The first game of 2026 is upon us, and the St. Louis Blues are getting set to face off against the Vegas Golden Knights. This is going to be a very tough matchup, but the hope is that it goes a lot better than the showing against the Colorado Avalanche on New Year's Eve.
The Blues hold a record of 15-18-8, for 38 points, and the Golden Knights are 17-10-11 for 45 points. The main difference here is that the Blues are still very far away from playoff contention in the Central Division and the Wildcard, and Vegas is comfortably sitting in second place of the Pacific Division. If Vegas were to win, they could overtake Edmonton for first place.
Let's go over it.
Brayden Schenn
The captain was very unnoticeable during the contest against Colorado. He was -2, had one of the team's 13 shots on goal, and ultimately did not make any bit of an impact. Brayden Schenn has to improve against Vegas, he has been pretty good against in his career.
No. 10 has three goals and 12 assists in 28 games against Vegas in his career. Can he add to those tallies?
Joel Hofer
Following Jordan Binnington's terrifying performance, it will likely be Joel Hofer back in to face Vegas. Hofer has performed better as of late, and has been a saving grace for this franchise. Binnington should not hold all of the blame, as his team in front of him has given up with him between the pipes.
Hofer has a record of 8-8-2 on the season, with a save percentage of .901 and a goals against average of 2.87. He has picked up his game nicely, and is shaping himself into the future starter of this franchise.
Robert Thomas
It is safe to say that every member of the Blues was absent during the 6-1 routing against Colorado, but Robert Thomas was the worst of the worst. His play was almost laughable at times, and he had no real impact on the game. When he needed to be at his best to match up against Nathan MacKinnon, Thomas was shellshocked.
Thomas has to be as advertised or better against Vegas.