St. Louis Blues Game Preview: Team Seeks Sole Possession of First Place Against Minnesota Wild
The St. Louis Blues have one of their first opportunities in a while to move into sole possession of first place in the Central Division on Saturday night as they face the Minnesota Wild. If the Blues either win with a Nashville Predators loss or lose in overtime with a Predators regulation loss, they will be sitting alone atop the Central Division. With 15 games remaining in the regular season, that could be a big boost for a team that has fought hard and battled through injuries and adversity all season to continue playing at a highly competitive level.
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The Blues will meet the Wild, their division opponents, for the first time since November 29, when they defeated Minnesota in a 3-2 shootout victory. The Wild haven’t had it easy this year and frankly have underperformed considering their high level of financial commitment to elite players like Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, but they’re still in position to make the playoffs, as they currently have possession of a wild card spot with 81 points. The Blues-Wild rivalry should intensify down the stretch, as the two teams meet three times over the season’s final month.
It will be the first opportunity for former Blues Chris Stewart and Jordan Leopold to face the Blues as members of the Wild, as both players were traded at the deadline. Nate Prosser, who was with the Blues in training camp before being reclaimed by his former team on waivers, will also get a chance to face his former teammates.
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The Blues will likely go back to their standard lineup of late on Saturday, as forward Patrik Berglund is scheduled to get into the lineup after being a healthy scratch on Thursday. That should send Chris Porter, who played his first game in almost two weeks on Thursday, back to the press box. If Zbynek Michalek misses another game as planned with a concussion, Chris Butler will likely be the only healthy scratch among the defensemen.
Brian Elliott will get back in goal for the Blues, starting his fifth straight game in net. Though Jake Allen will start the second end of the back-to-back on Sunday against the Detroit Red Wings, it looks like Elliott will get the heavy bulk of the work the rest of the way.