Coming off a successful weekend back from the 4 Nations break, the St. Louis Blues host the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night at Enterprise Center (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN, Blues App).
Head Coach Jim Montgomery is opting to keep the lineup the same as Sunday's 3-1 win over Colorado.
The top line of Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours have combined for three of the Blues' last six goals at even strength, with Thomas also extending his point streak to six games (three goals, six assists).
"I think he's leading us in... how hard we are to play against. His line has had a huge advantage in the last two games of O-zone possession time versus D-zone possession time," Montgomery said. "That's when you really know Robby Thomas is leading the charge."
The Blues have won all of their last four matchups against Seattle, including the 2024-25 season opener on Oct. 8, 2024.
"They're a real good defensive team, so penetrating their net, creating offense, getting second-chance opportunities are not going to be easy tonight," Montgomery said.
Montgomery used the word "relentless" when describing the difference in his team's mindset from before the break to now.
"When you're watching us on the ice, especially our checking portion from their goal line all the way back to our goal line, we're really invested in protecting lines and making people earn every foot of ice towards our net," Montgomery said.
Alexandre Texier, who has been out with illness, did skate with the team Tuesday morning but is not expected to play against Seattle.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Jake Neighbours - Robert Thomas - Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway - Brayden Schenn - Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph - Oskar Sundqvist - Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko - Radek Faksa - Nathan Walker
Defense
Cam Fowler - Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg - Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter - Nick Leddy
Goalie
Jordan Binnington
