St. Louis Blues Ready to Kick Off Regular Season Against New York Rangers
After over five long months of waiting, the St. Louis Blues finally take the ice in a meaningful game again on Thursday night, facing off against the New York Rangers at Scottrade Center for the regular season opener. It will be an exciting kickoff to yet another season where the Blues are widely expected to do big things. After three straight playoff seasons which have ended in failure, however, Blues fans will be hoping that this is finally the year that things end differently and the franchise will have a chance at its first ever Stanley Cup Championship.
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The Blues will look to continue the success they experienced against the Rangers in 2013-14, when they went 2-0 against New York. In an October 12 matchup at Scottrade Center, the Blues defeated the Rangers 5-3, and then on January 23 at Madison Square Garden, the Note was able to secure a 2-1 victory in a tightly-contested contest. With that said, the Rangers are the defending Eastern Conference champions, so it definitely won’t be an easy victory.
Brian Elliott will get his first opening night start in goal while wearing a Blues uniform, while Henrik Lundqvist will start in nets for the Rangers. Three players–forwards Paul Stastny, Joakim Lindstrom, and Jori Lehtera–are expected to make their regular season Blues debuts, while Lehtera will also be playing in his first ever official NHL game following a long run in the Kontinental Hockey League. The Blues’ healthy scratches for the opener are expected to be forwards Magnus Paajarvi and Chris Porter.