St. Louis Blues Look to End Losing Streak Against Struggling Winnipeg Jets
St. Louis Blues Game 18/82: Monday, November 16, 7:00 PM vs. Winnipeg Jets
The St. Louis Blues host their Central Division rivals, the Winnipeg Jets, on Monday evening. The Blues will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak, their first of the 2015-16 season, which has accumulated over the past week with losses to the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks. Saturday’s loss to Chicago was particularly frustrating, as the Blues wasted a two-goal effort from Vladimir Tarasenko and simply came out on the wrong end of a spirited battle with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
On Monday, the Blues will face a Jets team that is by no means out of things at 8-8-2, but needs to turn things around as they fight through a five-game losing streak. The Jets, who thrive on exceptional physicality, strong defense, and reliable goaltending, seem to have just lost their way during the month of September. They’ve particularly struggled over their past three games, allowing 18 goals while scoring six. Both of their goaltenders, Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson, have struggled recently, and whichever one ends up starting on Monday, the Blues should definitely try to take advantage of his shaky confidence.
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Unlike Saturday, when they operated with just 12 healthy forwards, the Blues will have some flexibility on Monday, as they’ve recalled Jeremy Welsh from Chicago. Welsh is expected to be a healthy scratch, though his size (6-foot-3 and 210 pounds) could be useful against Winnipeg. The Blues already have a good amount of size among their current forwards, though, so it’s unlikely that Welsh draws into the lineup on Monday.
Though none of the Blues’ top six defensemen have done anything sinful enough to really deserve removal from the lineup, Monday might be a good night to get Robert Bortuzzo some activity. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder matches up well with the Jets, and he’s probably going to play at some point during Monday and Tuesday’s back-to-back games, so it might as well be against the bigger, more physical team. If Bortuzzo ends up playing, either Carl Gunnarsson or Joel Edmundson would seem to be the most likely candidate to sit.
Jake Allen will get his fifth straight start in net on Monday. After an amazing two-game shutout streak, Allen has allowed six goals in his past two, so he’ll be looking to get things back on track against the Jets.
Here’s
Alexander Steen-Jori Lehtera–Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri–David Backes–Troy Brouwer
Magnus Paajarvi–Scott Gomez–Dmitrij Jaskin
Jeremy Welsh–Kyle Brodziak–Scottie Upshall
Jay Bouwmeester–Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson–Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson-Colton Parayko
Next: Blues Recall Forward Jeremy Welsh from AHL Chicago Wolves
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