To avoid a potentially nervous Thursday, St Louis can sew up a spot with a win tonight. In truth these last three losses have hardly been poor showings, though the shootout loss at Seattle on Saturday still stings a bit. Remember, 12 straight wins preceded, though Jim Montgomery is apparently going to trust Joel Hofer in goal tonight instead of Jordan Binnington, as Hofer had won five straight starts before last Monday's 3-1 loss at Winnipeg, and he had a 1.81 GAA in March. To Utah's credit it has played hard on this season-ending road trip and won the last two at Dallas and Nashville, but St Louis rides an 11-game win streak at Enterprise Center into tonight. Play Blues on Puck Line

The Utah Hockey Club is long eliminated from playoff contention, and Tuesday will be the second of a back-to-back. The Blues would clinch a wild-card spot with a victory in their RS finale. How can this set up any better? St. Louis enters on a three-game overall skid but hasn't lost at home since Feb. 22. If the Blues can't win this, they don't deserve to play extra hockey (but still could back in).