Marcel Goc Will Join St. Louis Blues’ Lineup Tonight
After joining the team for Thursday’s morning skate, center Marcel Goc will make his St. Louis Blues debut tonight against the Nashville Predators, centering the fourth line between Steve Ott and Ryan Reaves. Goc, who has two goals and four assists in 43 games this season, was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday evening in exchange for center Maxim Lapierre, who filled the same role that Goc initially will fill with the Blues.
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While Goc is not the same type of physical player that Lapierre is, Blues GM Doug Armstrong and coach Ken Hitchcock emphasized that his acquisition will allow Ott and Reaves to play a more physical game on the edges, rather than having Lapierre cut down on their checking opportunities by being so reckless up the middle. In addition, Goc can move up in the lineup if needed, which will allow Ott to stick on the fourth line rather than having to ascend to the top three lines when injuries occur.
The 31-year-old Goc will wear number 57 in St. Louis, which has not been worn by a Blues player since David Perron was traded following the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. In an ironic twist of fate, Perron had been teammates with Goc in Pittsburgh for the past month after being traded there from the Edmonton Oilers, and he was forced to switch to number 39 with Goc already having his familiar number 57. While the trade of Goc opened up an opportunity for Perron to switch back, he’s scored six goals and three assists in the 10 games he’s played with the Penguins, so he understandably chose to stick with his new number.