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St. Louis Blues Welcome Jaden Schwartz Back for Friday Night Showdown with Florida Panthers

By Patrick Karraker

Feb 15, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Dave Bolland (63) defends in the third period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) skates with the puck as Florida Panthers center Dave Bolland (63) defends in the third period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports /
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The St. Louis Blues will hope that Jaden Schwartz restores some offensive firepower to the lineup as they visit the Florida Panthers on Friday.

After one of the most painful losses of the season, a game they dropped 2-1 in a shootout against the last-place Winnipeg Jets, the St. Louis Blues will head out on the road and begin a two-game trip on Friday as they visit the Florida Panthers. The trip, which will also include a game Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, will serve as the club’s now-annual “dad’s trip”, during which 20 of the players’ fathers will accompany the team. They’ll sit in on meetings, sit as a group for the games, and have the opportunity to spend some rare in-season time with their sons.

While the dad’s trip could definitely bring some positive vibes to the team this weekend, the biggest source of optimism is almost certainly the return of forward Jaden Schwartz, who will get back in the lineup after missing 49 games with a fractured ankle. Schwartz was third on the team with 63 points a season ago (28 goals, 35 assists), and though the team is setting low expectations for him to start off by keeping him off special teams and limiting his 5-on-5 minutes, his presence should be a net benefit for a top-nine group of forwards that has had to rely on guys like Magnus Paajarvi, Scottie Upshall, and Ty Rattie in recent weeks.

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This isn’t the best time for the Blues to catch Florida, a team that sat in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division when they defeated the Blues 3-1 on December 1. They now lead the Metropolitan Division and sit second in the Eastern Conference overall with 70 points. If it’s any consolation, the Panthers have been a bit more average (3-1-1) since the All-Star break after dominating in December and January (19-6-1). They have scored a total of 18 goals in their three wins since the break, though, so Brian Elliott will need to have one of his best efforts on Friday against a team that is led in the scoring department by future Hall-of-Famer Jaromir Jagr and a cast of emergent young stars that includes Reilly Smith, Vincent Trochek, and Aleksander Barkov.

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As the Blues welcome Schwartz back into the lineup, some changes will be in store. Schwartz’s return will bump Scottie Upshall from the top nine, which is a net benefit for the team considering that he’s pointless in his last nine but provides great energy and grittiness on the fourth line. It will also result in Magnus Paajarvi being a healthy scratch for the first time since December 4.

Dmitrij Jaskin will also sit for the second straight game as Ryan Reaves sticks in the lineup. Barring a change of heart on Friday from Ken Hitchcock, Paajarvi and Jaskin are likely to be joined in the press box by veteran defenseman Peter Harrold, who was recalled Wednesday from AHL Chicago.

Next: Hobbling to a Finish: Breaking Down All the Injuries That the Blues Have Suffered in 2015-16

Here’s how Friday’s lineup is expected to look:

Jaden Schwartz-Jori Lehtera-Vladmir Tarasenko

Patrik Berglund-Alexander Steen-David Backes

Robby Fabbri–Paul Stastny–Troy Brouwer

Scottie Upshall–Kyle Brodziak-Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester–Kevin Shattenkirk

Joel Edmundson–Robert Bortuzzo

Carl Gunnarsson–Colton Parayko

Brian Elliott

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