St. Louis Blues vs. San Jose Sharks: Game Preview
The St. Louis Blues will head into San Jose on Saturday night to face the Sharks for the first time during the 2014-15. The Blues will be attempting to get back to their winning ways after having a five-game winning streak snapped on Thursday night in Los Angeles. That could be tough considering their opponent; the Blues were 0-3 against the Sharks in 2013-14, being outscored by San Jose 16-7 over three matchups, two of which were home games for the Blues at Scottrade Center. Interestingly, all three of those games occurred before the first of 2014.
After Thursday night’s third period collapse against Los Angeles, there should be a few lineup changes for the Blues on Saturday. Jake Allen, who had been in net for three straight Blues victories prior to Martin Brodeur‘s start on Thursday, figures to get back between the pipes, as he has once again developed a pretty firm grip on the starting job during Brian Elliott‘s absence.
On defense, Ian Cole will get back into the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the past two games, and four of the past six. Considering that rookie Petteri Lindbohm was sent back to AHL Chicago on Friday and Carl Gunnarsson had a setback in his recovery from a concussion, Cole will likely be in the lineup for at least the Blues’ next three games as the holiday transactions freeze takes place.
Among the forwards, there is expected to be one change, as Joakim Lindstrom will rejoin the lineup, playing with David Backes and T.J. Oshie, while Chris Porter will be a healthy scratch, sending Steve Ott back to fourth line duty.