Blues aim for 1st in Central as Flyers visit

The St. Louis Blues missed a key opportunity to better their position within the Central Division in their most recent contest, but they won't have to wait long for the chance to bounce back.

Trying to avoid a second straight defeat, the Blues will look to hand the visiting Philadelphia Flyers a fourth consecutive loss on Thursday night.

Third-place St. Louis (43-28-9, 95 points) failed in the attempt to move into a three-way tie for first place in the Central Division -- and better its position for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs -- but did manage to earn a point with its 4-3 shootout loss at Chicago on Wednesday night.

The Blues showed their mettle by rallying from 3-1 down in the third period to level the score.

David Perron got St. Louis within a goal at 12:23 into in the third, and the Blues tied the contest with 38.9 seconds remaining on Tyler Bozak's goal. However, the Blues missed all three attempts in the shootout and now sit one point back of the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators in the division with two games left for each club.

St. Louis is 7-1-2 since March 16.

"We found a way to get one point, and that's what matters," Perron, who has three points in four games, told the Blues' official Twitter account. "If we get four points in (the two remaining games), who knows where that will take us."

Vladimir Tarasenko recorded his 32nd goal of the season and added an assist for St. Louis. He has four goals and two assists over his past six games.

After Jake Allen made 35 saves against Chicago, rookie Jordan Binnington could be in goal for the Blues on Thursday. Binnington, 22-5-1 with a 1.85 goals-against average during a stellar rookie campaign, has a 1.97 GAA during a five-game home winning streak.

In his first career start on Jan. 7, Binnington stopped 25 shots during a 3-0 victory at Philadelphia. Brayden Schenn, Tarasenko and Perron scored in that contest for the Blues, who dropped both meetings with the Flyers in 2017-18.

The Flyers (37-35-8, 82 points) were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend and are limping to the finish while mired in a 1-5-0 rut. After Philadelphia fell behind 2-0 in the first period at Dallas on Tuesday, goals by Oskar Lindblom and Shayne Gostisbehere tied the game before the Stars scored the next four to clinch a playoff spot by handing the Flyers a 6-2 loss.

Philadelphia has yielded 25 goals in the past six games, and two in the first period in each of the past four.

"When you're chasing, it's tough," Gostisbehere told NHL.com. "You're going to get more tired, so I think, for us, it's bearing down a little bit and getting better starts."

Cam Talbot made 24 saves on Tuesday in his second consecutive loss, but Carter Hart could get the start as his often-impressive rookie season nears an end. Hart, though, has a 3.61 goals-against average while losing two of his past three starts.

Hart made 34 saves in the Flyers' home loss to the Blues this season.

Philadelphia star Claude Giroux has 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) over a 19-game stretch.

--Field Level Media