St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Game Preview
The St. Louis Blues will be up bright and early for a Sunday brunch affair with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 11:30 AM start, which will accommodate NBC’s national broadcast, will be the Blues’ earliest start time of the season thus far.
It will be a crucial division matchup for the Blues, who sat in a tie with the Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division coming into Saturday but fell back to second with a Nashville victory over the New York Rangers. Though Chicago is a pedestrian 2-3 since the All-Star break, they’re only six points behind the Blues and always seem to have St. Louis’s number, even when the Blues are on a roll.
The teams are even at 1-1 this year, with the home team having won each matchup. The Blues won 3-2 against Chicago on October 25 thanks to goals by Jaden Schwartz, Ryan Reaves, and a game-winner by designated Blackhawks killer Dmitrij Jaskin, but then the Blackhawks emerged superior, 4-1, in a December 3 matchup where the Blues were without Brian Elliott and Jay Bouwmeester.
The Blues’ lineup will still be at less than full strength on Sunday, as center Jori Lehtera will miss a sixth straight game with concussion symptoms. On the bright side, Lehtera skated prior to Saturday’s practice and seems primed to make his return soon.
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With Lehtera still out, it’s unknown which forward will get in the lineup between Ty Rattie and Joakim Lindstrom. Considering that Rattie played his best game yet with the Blues and picked up the first NHL point on Thursday versus Buffalo, while Lindstrom has no points and posted a minus-2 rating while playing against Columbus on Friday, it might be fair to assume that the Blues will favor Rattie against their hated division rivals.
After a disappointing Friday night start against Columbus in which he gave up four goals on 14 shots and was pulled in the middle of the second period, Brian Elliott will get back in net for Sunday against Chicago. In Elliott’s previous start against the Blackhawks this season, he got the win while saving 22 of 24 shots that he faced.