St. Louis Blues Look to Take Commanding Lead in Game 5 Against Minnesota Wild
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Wild Projected Lineup
Forwards
Zach Parise–Mikael Granlund–Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker–Mikko Koivu–Chris Stewart
Thomas Vanek–Charlie Coyle–Nino Niederreiter
Sean Bergenheim-Kyle Brodziak–Justin Fontaine
Defensemen
Marco Scandella–Jared Spurgeon
Nate Prosser-Matt Dumba
Goalie: Devan Dubnyk
Scratches: Niklas Backstrom, Stu Bickel, Jonathon Blum, Ryan Carter, Matt Cooke, John Curry, Christian Folin, Kurtis Gabriel, Guillaume Gelinas, Tyler Graovac, Erik Haula, Michael Keranen, Jordan Leopold, Zack Mitchell, Gustav Olofsson, Jordan Schroeder, Brent Sutter
Wild coach Mike Yeo said on Thursday that it would be “safe to assume” that there will be lineup changes for Game 5, according to the Star Tribune‘s Michael Russo. Goalie Devan Dubnyk, who was pulled in Wednesday’s game, is expected to get back in net for Game 5, but there could be a few substitutions among the skaters. With every Wild player besides forward Nino Neiderreiter having collected a minus rating on Wednesday, it’s difficult to predict what types of changes will be made.
It’s possible that we could see a swap of two players who spent time with the Blues earlier this season, as defenseman Nate Prosser could get in for Jordan Leopold. Prosser, played in 63 games but was used sparingly over the past two months of the season, while Leopold has been a regular since being traded to the Wild at the deadline but tied with Jason Pominville for the worst plus-minus rating on the team Wednesday at minus-3. It would also be reasonable to expect changes on the fourth line, where Matt Cooke and Jordan Schroeder have already seen playoff action on the wings during this playoff series.
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