ST.
LOUIS – The
reinforcements are returning for the St. Louis Blues.
After
getting Alexey Toropchenko back on
Dec. 15, two more forwards will make their way back into the lineup
when Jordan Kyrou and Jimmy Snuggerud each return for the Blues
(14-16-8) against the Nashville Predators (16-16-4) on Saturday (7
p.m.; KMOV-TV,
Matrix-MW, FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
Snuggerud
is coming off left wrist surgery and has missed the past 12 games,
last playing Nov. 29 against the Utah Mammoth; he went on the recent
two-game trip through Florida to get the work in after skating for
the past week and a half, two weeks on ice. Snuggerid will be on a
line with Pius Suter and Dalibor Dvorsky.
“I
think that was kind of the main goal when I got surgery was around
this date,” Snuggerud said. “It’s nice I get to come back after
Christmas and play hockey again.
“This
was just a super-fluke accident, just the knob of my stick broke a
bone in my hand and unfortunately, it doesn’t really heal on its
own. Things like that happen in hockey and it’s nice to be back.”
Kyrou
has missed the past nine games with a lower-body injury around his
left knee; he has not played since Dec. 5 against the Ottawa
Senators; he will suit up with Brayden Schenn and Jonatan Berggren.
“Skill,
guys that we rely on not only to score but to help the whole, entire
game and they’re dynamic, like both of them,” Blues coach Jim
Montgomery said.
With
Kyrou and Snuggerud returning, it puts Mathieu Joseph and Robby
Fabbri out of the lineup. It doesn’t put the lineup in flux yet,
but roster decisions will have to be made when Nathan Walker and Nick
Bjugstad, each out with an upper-body injury, and Dylan Holloway
(high ankle sprain) are set to come back.
“It’s
up to those guys that have played well to keep playing well to make
our decision hard,” Montgomery said.
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– –
Having
four days off since their last game, the Blues now much shift focus
to a run of games (19) leading into the Winter Olympics break. They
currently sit with 36 points and three out of a wild card spot.
“I
think we showed a lot of tape just of ourselves, executing at a high
level and I thought our energy and our pace this morning, morning
skate, you can tell guys have gotten rest,” Montgomery said. “We
were really sharp.”
The
next five-plus weeks will determine a lot for not only the Blues but
all those involved in a playoff chase.
“It’s
a super-important time of the year,” Snuggerud said. ‘It’s a
fun time of the year around the holidays, Christmas, guys bring
energy. We need a strong push coming up here with the (Winter
Olympic) break. We’ve got 19 games to do that. We’re looking
forward to it, to have fun with each other and enjoy it and win
games.”
The
Blues have points in five of their past 10 games (5-4-1).
“I
thought we defended hard (recently),” Montgomery said. “Outside
of the Tampa game, I really liked the way we competed and were five
guys playing together in all three zones.”
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– –
The
Blues’ power-play units featured Snuggerud and Kyrou on one unit,
and Snuggerud occupying one of the bumper slots, an area that hasn’t
been too kind to the team this year.
“I’ve
been there before,” Snuggerud said. “’Tommer’s such a good
passer, so many good players on that power play. Just try and find
areas, get shots on net and hopefully score some goals.”
“I
think he knows how to get open, and I think he knows how to support
pucks,” Montgomery said of Snuggerud. “When you become a bumper,
if you study the good bumpers in the league, they’re constantly
just moving 2-3 feet to get open and then release it. He has the
great release. He’s got to get used to getting open 2-3 feet.”
–
– –
Saturday
marks the third time in 12 days the Blues and Predators will meet,
and needless to say, Nashville has certainly got the better of the
Blues, outscoring them 12-4.
“They’ve
gotten to our net front, they’ve gotten to a lot of rebounds at our
net front, they’ve been heavy,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got
to make sure that we’re ready to match that tonight.”
–
– –
Blues
Projected
Lineup:
Jake
Neighbours-Robert
Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich
Jonatan
Berggren-Brayden
Schenn-Jordan
Kyrou
Pius
Suter-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jimmy
Snuggerud
Alexey
Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Otto
Stenberg
Philip
Broberg-Colton
Parayko
Tyler
Tucker-Justin Faulk
Cam
Fowler-Logan Mailloux
Joel
Hofer will start in goal;
Jordan
Binnington will
be the backup.
The
healthy scratch
includes
Mathieu Joseph, Robby Fabbri and Matthew
Kessel. Dylan
Holloway (high ankle sprain), Nathan Walker (upper body) and
Nick
Bjugstad (upper body) remain
out.
–
– –
Predators
Projected
Lineup:
Filip
Forsberg-Ryan O’Reilly-Luke Evangelista
Michael
Bunting-Erik Haula-Steven Stamkos
Tyson
Jost-Fedor Svechkov-Matthew Wood
Reid
Schaefer-Michael McCarron-Cole Smith
Roman
Josi-Nick Perbix
Brady
Skjei-Adam Wilsby
Nicolas
Hague-Nick Blankenburg
Juuse
Saros will
start in goal; Justus
Annunen will
be the backup.
The
Predators have no healthy scratches.
Ozzy
Wiesblatt (upper body), Justin Barron (lower body) and
Jonathan
Marchessault (lower body) remain
out.
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