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St. Louis Blues Forwards Take On Blackhawks

By Kate Cimini |

Continuing in our series of pitting projected St. Louis Blues lines against those from their top competitors, we tackle the Chicago Blackhawks.

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The St. Louis Blues roster remains mostly intact from last season, swapping out T.J. Oshie on the first line for Troy Brouwer, whose style is more suited to the third or fourth lines. Despite that, there are a few exciting talents that could come up from the AHL over the next season, as well as new line possibilities, provided certain players stepped up their game over the summer.

Fellow editor and FanSider Colin Likas from Blackhawk Up took on the responsibility of sending us projected lines for us to pit our Blues against. The Blackhawks present a special challenge in that their top two lines are essentially two first lines. Luckily, the Blues have more than enough talent to go around.

Projected top two forward lines for the Chicago Blackhawks are as follows:

Teuvo Teravainen-Jonathan Toews-Marian Hossa

Teravainen: He’s a young player with some physical growing to do who could benefit greatly from playing alongside forceful two-way presences in Toews and Hossa. But this isn’t a one-way street, as Teravainen displays quick hands and amazing vision, similar to Kane. He can consistently set up offensive plays for Toews and Hossa while those two create space for him to do his thing.

Toews: Who else are the Blackhawks going to put at 1C? Toews won the fourth most faceoffs in the league last year (947) and was victorious at the dot 56.5 percent of the time. Throw on top of that his bull-like nature around the net and his ability to both set up and finish offensive plays, and you’ve got a stellar top-line center. And we can’t forget his defensive abilities, either, should play get sent the other way.

Hossa: Sure, he’s getting older. But Hossa is still the league’s gold standard for how to get ahold of the puck and hang on to it. It is very hard to take the puck from Hossa without committing a penalty, and his forechecking abilities are second to none. He has shown some signs of becoming a little more tentative with his shot of late, but we shouldn’t expect that to continue. For now, he belongs alongside Toews and can really help Teravainen’s development.

Blues First Line

Alexander Steen-David Backes-Robby Fabbri

Fabbri: While Fabbri’s natural position is at center, the Blues are low on quality right wings at the moment, and according to nearly all scouting reports coming from prospect camp, he’s the closest to ready to breaking into the NHL. He’s not afraid to get physical, which will be essential against Teravainen, whose physical prowess isn’t yet there. He’s speedy and mobile, and might hold his own against Teravainen in the corners. While he has some work to do on his stamina, Backes and Steen will be good for his development on the ice.

Backes: Against Toews, Backes is the Blues best weapon. He’s physical, and leads the team through hard work and dedication to the game. As a shutdown player, he’s more than up to the challenge of taking on Toews. In addition, Backes is an absolute beast around the net, giving the Blues an edge when combining Fabbri’s points-getting talents with Backes’ passion and determination to win.

Steen: Steen’s creativity and two-way play are what make him ideal to go up against Hossa. He’s able to get physical with his play when necessary, and that combined with his out-of-the-box thinking make him the best match against Hossa overall.

Next: Day 2 Blues Prospects Camp

Marko Dano-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane

Dano: Yes, he can play center and probably will on the third line before the season is over. But Joel Quenneville has a penchant for moving forwards to different roles (Teravainen is also a natural center), and Dano would be an important part of this second line. Dano has said he wants to emulate the play of Hossa, and he’s apparently already showing signs of doing so. He’s not huge at 5-foot-11, 183 lbs., but like Hossa, he creates space and has fine offensive and defensive abilities. He has past history playing alongside Anisimov and can be part of a dangerous scoring threat with Kane.

Anisimov: The Blackhawks are going to need more from Anisimov than what he’s done so far in his career, but for $4.55 million per year between 2016-17 and 2020-21, Anisimov ought to be at 2C. His previously established chemistry with Dano is a good start, and as long as he wins 50 percent or more of his draws and stays defensively responsible, he’s going to be a great center for Kane. Quenneville has to give him a shot, because the next best option is probably Andrew Shaw or a Rockford IceHog.

Kane: Sure, you could put him alongside Toews, but why not give the opposition one extra thing to think about? Kane is very difficult to defend and makes opposing players second-guess every move they make. One wrong stride and Kane could be gone the opposite way. Even if defenders do play him correctly, Kane can still make a scoring play out of nothing. The one knock against him has always been defensive responsibility, but he has gotten better in that department according to the eye test. Working alongside Dano and Anisimov should alleviate those concerns anyway.

Blues Second Line

Jaden Schwartz-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko

Schwartz: Schwartz may not be very large, but his speed is key here. Alongside Stastny’s playmaking abilities, and Tarasenko’s penchant for barreling through lines and sending the puck straight though opposing netminders, Schwartz will be relied upon here for excellent positioning in front of the net, and will be the one to get the puck into the offensive zone. Tarasenko may be a great finisher, but he’s not the fastest skater and will need linemates like Schwartz and Stastny to set the play up in advance.

Stastny: A great playmaker and good passer, Stastny may be the answer to Anisimov, who hasn’t yet proved himself to be an NHL 2C. If he’s able to create chances for Tarasenko and Schwartz to capitalize on, the Blues will be set. With patience and two-way play, Stastny stands a good chance of shutting down Anisimov. This, however, is provided Stastny steps up this summer and finds a way to click with Tarasenko, who thus far, has only found real chemistry with former and current teammate Jori Lehtera.

Tarasenko: A key forward for St. Louis, Tarasenko will be the answer to Kane on this line. He led the NHL in postseason goals long after the Blues were eradicated from the race, and while he doesn’t have Kane’s magical ability to seemingly create plays out of nothing, his goal-scoring ability is tremendous. He’s

Next: Hitchcock Needs A Stanley Cup

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