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St. Louis Blues: What To Expect In Home Opener

By Brandon J. Griffin

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Jan 19, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (center) celebrates with Vladimir Tarasenko (91) and Jori Lehtera (12) after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the second period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

We’re finally here Blues fans! The NHL regular season is upon us. The Blues will face off against the Edmonton Oilers in the home opener before embarking on a six game road trip. This is the first of three games this season against the Oilers, what should we expect from our opening night opponent?

The story going into this game isn’t about the Blues, it’s not really about the Oilers either, all eyes in the hockey world will be on one single player. Connor McDavid makes his NHL debut Thursday night and expectations are high despite facing a vastly superior Blues team. McDavid is being touted as the next “one” and Edmonton faithful expect him to be the messiah that will dig them out of the deep hole they’ve been in for ten years.

What does all that mean for St. Louis? Almost nothing as the Blues will be focusing on their game and their flashy new line combinations. Hitchcock and the boys will pay little attention to McDavid, other than keeping the puck from getting to him. The Blues are tasked with being the first NHL team assigned with containing McDavid and his linemates.

Besides McDavid, what else does Edmonton have to offer? They have plenty of offensive weapons, but outside of the McDavid and Taylor Hall line they should be no more problem. With an injury to Jordan Eberle, it seems Anton Slepyshev will get the first crack at being McDavid’s right wing.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins centers the second line with Benoit Pouliot and Teddy Purcell on his wings, and could prove to be a moderate threat. The Oilers bottom six is a scattered group of forwards who just can’t seem to get settled into the NHL. The Blues defense should have a fairly easy night to start the season, and a nice shot of confidence before starting their road trip.

Speaking of defense, the Oilers back end is riddled with even more question marks than the offense. St. Louis will likely be shredding the Oiler defensemen all night, like they did all of last season. Vladimir Tarasenko managed four points in three games against the Oilers last year and I predict he will open the season with a goal Thursday.

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A constant theme for Edmonton in recent years has been below average goaltending. The Oilers added Cam Talbot in the offseason and are so confident with him that they waived Ben Scrivens, having Anders Nilsson serve as back-up. Talbot put together a pretty great 21 win season last year during a stretch where Lundqvist was injured.

Talbot will have a rude awakening Thursday night as he is introduced to life as the starting Edmonton netminder. I’m not saying he is a bad goalie by any means, but there will be an adjustment period for him and the Blues are no soft opening trial. Coming from a pressureless situation being the back-up savior behind “King Hank” last year; on a team with three solid lines of defense playing in a much weaker Eastern Conference, Talbot will have a rough go of it early on.

The Blues will come out of the gate swinging, and welcoming McDavid to the NHL by showing him it won’t be easy to earn points. Tarasenko will continue his dominance as the new top line makes it’s presence known quickly. I’m a big believer in Paul Stastny silencing his critics this year, beginning with the home opener.

St. Louis will go onto the road for six games with a 1-0 record. Edmonton will take some time this season to develop chemistry among it’s young core, littered with new faces and high expectations for the first time in a long time. Even if McDavid manages to break away and put his first NHL puck behind the Blues netminder, the Oilers still don’t have nearly enough to keep up with the St. Louis Blues.

Next: Blues Make Curious Signing In Scottie Upshall

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