If the results of the Central Division race have as large an imprint on the playoff seeds as many are suggesting, the Blues must reverse a recent trend against the division.

After Saturday's 3-1 loss at Nashville, the Blues are 1-4-2 in their last six games against the Central, with their only victory a 6-4 win over last-place Columbus. They are 5-6-2 overall in the division, one of two losing records along with the Blue Jackets. And while scoring goals and playing on the road are concerns of the Blues regardless of their opponent, those two problems have been accentuated within the division.

The Blues have netted a total of six goals on 203 shots in their last six losses in the Central, and after Saturday's defeat they are winless in five straight divisional games on the road, all against Detroit and Nashville.

In Nashville on Saturday, the Blues managed only one goal, by Chris Porter, on 41 shots. The goal was just the team's fifth (including a penalty shot) in the last 12 periods. The other goals belong to Patrik Berglund (2), Scott Nichol and Jamie Langenbrunner.

"Too many passengers in the second period," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said after Saturday's defeat. "We had some guys that played outstanding today and then we had guys that just dipped their toes in the water. ... You're going to have to play a lot harder and a lot more gritty than that if you expect to win."

Nashville netminder Pekka Rinne and Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard have been the stars in three of the last four meetings against the Blues. Rinne was sensational again Saturday, turning away 20 third-period shots.

"Obviously (Rinne) played extremely well and made some big saves," Langenbrunner said. "But I think what we seem to do in stretches is get away from our game and find some cute way of passing it around them. That's exactly what they want and they take advantage of that. When we played our game and made it tough on them, we had our chances. We have to start capitalizing on them."

The Blues were 12-8-4 against the Central last season, including 5-5-2 on the road. They are 1-4-1 on the road this season, with the lone win a 2-1 decision at Columbus. The club is 0-3 in Detroit, 0-1-1 in Nashville and has three games left in Chicago and two in Columbus.

"We've got to play 60 minutes on the road," Langenbrunner said. "For whatever reason, we haven't been doing that. We've had breaks in our game where we've allowed the team to take control. We can't do that."

PORTER IS PRODUCTIVE

Despite being a healthy scratch in 11 of the Blues' last 13 games prior to Saturday, Porter stood out in the 3-1 loss to Nashville, scoring the team's only goal. His third goal of the season came on an alert play, stripping the puck from Predators defenseman Roman Jusi and putting it past Rinne for a 2-1 deficit in the third period.

"He was great," Hitchcock said. "He was our best player today. He was by far our best player. He was hungry, wanted the puck. We talked to him about that when I watched him in the (American Hockey League). I told him the puck's got to be part of his game, a much bigger part of his game. He was excellent today."

Porter had three shots on goal, a hit and a blocked shot in 13 minutes, 8 seconds of ice time.

"I just tried to provide a bunch of energy and finish my checks," he said.

Porter was inserted into the lineup after Jason Arnott suffered a shoulder injury Friday against Los Angeles. Arnott is listed as day to day.

BACK TO OTTAWA

A week after suiting up in the NHL All-Star game in Ottawa, where he spent four seasons, Blues goalie Brian Elliott is expected to get the start Tuesday against the team that traded him to Colorado last season.

Elliott, who leads the NHL with a 1.69 goals-against average but has played in only one of the Blues' last seven games, said that he's looking forward to returning.

"It's always a little weird going back somewhere where you played before," Elliott said. "You try not to put any emphasis on it. Everybody's fighting for spots. You look at games counting down now, it's getting down to the end of the season and it's going to be an important game for sure. You want to play, especially against a former team. That's what makes the game fun. I practiced against those guys for so long. Now you've got a chance to play against them.