Allen in net again as Blues host Avalanche (Mar 15, 2018)
ST. LOUIS -- Jake Allen figures to continue to handle the St. Louis goalie duties as the Blues prepare to host the Colorado Avalanche in a crucial Central Division matchup on Thursday night.
Carter Hutton was not on the ice during the Blues' practice Wednesday after his neck issues flared up again. He was scheduled to see a specialist Wednesday afternoon.
"We were expecting that Carter was gonna be able to practice today," Blues coach Mike Yeo told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "(Hutton) woke up this morning and was starting to have some troubles again. So he'll have an appointment ... and we'll see what we find from that."
Hutton has been dealing with the neck issue since suffering an injury during the morning skate before the Blues' March 8 game at San Jose.
The Blues have not made a roster move, but it is possible that Ville Husso could be recalled from San Antonio (AHL). Husso served as Allen's back-up in Los Angeles and Anaheim as the Blues finished a west coast swing on Monday night.
St. Louis finished the trip with a pair of victories. The Blues have 79 points, three back of the Avalanche for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Both teams have played 69 games.
The Blues could be getting defenseman Joel Edmundson on Thursday. Edmundson has missed five weeks with a broken right forearm and has been cleared to play by team doctors.
"We're hopeful, for sure," Yeo told the Post-Dispatch. "Good practice for him today. ... 'Edy' adds a lot for our group. Big physical presence, guy that's really hard to play against. So hopefully he's in tomorrow and if not then we're gonna have to find a way to make up for those minutes."
The Blues have won four straight against the Avalanche, including all three meetings this season. St. Louis is 7-0-1 against Colorado since the beginning of the 2015-16 season.
Colorado has won its last two and is 5-0-3 since Feb. 26.
Avalanche rookie forward J.T. Compher is coming off his first career multi-goal game in Colorado's 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
"It's been a little bit since I was had been able to get on the scoreboard," Compher told NHL.com. "The first one, great play by (David Warsofsky) to get me the puck and both my linemates were driving to the net kind of threw the goalie off. And, we have talked about the power play, getting pucks to the net and bodies to the net, and the second one was just a result of that."
The Avalanche hope to change their fortunes against the Blues.
"St. Louis is another building that hasn't been great to us, it's been tough to win in and we got to find a way to do it," Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie told NHL.com. "So, we will be just as excited and ready to go for that one."
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told NHL.com that this current two-game road trip is a test.
"To be able to carve out points, especially on the road, I think is real important," Bednar said. "And our guys are coming together as a group, and we like what we are seeing so hopefully we keep this thing rolling."
