The depleted St. Louis Blues will try to muster a healthier offense when they host the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
The Blues put just 15 shots on goal during their 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. They had just one shot on goal during the final 11:28 of the game and failed to generate a scoring chance while goaltender Joel Hofer was pulled for an extra attacker.
“I think we were just a little bit sloppy with the puck,” Blues forward Brandon Saad said. “They do a good job of clogging up the neutral zone. They’ve got a lot of speed and skill going the other way, so I think we just got stubborn with it and didn’t get pucks in deep.”
Blues coach Drew Bannister moved Pavel Buchnevich back to the wing during Friday’s practice after an unproductive 13-game trial at center. Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou flanked center Brayden Schenn on the new No. 1 line.
“(Buchnevich) does put a lot of pressure on himself, especially offensively,” Bannister said. “But defensively, I think he’s played very well for us. He saw a lot of tough matchups playing against other teams’ top lines. He’s done a real good job, but I think the frustration for him is he wants to contribute offensively all the time, too.”
Injuries have taken a heavy toll on the Blues, who have lost four of their last six games. Top center Robert Thomas likely will be sidelined into December with a broken ankle.
Offensive-minded Torey Krug is out for the season after undergoing offseason ankle surgery, and fellow defensemen Nick Leddy and Philip Broberg are sidelined by lower-body injuries.
After starting the season 9-3-0, Washington dropped a 4-2 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
“We were not good to start,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “We underestimated how competitive the game was going to be in the first 20 minutes. Then we got caught up in the second and figured it out. So we’re chasing the game from the start.”
Playing catch-up was made more difficult by the team’s ongoing struggle with the man advantage. The Capitals have just four power-play goals, and their 8.7 conversion rate is the worst in the league.
“We just have to find a way to continue to work at it,” Carbery said. “We going to have to figure out a mix of who those players are, what the options that best suit those players and their skillsets. We’re still working our way through that.”
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin saw his five-game goal-scoring streak end. Ovechkin has a team-leading eight goals this season to boost his career total to 861, just 34 shy of breaking Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894.
Washington defenseman Jakob Chychrun is close to returning from his upper-body injury. He did not play Friday and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Since Charlie Lindgren started in goal for Washington against Pittsburgh, the Capitals likely will go back to Logan Thompson for Saturday’s game. After starting Hofer on Thursday, the Blues probably will counter with Jordan Binnington on Saturday.
