Wake up, everyone; it is Game Day for the St. Louis Blues. It is time for another matchup with the Dallas Stars, and this time it will be in Dallas.
After going with a prospect-heavy lineup in the first game, it is time for some of the NHL regulars to make their first appearance of the season. With a shortened preseason, the pace is going to pick up rapidly over the next three games.
Let's go over three players that will be must watch.
Adam Jiricek
After the growing emergence of Theo Lindstein in training camp and the preseason, it is now time to see what Adam Jiricek can do. The quote-on-quote best prospect defenseman gets a chance to stake his claim for the opening-night lineup.
If he cannot get a good enough showing against the Stars, the tide will fully turn toward Lindstein making it on the final roster. If Jirieck can prove he belongs, these last two preseason games get very interesting.
Robert Thomas
Let's see that "C". Robert Thomas will join his first-line teammates, Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway. That line has to be as smooth as butter out of the gate in this game, as the entire 2026-27 season depends on their success.
Thomas begins with his first unofficial game as the Blues captain, and it will be an awesome thing to see. It might only be preseason, but to see how far he has come within this franchise and to have his loyalty rewarded is an awesome thing to see.
Joel Hofer
After Jordan Binnington did not put up a good showing in the first game of this two-game preseason set with Dallas, it is now on Joel Hofer. He continues to fly under the radar amongst the NHL's best, but that could change starting with this game.
Hofer should be the Blues' starter for the 2026-27 season, and a strong preseason showing can help give him some confidence going into the season. The Blues are going to be heavily relying on No. 30 to carry the torch this season, as Binnington's future is in question. We all remember how badly Hofer started the 2025-26 season, and that cannot happen again.
Hofer will have a relatively NHL-ready defense in front of him with the aforementioned Jiricek, Philip Broberg, and Logan Mailloux. This is pretty close to what he will see when the regular season starts in the next few weeks.
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