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Leafs will be out to regain momentum Saturday night and the St. Louis Blues would like to start some momentum of their own.The Maple Leafs (6-2-0) had a five-game winning streak end Thursday night with a 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and will be trying to resume winning when they host the Blues (1-3-2).“We’re obviously (upset) and disappointed that we didn’t get the result New York Islanders T-Shirts Authentic ,” said Maple Leafs center John Tavares, who took seven shots Thursday. “It’s a good learning opportunity and it’s a good test now to try to find that momentum back and get back in the win column.”Article continues below ...The Blues have lost twice in overtime and could not hold third-period leads three times. The Montreal Canadiens defeated them 3-2 Wednesday on Brendan Gallagher’s goal at 19:49 of the third period.“Bottom line, we’re faced with some adversity right now,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. “For me, this is when we’ll really see what people have to bring. This is when you really say something to your teammates. This is when you really show your character.“Obviously, I’ve got to do a better job as head coach, making sure we’re prepared to play, making sure we’re ready to play the right way. Making sure that guys who aren’t, are held accountable. And making sure that we get the right guys on the ice.”St. Louis can take some encouragement knowing that both Toronto losses came at home.The game will also be a homecoming for former Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak, who signed as a free agent with the Blues on July 1. He has one goal and one assist in six games this season.“He’s a real good hockey player, real good hockey sense, real good faceoff guy, good in the power play New York Islanders Hoodies Authentic ,” Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said Friday at practice. “I thought his last year here was his best in the three years that I had him and obviously he’ll be an important part for them.”Bozak played between Pat Maroon and Alexander Steen for the first time in Montreal and that line could remain intact for the game Saturday. They line combined for eight shots on goal.In a Thursday practice in Toronto, two-time All-Star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester was used on the fourth pairing with Jakub Jerabek, leading to speculation that he might not play against the Maple Leafs.“Obviously, we’re considering everything right now,” Yeo said. “Again, the results that we’re getting, we have to consider everything.”Bouwmeester, 35, was limited to 35 games last season because of a fractured ankle and a hip injury that resulted in surgery.The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, had more than a winning streak stopped Thursday. Center Auston Matthews had at least two points in each of the first seven games until Thursday when the Maple Leafs were shut out for the first time this season. He has 10 goals and six assists despite being without a goal in his past two games.One of the keys to the Penguins’ success Thursday was that they kept the Maple Leafs on the outside, limiting close-in chances so that many of Toronto’s 38 shots (Pittsburgh took 39) were not dangerous.“I think there are a lot of things that we can improve on,” Matthews said. “It seems like they were just calm New York Islanders Hats Authentic , cool, collected out there. They didn’t run around, they just played smart and didn’t force anything and made plays. It seemed like they had us running around quite a bit.”The Maple Leafs were in it until the Penguins scored twice on an empty net.“I think we’ve got to do a little better just sustaining some of the momentum we create,” Tavares said. The Buffalo Sabres and the Boston Bruins both stumbled coming out of the Christmas break on Thursday.The Sabres lost 4-1 to the Blues in St. Louis and the Bruins lost 5-2 to the visiting New Jersey Devils.They will be trying to find their grooves Saturday night in Buffalo.Article continues below ...“It’s a team we’re chasing right now,” Bruins defenseman Torey Krug told reporters Friday after practice. “We’ve had a lot of tough games against them, close games. I think they’ve been on the winning side of few more of them than us lately. So, it’s a big match.”The Sabres (21-12-5) have a three-point lead over the Bruins (20-14-4).“You have this next little bit here where you’re still in that midpoint of the season and then all of a sudden it gets to be the stretch run,” Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo said after practice Friday. “That’s when teams are fighting, they’re really clawing for every point. But points now are the same as points then.Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy will miss the game Saturday with a lower-body injury. They could also be without left winger Brad Marchand, who played Thursday despite being ill and then took a stick to the chest and let the game. Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was not optimistic about his chances to play.Boston forward David Backes has been suspended three games for his check to the head of New Jersey Devils forward Blake Coleman during Thursday’s game, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced Friday.The Sabres could have right winger Jason Pominville back in the lineup Saturday. He was injured Dec. 18 in the game against the Florida Panthers when he collided with teammate Rasmus Ristolainen. Pominville practiced Friday.“We’ve earned the right to be where we’re at,” Pominville said. “But at the same time, there’s a still a lot of work to be done. It’ll fun to see the team grow through this adversity Custom New York Islanders Jerseys , the challenge of seeing teams ready to play us.“Maybe at the start when we were winning, we might’ve caught teams off guard a little bit. But now that they know they come in here, they’re going to face a good team, they’re going to face a team that depth that plays well and plays hard.”Sabres center Jack Eichel scored his 15th goal of the season Thursday, but the Sabres are still lacking scoring from their supporting cast.“We’ve got to find a way,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “And I’ll continue to say it: If you want to score in this league, you’re going to have to get dirty once in a while and you’re going to have to go to the net. It’s going to get harder as we move forward here. That’s a challenge for us.”Despite the injuries to McAvoy and Marchand, the Bruins are becoming whole again.Left winger Jake DeBrusk and defensemen Zdeno Chara and Kevan Miller all returned Thursday.Chara missed 19 games after he wrenched his left knee Nov. 14 against the Avalanche at Colorado.Miller missed 13 games after suffering a fractured larynx Nov. 26 at Toronto when he was hit in the throat by a deflected shot.DeBrusk was hit in the head by the puck on a shot from a teammate in the Nov. 26 game, played for the next four games and then missed the next nine games with concussion symptoms.