Preview: Blues at Maple Leafs

When: Thursday, Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto
Watch: FanDuel Sports Network (previously Bally Sports)
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

QUICK HITS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues (4-3-0) are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, closing out their homestand with a 2-2-0 record.

Brandon Saad was the first to find the back of the net to give the Blues an early 1-0 lead in the first period. This goal marked Saad’s first of the season and accounted for his 500^th career point.

The Blues lost their momentum in the second, giving up three goals before intermission. The team turned it around in the third with another goal from Saad, however it was not enough to send the game into overtime.

Robert Thomas blocked a shot in the third period and left the game shortly after. It was announced Wednesday that Thomas had suffered a fractured ankle and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. So far this season, Thomas has recorded six points (one goal, five assists).

Following the game Saad reflected on what led to the loss.

“It’s a tough game, I think we did a good job of battling back,” Saad said. “I think, second period, we were a little bit lackadaisical with the puck. And they have a good hockey team; opportunistic, lot of skill, they could capitalize on their plays. Overall, I thought we battled pretty hard but got to clean up a little bit of mistakes there in the second.”

The Blues will kick off their four-game road trip when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

MAPLE LEAFS The Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3-0) are coming off a 6-2 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Toronto struggled early in the game, trailing 5-0 before Matthew Knies found the back of the net. The Blue Jackets scored again in the third before Nicholas Robertson responded to close out the game.

The Maple Leafs' biggest offseason acquisition was behind the bench as they hired former Blues Head Coach Craig Berube to lead the team. In Berube’s first year in St. Louis, he led the team to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019. However, after failing to make the playoffs in 2022-23 and starting the 2023-24 season 13-14-1, he was relieved of his coaching duties in December. Berube finished his tenure with the Blues holding a 206-132-44 record and is the third most-winningest coach in franchise history.

Other offseason moves for the Maple Leafs included the addition of left winger Max Pacioretty, who had 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) in 47 games last season, as well as 2024 Stanley Cup Champion Oliver Ekman-Larsson after his 32-point (nine goals, 23 assists) campaign for the Florida Panthers.

The Maple Leafs have made the playoffs the past eight seasons, most recently falling to the Panthers in the second round in five games.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Veteran forward Brandon Saad was responsible for both goals in Tuesday night’s loss to the Jets. Saad finished fifth on the team in points last season with 42 (26 goals, 16 assists).

MAPLE LEAFS Forward William Nylander has seven points on the season and leads the team in goals with five. The former 2014 first-round draft pick tallied 98 points last season (40 goals, 58 assists).

BLUE NOTES

• Oskar Sundqvist was activated from injured reserve on Wednesday. The forward had been sidelined since suffering a torn ACL in his right knee on March 25, 2023.
• Thursday will be the first game in a four-game road trip for the Blues. They went 2-1-0 on their season-opening trip to Seattle, San Jose and Las Vegas.
• The Blues are currently in a stretch of 13 of 15 games against the Eastern Conference (2-0-0 so far against East).
• Philip Broberg started the season with a six-game point streak (one goal, five assists). It is the longest point streak by a defenseman to start his St. Louis tenure and matched the longest to open a season by a Blues defenseman in franchise history (Steve Duchesne in 1997-98).