The St. Louis Blues face another tough test on Saturday night, playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time during the 2014-15 season. While Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been dominant this year, currently sitting in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with 73 points (32-17-9), they’re still a rather formidable opponent, especially at the front end with forwardsSidney Crosby(19 goals, 39 assists) andEvgeni Malkin(22 goals, 32 assists).
It’s yet another opportunity for the Blues to gain ground on the Central Division-leading Nashville Predators, who with 84 points are currently four points ahead of the Blues. Nashville, who faces off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon, lost 5-2 to the New York Islanders on Friday, snapping a six-game win streak.
Assuming that both players are in their respective teams’ lineups on Saturday night, it will be the first opportunity for Blues centerMarcel Gocand Penguins centerMaxim Lapierreto face their former teams. The two centers were swapped for each other in late January.
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In addition, it will be the first opportunity for forwardDavid Perronto face his former team, the Blues, as a member of the Penguins. Perron, who was traded by the Blues to the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2013, was move to the Penguins near the midway point of this season and has seen a major uptick in his performance while in Pittsburgh, scoring nine goals with four assists in his first 20 games there.
The Blues’ lineup could see a few changes on Saturday night. It’s probable that recently-recalled defensemanPetteri Lindbohmwill remain in the lineup against Pittsburgh, following the best game of his NHL career to date, which included his first goal and a fight, on Friday night. That likely means thatChris Butlerwill be a healthy scratch again, though it’s possible that he could go in forIan Colein an effort to keep all the blueliners active.
Coach Ken Hitchcock said earlier this week that forwardChris Porterwould get into one of the Blues’ two games this weekend, and since he was a healthy scratch on Friday, that would put him in line to play against Pittsburgh. With that said, there wasn’t a forward who showed himself to be deserving of a healthy scratch during Friday night’s game. If the Blues still want to get Porter into the lineup, that would likely mean that one of the fourth-line forwards–Steve Ott, Marcel Goc, orRyan Reaves–would have to take one for the team and receive a night off.
FollowingJake Allen‘s strong performance in net on Friday,Brian Elliottwill be back in goal on Saturday night. It will be an important game for the veteran netminder, who has struggled recently while losing three of his past five and giving up 14 goals in that span.
Next: Is Dmitrij JaskinReady to be a Top-Six Forward?
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