The St. Louis Blues return to Enterprise Center Thursday night for a single matchup against the San Jose Sharks (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN, Blues App).
After closing out the four-game Canadian road trip with a hard-fought 4-3 OT win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, Head Coach Jim Montgomery will opt for minimal line changes ahead of tonight’s game.
“I thought we played a really good game [against Vancouver]. Maybe our most complete game of the year,” Montgomery said following Tuesday’s win.
Montgomery confirmed that Radek Faksa, who did not return to Tuesday’s game after suffering a skate blade cut in the third period, is fine but will not play Thursday night against the Sharks.
“Faksa’s doing well – not a player tonight, but most likely a player [Saturday] in Dallas,” Montgomery said.
Nathan Walker will shift to center the fourth line in Faksa’s absence, while Mathieu Joseph will re-draw into the lineup on the right wing.
Montgomery confirmed the other three lines and defense pairings would stay the same.
“Coming back from Vancouver, it’s a tough game. Our body clocks are somewhere in the Rocky Mountains right now. And we need to start this game on time, and we need to get better throughout the game," Montgomery said.
Jordan Binnington is expected to take the starter’s net for the Blues on Thursday.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Pavel Buchnevich - Robert Thomas - Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad - Brayden Schenn - Jake Neighbours
Dylan Holloway - Oskar Sundqvist - Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko - Nathan Walker - Mathieu Joseph
Defense
Philip Broberg - Colton Parayko
Ryan Suter - Justin Faulk
P.O Joseph - Matthew Kessel
Goalie
Jordan Binnington
