After the first preseason game, the St. Louis Blues have made some great strides toward their opening night lineup. Their opponent will be the same as the one they lost 2-1 to, the Dallas Stars, but they will be at full strength on October 2.
Hoping to play in that game on October 2 is a defenseman who is doing everything right so far. Both in training camp and in the opening loss, Theo Lindstein is making Tyler Tucker expendable. This kid has shown up to really make a lasting impression for the 2026-27 season.
Broberg 2.0
Philip Broberg is one of the Blues’ best players with the puck on his stick. He can change the course of the game with consistent rushes up the ice from the backend. Lindstein is also starting to show that same type of speed.
This is a perfect thing to see, as the left side of this blue line could be locked up for a long time for the top four with Broberg and Lindstein. Especially with the fact that Cam Fowler is approaching the twilight of his career, and Tucker is more suited for that third-line role anyway.
The Blues core is young and still learning to gel together. Adding Lindstein now, rather than later, can only be a benefit not only for him but also for this team. Eventually, head coach Jim Montgomery is going to have to put together the perfect roster, and No. 4 has to be on it.
Deserves the chance over Jiricek, for now
Looking at the final roster, there is a battle at the bottom of the defensive depth chart. Lindstein, Tucker, and Adam Jiricek are fighting for the third pairing role with Brandon Carlo or the seventh d-man spot.
This battle has become the talk of the town as of late, and everyone has a different opinion on it.
For now, prior to seeing how Jiricek fares in his first preseason game, Lindstein deserves the spot. Of course, that can change, as everyone is anticipating Jiricek to be on the main roster for opening night. It has been announced that Jiricek will get the chance in the second preseason game on Monday night, and Lindstein will get the night off.
If Jiricek cannot live up to his abnormally high expectations, expect Lindstein to play these last two preseason games and crack the opening night roster. There are enough reasons already to make that distinction, but all questions will be answered after the second game is played.
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