As the St. Louis Blues prepare to open the 2024-25 regular season in Seattle on Tuesday, Head Coach Drew Bannister has opted to send a younger lineup to Milwaukee to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the final preseason matchup of the year on Saturday at 7 p.m. (NHL Network).
Bannister said he was happy with his team's performance Thursday night in a 4-3 overtime win against Dallas, but has a few more things he wants to see in the final exhibition contest.
"Obviously we're going to have some guys that are going to get another opportunity that [we assigned to Springfield] earlier in the week, [so we're] going to see how they get to play, see our younger guys play," Bannister said. "Our guys that are with us right now, the seven to eight guys [we're bringing to Milwaukee], we're just making sure that we're playing towards our standards, our work ethic, our commitment, and just doing the right things in what we're asking of our players."
Eight players that are expected to draw in Saturday’s lineup were called up from Springfield on Friday, including Dalibor Dvorsky and Dylan Peterson.
Bannister said goalie Vadim Zherenko will play two periods, while Joel Hofer will play one.
Below is the lineup expected to play in Saturday's preseason finale in Milwaukee. Projected lines will be available closer to puck drop.
GAMEDAY LINEUP
Forwards: Zack Bolduc, Zach Dean, Dalibor Dvorsky, Mathieu Joseph, Kasperi Kapanen, Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Mathias Laferriere, Mackenzie MacEachern, Hugh McGing, Dylan Peterson, Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker.
Defense: Samuel Johannesson, P.O Joseph, Scott Perunovich, Corey Schueneman, Hunter Skinner, Tyler Tucker.
Goaltenders: Joel Hofer, Vadim Zherenko.
