St. Louis Blues Look for Second Straight Win Against Florida Panthers
A pair of Blues will have the opportunity to inflict some damage on their former team against the Panthers.
St. Louis Blues Game 25/82: Tuesday, December 1, 7:00 PM vs. Florida Panthers
After a momentum-building 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night, the St. Louis Blues will once again be attempting to win back-to-back games for the first time since they snapped a three-game streak on November 10. Tuesday’s opponent will be the Florida Panthers, who have struggled a bit to begin the 2015-16 season but are on somewhat of a surge at the moment, as they’ve won their past two. The Panthers, who are in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division at 10-9-4, have largely thrived off the production of their grizzled veterans thus far. 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr, the team’s leading scorer, has points in seven of his past nine games, and veteran forward Jussi Jokinen has four points in his past four. With that said, the team does not yet have a 20-point player, and even considering Jagr’s impressive production, no one has really stepped forward and been a dominant offensive threat this season.
Two Blues will have the opportunity to stick it to their former team on Tuesday night. Forward Scottie Upshall (who got the game-winning goal for the Blues on Saturday) will face the Panthers for the first time in a long while after spending the past four seasons with the club. Upshall was a role player for the most part in Florida, but he did have a banner 2013-14 season for the Panthers, scoring 15 goals and adding 22 assists over 37 games.
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Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester, meanwhile, spent the first six seasons of his career in Florida, where he established himself as an elite blueliner and had three 40-plus-point seasons. Bouwmeester is no longer considered one of the league’s best, but he’s been solid for the Blues this season and will be looking to deliver a strong performance against his original club.
The Blues have a third former Panther, center Scott Gomez, who played 46 games for Florida during the 2013-14 season. However, Gomez is expected to be a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game on Tuesday.
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The Blues will roll with the same lineup that propelled them to victory on Saturday. That’s a particularly good sign for fourth-line grinder Ryan Reaves, who will dress for his third straight game after being a healthy scratch in seven of 10 games prior to that. Defenseman Joel Edmundson also gets a second straight game after sitting for the previous two.
Here’s how the Blues’ lineup is expected to look on Tuesday:
Alexander Steen-Paul Stastny–Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri–David Backes–Scottie Upshall
Magnus Paajarvi–Jori Lehtera–Troy Brouwer
Steve Ott–Kyle Brodziak–Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester–Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson–Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson–Colton Parayko
Next: Cardinals Sign Catcher Brayan Pena to Two-Year Deal
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