The St. Louis Blues will head into the preseason as defending champions for the first time in their history, and we now know how they will begin their title defense.
The St. Louis Blues announced the schedule for the 2019-2020 preseason, including two games against Central Division opponents and will appear in the Kraft Hockeyville game for the second time.
St. Louis will play five different teams throughout September, including three games at home at the Enterprise Center. Four of the five teams that the Blues will faceoff against were seen in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blues will open their schedule of games on Sept. 16 in Dallas against the Stars. St. Louis dropped three of four to the Stars in the regular season but were able to rebound with an epic series win in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. St. Louis will host the Stars on Sept. 24 in the Blues second home game of the preseason.
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Two days later, the Blues will play a familiar foe in the preseason, the Washington Capitals.
The matchup between these two teams has had the feel of a Stanley Cup Final game. There has been bad blood between the Blues and Capitals, including an incident last year when Oskar Sundqvist was hit and injured by Capitals forward Tom Wilson.
A third consecutive road game to open the preseason will take place on Sept. 20 in Winnipeg against Central Division rival Jets. Like the Stars, the Blues outlasted the Jets in this year’s playoffs, beating the Jets in six games.
St. Louis will play a game at the Enterprise Center for the first time since game six of the Stanley Cup Final against Boston on Sept. 22 against the Blue Jackets. Columbus defied all odds by sweeping the President’s Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.
The Blues will then embark to play longtime rival Detriot Red Wings on Sept. 26 as part of the Kraft Hockeyville game that will take place in Camulet, Michigan. To conclude the preseason, St. Louis will host the Capitals on Sept. 27 and finally the Blue Jackets on Sept. 29.
We don’t quite know the outlook of the roster for the 2019-2020 season, however last year it gave players like Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, and Sammy Blais a chance to make the team. The preseason is always a fun time full of intrigue and speculation, but opening night will not come soon enough once camp starts.