Penguins aim to continue ascent in clash vs. Blues

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on a nice little roll.

Pittsburgh is 5-1-1 in its past seven games and is coming of a 7-0 pasting of the host New York Islanders on Wednesday.

The Penguins, however, have not been able to sustain runs like these this season because of inconsistency. They'll look to put forth a strong performance on Saturday when they host the St. Louis Blues.

The Penguins are looking at three home games in four nights, and a sweep conceivably could elevate them into a wild-card spot.

They will need momentum and consistency on their side.

"These games after (the) Christmas (break), you don't always know what you're going to get," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "Last year at this time, we weren't very good coming out of the break.

"(Wednesday) was a very different experience for us. We'll take it. These are important points for us. We've got to continue to build on it."

It's unclear how the Penguins will handle their goaltenders with back-to-back games Saturday against St. Louis and Sunday in a rematch against the Islanders.

No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry earned his NHL co-leading fourth shutout Wednesday against the Islanders. That was his first start since Dec. 16, as he had struggled some and Pittsburgh rode the hot hand with backup Alex Nedeljkovic for three games in a row.

"The past week that I wasn't playing, (Nedeljkovic) was doing a great job. He was getting us lots of points," Jarry said. "When we have both goalies doing that, I think it's great for our team."

St. Louis, meanwhile, seems likely to go with Joel Hofer in net versus Pittsburgh after Jordan Binnington made 21 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.

Hofer has made career highs in saves twice in the past week-plus, including stopping 39 of 40 shots Wednesday in the Blues' 2-1 win against Dallas in Wednesday.

"Outstanding from the beginning right to the end," St. Louis interim coach Drew Bannister said of Hofer.

The Blues had won five of six before Friday's setback. Their only two losses in Bannister's seven games have come when St. Louis mustered just one goal.

Regardless of the coaching change, St. Louis' power play continues to be an anchor around the team's neck. The Blues were 0-for-4 with a man-advantage against Colorado and rank last in the NHL with a conversion rate of 10.7 percent.

St. Louis dropped the hard-luck decision after it was unable to respond to Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews' goal with 2:54 remaining in the third period. Defenseman Colton Parayko said the Blues can feel pretty good about the tight game.

"We played a good game, gave ourselves a chance," Parayko told Bally Sports Midwest. "A tough loss, but I think it's something we can kind of maybe build on and go into Pittsburgh (Saturday) and keep building and get better."

The Blues may be without defenseman Justin Faulk, who left Friday's game because of a lower-body injury. Faulk was tripped to the ice late in the third period and was helped to the locker room. He remained in St. Louis for evaluation.

—Field Level Media