ST. LOUIS — It’ll
be the first true test for the St. Louis Blues this preseason when
they entertain the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (stlblues.com,
Blues app, ESPN 101.1-FM).
The
Blues (0-2-1) will see a Stars squad (3-1-0) that will resemble quite
a bit of their opening night lineup, which includes Mikko Rantanen,
Jason Robertson, Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz, among others.
“You’re
getting toward the end of camp, so you’re seeing more and more NHL
players in everybody’s lineup,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said.
“I think for guys who are battling for spots, whether to make the
team, whether to establish themselves in some roles, there’s some
guys, this is an important game for them.”
The
Blues will put to the test three players seeing their first preseason
action, including the debut of Pius Suter, who will center Dylan
Holloway and Jordan Kyrou to see if this is a fit for the start of
the season.
“Looking
forward to seeing them playing together,” Montgomery said. “Suter’s
biggest strength is his brain and his puck support offensively and
defensively. He seems to come up with pucks or be available for pucks
from teammates, and I think that ability to connect a line is going
to lead to more possession time whoever he plays with. But we look
forward to seeing him with Holloway and Kyrou.”
Kyrou
and defenseman Justin Faulk will also be making their preseason
debuts.
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With
the Stars bringing a loaded lineup, this will be a tremendous test
for some of the younger guys trying to either earn a job or establish
footprints for when they do get the call up down the road.
That
includes Otto Stenberg, the No. 25 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, who
will play on a line with Jake Neighbours and Nick Bjugstad.
“It’s
been fun,” Stenberg said. “Game is so much quicker, like all the
players I play against, it’s so much better and the D’s are
heavier.”
Montgomery
has really come to appreciate the forward’s game throughout camp.
“I
have found in the beginning he complemented (Robert) Thomas and
(Jimmy) Snuggerud well and now he seems to be complementing everybody
well,” Montgomery said of Stenberg. “I have really grown to like
him more and more throughout camp.”
“I
think it’s always been my type of game,” Stenberg said. “I
think I can play in different roles on the team and different lines
(and) execute it pretty well. I think I can change my game if I’m
playing fourth line or first line. I think that’s one good thing.
You can battle for a spot on four lines instead of I guess one line
or two lines.”
Also,
fellow 2023 first-round pick, Dalibor Dvorsky, the No. 10 overall
pick who scored his first preseason goal on Saturday in a 4-2 loss
against the Chicago Blackhawks, he’s continued to impress.
“I
think he’s gotten better and better,” Montgomery said. “I
thought last game was better than the first two, and I think in
practice he’s become more noticeable to understanding to how we’re
wanting to play and he’s playing faster.”
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Tonight,
it’ll be Mathieu Joseph’s turn to take a crack on a line at
center.
Joseph,
who primarily plays wing, will center Alexandre Texier and Milan
Lucic.
“If
you have the ability to play all three forward positions, that puts
you definitely in a little bit of an advantage,” Montgomery said.
“’Mojo’ has that ability, Texier has that ability, Stenberg
looks like he has that ability, (Aleksanteri) Kaskimaki comes to mind
as well. That just gives you more flexibility as a coach so you can
plug and play a guy. And if you have the hockey sense and the
determination to play up, say, on the second line or the third and
fourth, that adds to your value to the team.”
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Speaking
of Neighbours, who has been Brayden Schenn’s wing man throughout
camp, he’s getting himself caught up after missing the first few
days due to personal reasons and will play his second straight game.
“I
think it’s been long enough now where you get your footing back,
your timing back, things like that,” Neighbours said. “Obviously
game speed’s a whole another level. Looking forward to being back
in the lineup tonight and continuing to build off the first one.”
And
where does he put his game currently?
“Maybe
a six out of 10, but that’s why you have preseason,” Neighbours
said. “Just continue to get better. It’ll be a good test tonight.
I think Dallas is bringing a pretty good lineup. It’ll be an
NHL-type game and I’m excited for that. You’ve just got to keep
building and ultimately have your game where it needs to be by
October 9th.
Just continuing to work towards that.”
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Blues
Projected Lineup:
Dylan
Holloway-Pius Suter-Jordan Kyrou
Jake
Neighbours-Nick Bjugstad-Otto Stenberg
Alexey
Toropchenko-Dalibor Dvorsky-Aleksanteri Kaskimaki
Milan
Lucic-Mathieu Joseph-Alexandre Texier
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Theo Lindstein-Matthew Kessel
Leo Loof-Hunter Skinner
Joel Hofer is projected to start and play two periods; Colten Ellis will be the backup.
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Stars
Projected Lineup:
Jason
Robertson-Roope Hintz-Mikko Rantanen
Sam
Steel-Matt Duchene-Tyler Seguin
Justin
Hryckowian-Wyatt Johnston-Mavrik Bourque
Oskar
Back-Radek Faksa-Nathan Bastian
Artuu Hyry could be the extra F
Esa
Lindell-Miro Heiskanen
Thomas
Harley-Nils Lundkvist
lian
Bichsel-Ilya Lyubushkin
Vladislav Kolyachonok could be the extra D
Casey
DeSmith is projected to start in goal; Remi Poirier would be the backup.
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