Blues, Devils both on the rise ahead of rematch

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The St. Louis Blues expect winger Jordan Kyrou to be one of the cornerstone players for their ongoing rebuild.

Recently he has shown why. Kyrou will bring a four-game goal-scoring streak into Tuesday's game against the visiting New Jersey Devils.

After scoring just two goals in a span of 11 games, Kyrou has scored six in his last seven games.

"When he's getting the puck in a scoring area, he's looking to shoot, he's not looking to pass," Blues center Robert Thomas said. "When he's doing that, it's tough. Goalies don't have time to get ready for a shot, and he's putting it in the right spots."

Kyrou has improved his overall play. He is plus-4 in 32 games this season after finishing minus-12 last season and minus-38 two seasons ago.

"I think he's just staying with it," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "I don't see highs and lows in his body language. He's just on to the next shift, and I think he's developing a real maturity mentally and to his physical game."

The Blues have gone 6-2-2 since Montgomery replaced Drew Bannister as head coach. That upturn included a 3-0 victory over the Devils on Nov. 27 in Newark, N.J.

Dylan Holloway scored twice for the Blues in that victory and Thomas scored once. Pavel Buchnevich suffered a minor lower-body in that game, but he has come back to produce six points in his last six games.

Jordan Binnington made 32 saves to earn the shutout over the Devils and he is the likely starter Tuesday, since backup Joel Hofer started Sunday as St. Louis defeated the New York Rangers 3-2.

Goaltender Jakob Markstrom has started three straight games for Devils since Jake Allen suffered an injury on Dec. 8 against Colorado. Markstrom allowed three goals on 20 shots during the earlier loss to the Blues.

Allen skated with the Devils on Monday and was cleared to play on the team's two-game road trip.

The Devils are 4-1-1 in their last six games. They scored four times in the third period Saturday during their 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe urged the team to play more tenaciously in the final 20 minutes and the Devils responded.

"Just challenged the guys in the second (intermission) to be exactly that, a little more determined and competitive," Keefe said.

"When we were trying to complicate things and we were turning pucks over, we just kept feeding (the Blackhawks)," said winger Jesper Bratt, who earned an assist on two of the goals.

"So, I think going into the third, we knew we needed a goal. It wasn't really going to come pretty. It was going to come from some battles."

Bratt has three goals and 10 assists in the eight games since the Blues shut out the Devils. On the other hand, Nico Hischier failed to register a point in five straight games before scoring against the Blackhawks.

--Field Level Media