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The Blues return to Enterprise Center on Thursday night to face off against the Anaheim Ducks (7 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).

Radek Faksa will make his return to the lineup for the second time since being cut with a skate blade on Dec. 10 in Vancouver. Faksa played in the Blues’ 2-1 OT loss to the Panthers on Dec. 20, but did not appear in the seven games since.

“I went for an MRI and they found out the skate cut the muscle as well, so I had to take another break and it was tough,” Faksa said. “I’ve been almost a month out, so it will take me at least a few shifts to get back in… obviously will be tough but I’ve been there before so I know what to expect.”

Joel Hofer is expected to start in net for the Blues. Prior to Saturday’s 6-4 loss in Columbus where he made 38 saves, Hofer was 5-0-1 in his prior six starts.

“Our goaltending since I’ve been here I think has been really good. The last couple of games we’ve given up more goals but we’ve been giving up a lot more slot chances, a lot more east-west chances. That’s up to the team to be better so that they can be more confident in their crease,” Head Coach Jim Montgomery said.

“I don’t see them being as aggressive in the crease and I think that’s because of our team defense, and we need to make sure we’re better off the rush and better tightening up the house in D-zone coverage, so we can allow them to be great like they’ve been.”

The Blues will celebrate multiple individual milestones Thursday night as Brandon Saad will skate in his 900th career game, while Cam Fowler will be honored with a pre-game ceremony for reaching the 1,000 game milestone Dec. 31 at the Winter Classic.

“A lot of millstones here but most importantly for our group, we need to assert ourselves here. We need to start off on the right foot. The Blues are going to be ready to rock tonight – my ask for our fans is be ready to rock from the puck drop.”

PROJECTED LINEUP

Forwards

Brandon Saad – Robert Thomas – Pavel Buchnevich
Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours – Oskar Sundqvist – Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko – Radek Faksa – Nathan Walker

Defense

Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg – Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter – Tyler Tucker

Goalie

Joel Hofer

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