St. Louis Blues Hope to Begin Post-Deadline Success in Visit to Ottawa Senators
After standing pat at the trade deadline, the St. Louis Blues will try to ride the same wave that’s propelled them to the fourth-best record in the NHL as they begin the home stretch Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators.
With 17 regular season games remaining, the St. Louis Blues sit in very comfortable position to make the playoffs, currently occupying third place in the Central Division with a total of 81 points that ranks third in the Western Conference and fourth in the NHL overall. They’ve won seven of their past 11 despite being without Jaden Schwartz, Alexander Steen, Alex Pietrangelo, Jori Lehtera, and Brian Elliott for various parts of that stretch. Despite all of that, there was quite a vocal reaction from Blues fans on Monday as GM Doug Armstrong did nothing (with the exception of a Friday night deal to acquire backup goalie Anders Nilsson from the Edmonton Oilers) to improve the club at the trade deadline.
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It’s very possible that keeping the team together could actually be a plus for the Blues. Armstrong has been very active at the deadline over the past three seasons, yet the team has failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs each year. Perhaps by retaining the same group, the club can retain a more powerful sense of team chemistry, and as injured players like Alexander Steen and Brian Elliott return over the season’s final weeks, they’ll provide a jolt of excitement, much like a newly-acquired trade acquisition would. (Apologies right off the bat, by the way, for the “like a trade” analogy, as that seems to annoy Blues fans for some reason).
After surviving the stress that accompanies the days and hours leading up to the deadline, the Blues will travel to Ottawa and face the Senators on Tuesday, attempting to create a streak after getting a win Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes and giving goalie Jake Allen his first win since December 29. Now that the team has had a few games to recover from the losses of Elliott and Steen, it looks as if they’ve settled into more of a rhythm, so we’ll see if they can keep that up against the surging Senators, winners of five of their past six.
In their only other meeting this season, the Senators defeated the Blues 3-2 in overtime on January 5. Noted Blues killer Bobby Ryan scored the Sens’ final two goals, and the Blues dropped their third of what would go on to be a season-long five-game losing streak.
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The Blues will get a little boost in the lineup Tuesday night as Ryan Reaves returns from a three-game suspension. Though the skilled fourth line of Scottie Upshall, Kyle Brodziak, and Ty Rattie was impactful in Sunday’s win, recording a combined five points, the Blues have missed Reaves’ physicality since he was suspended following an illegal hit last Monday. In a semi-surprising turn of events, Rattie was reassigned to AHL Chicago on Monday, even after scoring the first goal of the game on Sunday at Carolina, so there shouldn’t be too much lineup drama on Tuesday unless Jori Lehtera is able to return from the facial injury and/or concussion that he sustained on Thursday against New York.
Next: Blues Avoid Flashy Moves as Trade Deadline Passes
Here’s what the Blues’ lineup is expected to look like as they take on the Senators:
Jaden Schwartz-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko
Robby Fabbri–Patrik Berglund–Troy Brouwer
Magnus Paajarvi–David Backes–Dmitrij Jaskin
Scottie Upshall–Kyle Brodziak–Ryan Reaves
Jay Bouwmeester–Alex Pietrangelo