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St. Louis Blues Hope to Stay Hot in Nail Yakupov’s Return to Edmonton

By Patrick Karraker

Oct 15, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Mark Letestu (55) and St. Louis Blues defensemen Joel Edmundson (6) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 15, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Mark Letestu (55) and St. Louis Blues defensemen Joel Edmundson (6) battle for a loose puck during the second period at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports /
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St. Louis Blues Jaden Schwartz
Apr 3, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; St. Louis Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz (17) controls the puck in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Blues defeated the Avalanche 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Projected Lineup

With the Blues having placed Jori Lehtera on injured reserve Wednesday–thus freeing up a roster spot–it seems likely that Jaden Schwartz will make his season debut on Thursday. Though the Blues will be unable to reunite the “STL line” with Lehtera on IR right now, Schwartz will probably go back with Vladimir Tarasenko, therefore bumping David Perron off that line.

The Blues have two more injured players who could return to the lineup on Thursday: center Kyle Brodziak and defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. If he’s healthy, Brodziak could come back and free up Dmitrij Jaskin to move up to the third line, a group with which he practiced on Wednesday. Otherwise, Ty Rattie or Magnus Paajarvi would likely play with that line.

Gunnarsson, meanwhile, has been battling with Robert Bortuzzo for playing time, and even if he’s healthy, it’s not a guarantee that he’ll suit up tomorrow. It will definitely be interesting to see what decision Ken Hitchcock makes on Thursday.

One would think Jake Allen would be back in net Thursday after a strong performance against Vancouver, but Hitchcock seems to be somewhat enamored with Carter Hutton–who was very impressive in his Blues debut on Saturday–so it’s not an absolute certainty that Allen is between the pipes against Edmonton.

Next: Blues May Get a Boost Soon with Schwartz's Return

Here’s how the Blues’ lineup is expected to look:

Robby Fabbri-Paul Stastny-Nail Yakupov

Jaden Schwartz-Alexander Steen-Vladimir Tarasenko

David Perron-Patrik Berglund-Dmitrij Jaskin

Scottie Upshall-Kyle Brodziak-Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester-Alex Pietrangelo

Robert Bortuzzo-Kevin Shattenkirk

Joel Edmundson-Colton Parayko

Jake Allen

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