St. Louis Blues Hope to Continue Offensive Improvement vs. Winnipeg Jets

After scoring four goals on Saturday–more than they’d scored in their past four games–the St. Louis Blues hope to continue their offensive resurgence on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

As the St. Louis Blues host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday evening, they’ll be looking to build on some pronounced success in the scoring department that they found in Saturday night’s victory over the Minnesota Wild. As the Blues hosted Minnesota, a team that has traditionally given them fits offensively, they managed just 24 shots on goal but were incredibly efficient, scoring four goals as Brian Elliott limited the Wild to just one.

The Blues, who have been patiently waiting for the return of noted offensive facilitator Jaden Schwartz but will be without him again on Tuesday, had just five goals in their past five, plus a dreadful three in their past four On Saturday, however, the Blues were able to get things going again in full force, scoring three power play goals and getting multiple-point nights out of guys like Jori Lehtera and Paul Stastny who have been inconsistent all year.

More from Arch Authority

• St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
• John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
• St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
• St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
• St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A

Winnipeg, a gritty bunch that earned a playoff spot last year for the first time since moving from Atlanta in 2011-12, has struggled this season, currently sitting in last place in the Central with 49 points (23-26-3). The Jets, who bought firmly into the size and physicality personnel model that brought two Stanley Cups to the Los Angeles Kings, have failed to maintain any consistency this season, and as things stand now, they look to be the only team in the Central that doesn’t really have a chance at a playoff berth.

—

Ryan Reaves will re-enter the lineup on Tuesday after sitting out the past four games as a healthy scratch.

More from St. Louis Blues

• An early projection of the St. Louis Blues’ opening-night roster
• St. Louis Blues sign Klim Kostin to three-year, entry-level contract
• St. Louis Blues: Nail Yakupov signs with Colorado Avalanche
• St. Louis Blues: An homage to Chris Butler
• St. Louis Blues agree to one-year contract with Oskar Sundqvist

Ken Hitchcock will at least temporarily break up the high-skill fourth line that he’s employed in recent games, featuring

or

and

flanking

, as he inserts Reaves to provide some extra physicality against a tough Winnipeg lineup that features bruisers like

,

, and

.

With Alex Pietrangelo having been placed on IR Monday, Robert Bortuzzo will also get back into the lineup for the first time since he suffered an injury on January 16. Bortuzzo had been healthy in recent weeks, but following the return of Carl Gunnarsson from injury and the emergence of Joel Edmundson as a full-timer, he had failed to get back into the lineup.

Next: Top 30 Goaltenders in Blues Franchise History

Here’s what Tuesday’s lineup is expected to look like:

Patrik Berglund–Paul Stastny-Vladmir Tarasenko

Scottie Upshall-Alexander Steen-David Backes

Robby Fabbri–Jori Lehtera–Troy Brouwer

Magnus Paajarvi–Kyle Brodziak-Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester–Kevin Shattenkirk

Joel Edmundson–Robert Bortuzzo

Carl Gunnarsson–Colton Parayko

Brian Elliott