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St. Louis Blues Return to Home Ice, Attempt to Take Series Lead Over San Jose Sharks

By Patrick Karraker

May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; St. Louis, MO, USA; San Jose Sharks right wing Joel Ward (42) collides with St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) off the face-off during the third period in game two of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoff at Scottrade Center. The Sharks won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Louis Blues Kyle Brodziak
May 21, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues center Kyle Brodziak (28) celebrates scoring against the San Jose Sharks in the second period of game four of the Western Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

Blues Lineup

Assuming full health–which might be too bold of an assumption after the injury issues that the Blues dealt with on Saturday–they could bring the exact same lineup from Game 4 back on Monday. With that said, captain David Backes is dealing with an upper-body injury and is questionable for Game 5, while rookie forward Robby Fabbri has a lower-body injury and is also uncertain for Monday. Fourth-line winger Scottie Upshall has missed the past two games and is again a question mark for Game 5, though he might be on the outside looking in anyway considering the strong performance that the fourth line of Magnus Paajarvi, Kyle Brodziak, and Dmitrij Jaskin delivered in Game 4.

If the Blues need to replace either Backes or Fabbri, they’d likely opt to insert Upshall if he’s healthy. If he’s also still dealing with injury issues, Steve Ott and Ryan Reaves could enter the discussion, even though their aggressive style of play isn’t exactly ideal against San Jose. Winger Ty Rattie could also be a candidate if the Blues prefer a skilled player capable of playing in the top nine to an agitator like Ott or Reaves.

Here’s what Monday’s lineup will probably look like if the Blues are at full health:

Robby Fabbri–Jori Lehtera–Vladimir Tarasenko

Jaden Schwartz-Patrik Berglund–David Backes

Alexander Steen–Paul Stastny–Troy Brouwer

Magnus Paajarvi–Kyle Brodziak–Dmitrij Jaskin

Jay Bouwmeester–Alex Pietrangelo

Joel Edmundson-Kevin Shattenkirk

Carl Gunnarsson–Colton Parayko

Jake Allen

Next: Sharks Lineup

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