Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

St. Louis Blues (5-6-3) at Atlanta Thrashers (6-6-1), 5 p.m.

Goals have been hard to come by for the Blues over their current losing streak. Facing a Thrashers club that just allowed a season-high six goals last night might help them break out of that slump.

St. Louis aims to avoid a fifth straight loss this evening in a matchup with Atlanta at Philips Arena.

The Blues have scored just twice over their current four-game losing streak, the club's longest skid since it dropped five straight from December 10-18, 2008.

St. Louis was shut out in the first two games of its skid, then dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Calgary on Thursday. The Blues were able to earn another point last night, falling 2-1 in a shootout to Philadelphia.

T.J. Oshie scored in regulation, while Chris Mason made 35 saves. However, Mason was beaten twice in the shootout.

"We would have liked a better outcome but I think we're happy with the point," Mason said.

The Blues were without Andy McDonald for a second straight game because of a head/neck injury, while Carlo Colaiacovo has missed five games in a row due to illness.

St. Louis, which is tied with Carolina for the second-fewest goals scored this year with just 31, fell to 3-1-2 on the road. The Blues begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday versus Vancouver.

First, they hope to take advantage of a Thrashers club that has lost six of its past eight (2-5-1) and was bested by the Islanders, 6-3, on Saturday. Ondrej Pavelec started in net, but allowed five goals on 36 shots. Johan Hedberg gave up a goal on nine shots in relief.

"It was a good old fashioned whooping tonight," said Atlanta coach John Anderson. "We had three or four guys show up and no one else did. It's embarrassing."

Christoph Schubert, Zach Bogosian and Pavel Kubina each lit the lamp for the Thrashers, who remain without superstar Ilya Kovalchuk because of a broken foot suffered in late October.

Atlanta plays six of its next seven games at home, where it hasn't won since its season opener on October 3. The club has dropped four straight as the host since, getting outscored 17-13.

The Thrashers have won three of their last four versus the Blues, but lost 4-2 when the clubs last met in Atlanta on November 30, 2008.