Blues at Sabres preview

BLUES (31-19-3) at SABRES (14-28-9)
7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, FS-MW, NHL.TV

The Blues are hoping their top three scorers can help bolster the offense, which has scored six even-strength goals in the past five games (12 goals total). Schwartz has played the past three games with Schenn and Alexander Steen, after missing 20 games with an ankle injury.
Carter Hutton, who is 3-0-0 with one shutout in his past three starts, will make his seventh start in eight games for St. Louis. The Blues are 5-2-0 in their past seven games and have held opponents to one goal or fewer in five of the past seven.
Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu will return to the lineup after missing the past four games with an undisclosed injury sustained in a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 22. Robin Lehner, who has two shutouts in his past three starts, will start.

Players to watch

Steen has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his past seven games.
Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"That line for a good period of time was arguably the best line in hockey; certainly it was in the conversation for the best line in hockey so I think that getting them back together provides us with a real dangerous threat … that top line can be pretty dynamic." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo on Schenn, Schwartz and Tarasenko
"I'm a very confident player. I like to skate and bring a lot of offense. This year, the offensive side hasn't been coming as easy as it has in the past so the thing is not to force it because that's when bad things happen. The biggest thing is (go) one shift at a time, one period at a time, and keep it extremely simple." -- Sabres defenseman Nathan Beaulieu

Blues projected lineup

Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Vladimir Tarasenko
Vladimir Sobotka -- Paul Stastny -- Alexander Steen
Ivan Barbashev -- Patrik Berglund -- Tage Thompson
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Kyle Brodziak -- Chris Thorburn
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson -- Vince Dunn
Carter Hutton
Jake Allen
Scratched:Robert Bortuzzo, Scottie Upshall
Injured:Zach Sanford (shoulder)

Sabres projected lineup

Evander Kane -- Jack Eichel -- Kyle Okposo
Scott Wilson -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Sam Reinhart
Zemgus Girgensons -- Evan Rodrigues -- Jason Pominville
Jordan Nolan -- Jacob Josefson -- Benoit Pouliot
Marco Scandella -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Jake McCabe -- Victor Antipin
Nathan Beaulieu -- Casey Nelson
Robin Lehner
Chad Johnson
Scratched:Josh Gorges, Justin Falk, Nick Baptiste
Injured: Zach Bogosian (hip)
Suspended: Johan Larsson

Status update

Gunnarsson will return to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch the past three games and five of the past six. ... Larsson will serve the first game of his two-game suspension for cross-checking Florida Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck on Thursday.

Stat pack

Tarasenko has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past seven games. ... Eichel does not have a point in his past three games after he had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his previous seven games.