At last, we get to our projection of who's going to be on the first line for the St. Louis Blues on opening night. If you've been following along with the series the last few days, you've probably figured it out, but we're going to go over why we've ended up with the selections we did.
The Center
He's the best player on the team and is quickly becoming one of the better centers in the league--of course, Robert Thomas is playing down the middle of the Blues' first line. Thomas put up 81 points in 70 games last season and continues to grade out positively by the underlying metrics, so there was never a question over where he'd land in our projections. All that's left for him to do is prove he can be one of the NHL's best pivots.
The Wingers
The Blues' two remaining premier forwards will flank Thomas: Pavel Buchnevich on the left wing and Jordan Kyrou on the right wing. Though there's a chance one or both get outplayed by the two wingers behind them on the depth chart, Dylan Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud.
There was a convincing argument to put Kyrou on the second line, as our iteration had Pius Suter down the middle with Holloway and Jimmy Snuggerud on the wings--that's a new player and two youngsters, which may be a lot to ask of everyone involved. However, Snuggerud and Hollowy both have a lot of offensive potential, and either one of them could excel on the second line--and earn some minutes alongside Thomas at the top of the lineup.
For game one, though, we think head coach Jim Montgomery will give the nod to his veterans and deploy a first line of Robert Thomas at center, Pavel Buchnevich on the left wing, and Jordan Kyrou at right wing. Things will surely change throughout the season, but to start, that's our projection for the Blues.