If the St. Louis Blues beat the host Florida Panthers on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla., it would be their first three-win road trip of the season.
So far, the Blues are 2-1 on this trip, losing to the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 before beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 and the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2.
Granted, there was a one-week break between the wins over the Ducks and Jackets, but it's still a road trip for the Blues, who got one goal and two assists from Vladimir Tarasenko in the victory over Columbus.
The Blues are getting healthier as forward Robert Thomas returned against Columbus after missing seven games due to a shoulder injury.
St. Louis is expected to start 25-year-old backup goalie Jordan Binnington against the Panthers. Binnington, who was St. Louis' third-round pick in 2011, has won two games in a row, stopping 30 of 33 shots during that span.
For the season, he has been remarkable, posting a 6-1-1 record with a .922 save percentage and a 1.86 goals-against average.
The Chicago Blackhawks will look to increase their season-high winning streak to five games in a row when they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.
Chicago (20-24-9) has won four straight games by a margin of 22-13. The scoring binge has renewed hopes for a second-half surge and a possible postseason appearance.
Such talk might have seemed far-fetched only a few weeks ago, but the Blackhawks believe a turnaround is possible. The teams' early-season struggles led to the dismissal of Joel Quenneville, who was replaced by Jeremy Colliton.
As Chicago is surging, Edmonton (23-24-5) is slumping. The Oilers are winless in their last five games (0-3-2) and have given up at least three goals in each of those contests.
The club would be in significantly worse shape if not for superstar center Connor McDavid, who has tallied 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists) in 51 games this season. The 22-year-old is on pace for his third consecutive 100-point season.
Twelfth-year veteran Patrick Kane, who is riding an 11-game point streak, leads the team with 76 points (31 goals, 45 assists) in 52 games.
Toews is next with 51 points (23 goals, 28 assists) in 53 contests. Alex DeBrincat has 47 points (26 goals, 21 assists) and enters Tuesday's matchup on a five-game point streak.
This is the third and final meeting of the regular season between the teams. The Oilers have won the first two games, including a 2-1 overtime win Oct. 28 in Chicago and a 4-0 win Nov. 1 on their home ice.
Edmonton is 12-13-1 at home this season. Chicago is 10-14-3 on the road.
