GAME DAY: at St. Louis
Jackets final road trip begins in Arch City
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Columbus Blue Jackets vs. St. Louis Blues 
WATCH: FOX Sports Ohio (HD) | LISTEN: CD102.5 FM & BlueJackets.com
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GAME DAY ON THE ROAD presented by:
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| For a team that has its spot locked up in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the St. Louis Blues come in to tonight’s final meeting with the Blue Jackets with a lot to play for. The Blues will clinch the Central Division crown with two points against Columbus, something they have not done in over a decade. It’s quite a statement, especially considering the recent dominance of the Detroit Red Wings in the division. St. Louis can also secure the No. 1 seed in the conference with a win tonight.
The task at hand is a big one for the Blue Jackets, who have won two straight prior to tonight over playoff-bound opponents Detroit and the Florida Panthers. The Blues have won four of the five meetings this season, with the lone Blue Jackets win coming on Feb. 14 at Nationwide Arena – a game that came right down to the wire when a David Perron goal was disallowed due to a glove motion with less than a second on the clock. Aside from that game, the Blues have had the upper hand in each contest including a recent 4-1 win (Mar. 10) at the Scottrade Center. Defeating the Blues on their home ice has only occurred eight times this season, as they own the NHL’s top home record at 30-4-4. In their last outing, the Blues rallied from a two-goal deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center, but eventually fell 4-3 in a shootout. St. Louis head coach Ken Hitchcock has not wavered from his strategy of using both goaltenders – each having some of the top statistics in the league. Despite Brian Elliot riding a streak of three straight shutouts, Hitchcock started Jaroslav Halak in Chicago, and is likely to use Elliot against the Blue Jackets tonight. The storyline for the Blues is health: for the first time in over two years, St. Louis will ice its full roster tonight. They got Alex Steen back from a concussion last week, and welcome Andy McDonald (shoulder) and Matt D’Agostini (upper body) back to the lineup this evening.
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