Tensions Rise in St. Louis Blues Eventful Tuesday Practice
By Jason Martin
The St. Louis Blues were back on the ice for practice on Tuesday after their 2-1 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday for the team’s first win of the season. Despite not having lost a game in regulation this year, the practice was full of fireworks.
With just two goals scored in the first two games this season, the Blues’ offense is clearly in need of help. Jordan Binnington has been a huge bright spot for the team to start the season, but the Blues can’t rely on him to stand on his head for 82 games.
After all, Joel Hofer has earned the right to be on the opening-night roster and will eventually see significant time in the Blues’ net this season. Head coach Craig Berube will be glad to have any goaltending controversy set off to the side for as long as possible.
The Blues gave the fans something else to talk about on Tuesday during practice. Reports from those covering the team at practice on Tuesday said that newly-named captain Brayden Schenn and newly-extended forward Jordan Kyrou got into a ‘scrum’ during practice.
Schenn and Kyrou were just in line next to each other for another drill and had a friendly chat.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) October 17, 2023
That's hockey.
Don't know what it was about, but the captain appears to be taking charge early. #stlblues https://t.co/nukpafN5sn
It doesn’t sound like the scrum was anything significant. Blues fans fondly remember the 2019 Stanley Cup run when a fight during practice seemed to spark the team’s magical run to the promised land.
Blues fans should welcome this type of news early on in the season. Schenn is clearly trying to establish what he thinks should be the culture for the new-look St. Louis Blues, and the captain taking charge is a welcome sight.
As to fixing the offense, Berube juggled some of the forward lines that we are going to see on Thursday when the team takes on the Arizona Coyotes at the Enterprise Center.
With the injury to Pavel Buchnevich, we were bound to see some players move up and down the lineup. For the remainder of the game against the Kraken, it was Brandon Saad who received the in-game promotion to the top line, and it looks like he will continue to play with Robert Thomas and Kyrou.
The surprising move in the lineup comes on the team’s second line. Alexey Toropchenko has been elevated from the Blues’ fourth line to the second line to play with Schenn and Kasperi Kapanen.
Berube has liked what he has seen from St. Louis’ third line this season, as it is the only line of the group that remains the same through the first two games. Kevin Hayes will center Jakub Vrana on his left and Sammy Blais on his right.
St. Louis needed someone to replace Buchnevich’s spot in the starting lineup, and instead of going with a seventh defenseman, the team is calling on Nikita Alexandrov to fill a spot on the fourth line.
Next. Setting Expectations for Kevin Hayes. dark
He will play on the left side along with Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Neighbours. Since Buchnevich is not going on long-term injured reserve, the team is still under some tight salary constraints, so calling up a player from the AHL may prove difficult.
Hopefully, the Blues are able to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net more often than they had. However, with games against the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken to begin the season, three points in two games is a great start for the St. Louis Blues.