Newly acquired St. Louis Blues forward Tyler Bozak will play against the Maple Leafs for the first time in his career in a critical game for St. Louis.
The St. Louis Blues have dug themselves an early hole to begin the 2018-2019 season. Their record currently stands at 1-3-2 and they are the worst team in the conference. Only the Detriot Red Wings have fewer points (2) than the Blues (4).
Things will not get any easier on Saturday night for the Blues, as they face the Toronto Maple Leafs who are tied for the most points (12) in the entire NHL.
There are many issues concerning the Blues coming into tonight’s game, however, Mike Yeo will mix up the lineup on both offense and defense while keeping Jake Allen in net.
Toronto Maple Leafs (1st Place In Atlantic)
Record: 6-2-0
Last 10: 6-2-0
Point Leaders: Auston Matthews (16), Morgan Riley (13)
You don’t need to look far to figure out why the Leafs have the best record in the league. Acquiring superstar forward John Tavares in the offseason via free agency added to an already 100-point caliber team.
Oh yeah, and then there is this guy named Auston Matthews who may be the best player on the planet right now. Already at 16 points on the year, Matthews is already separating himself as the Hart Trophy favorite.
There are, however, some holes on the Leafs. Possibly the only weakness for Toronto is on the defensive side of the puck. It might be impossible to slow down both Taveras and Matthews. If you can’t do that, maybe the only way to take down Toronto is to outshoot them.
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The Blues will make changes to the lineup for tonight’s game. We highlighted here the changes coming to the blue line for St. Louis and it looks like that will start tonight.
Jay Bouwmeester will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game. Taking his place will be Robert Bortuzzo who will be returning from an injury.
The defensive pairing will also shuffle for the Blues. Vince Dunn will play with captain Alex Pietrangelo, while Colton Parayko will be paired with Jordan Schmaltz and finally Joel Edmundson will play with Bortuzzo.
Offensively, the Blues will make drastic changes to the forward lines. The Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko line will be reunited for the first time this year after showing huge success last season.
Zach Sanford has earned the right to play on the second line with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron. Sanford made his season debut after missing almost two full seasons with a shoulder injury but clearly impressed the coaching staff enough to put him on the second line.
The third line for the Blues will stay the same against Toronto. Patrick Maroon, Bozak, and Alexander Steen was the best line for St. Louis against Montreal on Wednesday and will look to carry over the same success against the Leafs.
Robert Thomas will be a healthy scratch for the second straight game. This means the fourth line will consist of Sammy Blais, Ivan Barbashev, and Jordan Kyrou. Thomas’ absence is a little bit concerning, although Mike Yeo is confident Thomas will be back in the lineup soon.
This is as close to a must-win game in October that you can get. It is imperative that the Blues bring home at least a point before heading to Winnipeg on Monday to play the Jets.
The Central Division is going to keep winning, yes, it has only been a few weeks but the Blues need to be careful not to dig themselves a grave in the first month of the season.