Coming off a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues look to bounce back at home against the New York Islanders on Thursday night (7 p.m., Bally Sports, 101 ESPN, Blues App).
Thursday’s pregame skate at Enterprise Center was optional, so the projected lineup is based on Wednesday’s practice lines.
Head Coach Drew Bannister is expected to make changes to both the forward lines and defensive pairings ahead of Thursday’s matchup, with Kasperi Kapanen expected to draw in on the fourth line in place of Nathan Walker, and defenseman P.O Joseph in for Nick Leddy, who is dealing with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
New addition Ryan Suter, who holds the title of most games played among all active players (1,448) and currently ranks ninth in all-time games played by defensemen, is projected to join Colton Parayko as the top pair on the blueline. P.O Joseph will make his second appearance for the Blues on the third pair alongside Matthew Kessel.
"I think Sutes has been outstanding for us... he's come to play," Bannister said. "You can tell why he's been in the league so long -- he's a veteran presence. He keeps things simple but makes hard plays, direct plays, and he's hard to play against."
Bannister is also expected to reunite Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas on the top line, moving Jake Neighbours to the second line alongside Pavel Buchnevich and Zack Bolduc.
Joel Hofer is expected to start in net, as he was the first off the ice at Thursday’s morning skate.
PROJECTED LINEUP
Forwards
Brandon Saad – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Zack Bolduc – Pavel Buchnevich – Jake Neighbours
Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Mathieu Joseph
Alexey Toropchenko – Radek Faksa – Kasperi Kapanen
Defense
Ryan Suter – Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg – Justin Faulk
P.O Joseph – Matthew Kessel
Goalie
Joel Hofer
