St. Louis Blues Game Preview: Team Looks to Keep Heads Above Water Against Formidable Vancouver Canucks

The St. Louis Blues will look to get things going again on Monday night, as they host the Vancouver Canucks at Scottrade Center and play game 76 out of 82 for the season. While the Blues are nearly assured of a playoff berth, it would be nice for the team to see a higher level of output as they approach the postseason.

Though some of their inconsistency can be excused as the season winds down and they take their figurative foot off the gas a bit in preparation for the postseason, it’s about time that the Blues start playing a more effective game. They’ve now lost four of their past five games and five of the past eight, and for the first time in a while, first place in the Central Division is no longer in their grasp or even reachable with a win, as the Nashville Predators have heated up again and are now three points ahead of the Blues.

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The Canucks will not be an easy opponent for the Blues. They’re currently in second place in the Pacific Division with 91 points and will be in the playoffs come mid-April. For what it’s worth, however, they have lost their past two games to the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. The Blues will once again miss out on an opportunity to face their former netminder, Ryan Miller, who has been dealing with an injury since late February.

Though the Blues weren’t able to come away with the victory in their last meeting with the Canucks, they certainly acquitted themselves well in a 6-5 shootout loss. The Blues were faced with a 5-2 deficit early in the third period, and there was a bizarre six-minute benching of Jake Allen for Brian Elliott, only for Allen to re-enter the game after Elliott gave up a goal to the Canucks. However, the Blues staged an incredible comeback, as Dmitrij Jaskin, Petteri Lindbohm, and David Backes all scored goals within the final 12 minutes of regulation. While a win would have been nice, it was downright impressive for the Blues to come away with a point in a game that looked like it would be a blowout loss midway through the final period.

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It should be interesting to see what kind of lineup the Blues deploy on Monday. Two key forwards, T.J. Oshie (illness) and Alexander Steen (lower-body injury), are questionable for the game. Oshie is more likely to play, as he’s already been sick for at least a few days and was spotted at the rink before the Blues’ practice on Sunday. Steen, who suffered an unspecified lower-body ailment during Saturday’s loss, is an unknown heading into Monday. If he can’t go, Olli Jokinen will likely be cast into duty unless the Blues decide to roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

Coach Ken Hitchcock previously made reference to the Blues having a need for bruising defenseman Robert Bortuzzo in three more games this season. One of those will presumably be against the physical, big-bodied Winnipeg Jets, but it’s possible that Hitchcock could see Bortuzzo’s skill set as a match for a Canucks squad that is also rather sturdily-built. With Kevin Shattenkirk back in the lineup, it’s a mystery as to who Bortuzzo would replace. Though Barret Jackman would probably be the easiest to take out of the lineup, it may make the most sense to remove Carl Gunnarsson, who makes less of a physical impact than Jackman and has underperformed a bit recently.

Brian Elliott will start in goal on Monday and will aim to regain some of the consistency that he’s been lacking ever since he shut out the Philadelphia Flyers on March 12.

Next: Blues' Magnus Paajarvi Making Case to Rejoin NHL Club for Postseason

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