly 10 years. The Blues lost six straight visits to Mellon Arena before winning here last season.

 

[Aces High]

St. Louis Blues (31-17-8-5) at Pittsburgh Penguins (24-27-4-5)

2002-03 Head-to-head record First meeting
2001-02 Head-to-head record St. Louis 2-0 (1-0 at StL; 1-0 at Pit)
2000-01 Head-to-head record Tied 1-1 (Pit 0-1 at StL; 1-0 at Home)
1999-00 Head-to-head record Pittsburgh 1-0 (0-0 at StL; 1-0 at Pit)
Home Record St. Louis 16-8-3-3; Pittsburgh 13-13-1-2
Away Record St. Louis 15-9-5-2; Pittsburgh 11-14-3-3
Record vs. Atlantic Division St. Louis 3-1-1-3
Record vs. Central Division Pittsburgh 1-2-0-0
Record vs. Eastern Conference St. Louis 13-2-2-3
Record vs. Western Conference Pittsburgh 4-7-1-1


2001-2002 Meetings
10/20 - St. Louis, 2-1 ot (at StL)
01/12 - St. Louis, 4-1 (at Pit)

2000-2001 Meetings
11/16 - St. Louis, 4-3 (at StL)
03/31 - Pittsburgh, 5-3 (at Pit)


Game Notes
Note - St. Louis has won two straight and three of the last four meetings.
Note - Pittsburgh has won five of eight and eight of the last 12 meetings.
Note - St. Louis snapped a 10-game series road winless streak on 01/12/02.
Note - St. Louis is 1-9-1 in its last 11 at Pittsburgh.
Note - Pittsburgh has lost two straight at St. Louis.
Note - Pittsburgh is 2-12-2 in its last 16 at St. Louis.
Note - St. Louis is 5-2-2-1 in its last 10 games.
Note - St. Louis is unbeaten (2-0-2) in its last four road games.
Note - St. Louis is 12-3-1-1 in Saturday games this season.
Note - Pittsburgh has lost seven of its last 10 games.
Note - Pittsburgh has lost four of its last five home games.


St. Louis last five games Pittsburgh last five games

02/11 - W at Buffalo, 3-2 02/12 - L vs. Ottawa, 0-3
02/13 - L vs. Philadelphia, 3-4 ot 02/14 - L at NY Rangers, 0-1
02/15 - L vs. Phoenix, 3-5 02/15 - W at New Jersey, 4-1
02/17 - W vs. Calgary, 5-3 02/18 - W vs. Edmonton, 4-3 ot
02/20 - L vs. Vancouver, 2-4 02/20 - L vs. Colorado, 2-5