The St. Louis Blues return to action Saturday for an afternoon tilt with the New Jersey Devils. The spotlight early on will be Devils’ star Jack Hughes, who continues his victory tour following his golden goal at the Olympics last weekend. Let’s jump into the game preview and key storylines.
Blues’ Gameday Preview: Blues vs. Devils
The teams are meeting for the second and final time this season. Back in November, the Devils won in overtime on a goal by Simon Nemec.
The Blues will look to even the season series, which would mark the third straight season the teams have split their meetings. The last time the Devils won the season series was in the 2021-22 season. The Blues’ last series win was in the following season, 2022-23.
The Blues lead the all-time series, 64-43-14.
Last Game
The Blues returned from the Olympic break on Thursday and put on a show in front of their fans. Dylan Holloway, playing in his first game since being activated from injured reserve, recorded his second-career hat trick as the Blues cruised past the Seattle Kraken, 5-1. It was a complete team effort by the Blues, who rarely allowed the Kraken to get any high-quality scoring chances. They kept their foot on the gas the entire game, allowing them to achieve the convincing victory.
Projected Lineup (Subject to Change)
- Brayden Schenn – Dalibor Dvorsky – Jimmy Snuggerud
- Jake Neighbours – Pavel Buchnevich – Jordan Kyrou
- Dylan Holloway – Pius Suter – Jonatan Berggren
- Alexey Toropchenko – Jack Finley – Nathan Walker
- Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
- Tyler Tucker – Justin Faulk
- Cam Fowler – Logan Mailloux
- Joel Hofer/Jordan Binningon/Georgi Romanov
There are multiple lineup decisions to be made for the game. Robert Thomas is expected to return after sitting out Thursday due to a personal matter. Furthermore, Oskar Sundqvist also missed Thursday due to the birth of his daughter. At the time of writing this, it is unknown when he will be available to the team.
Binnington is also a question mark, as he sat out Thursday while continuing to adjust to the time zone following his return from Milan. With the Blues playing back-to-back games this weekend, it is likely Binnington will play in one of them.
Related: Canada’s Olympic Heartbreak Can Be a Season Changer for Blues’ Binnington
Team Leaders
Buchnevich continues to lead the team in points with 35. Following his goal on Thursday, Kyrou has now tied Neighbours for the team lead in goals with 14. Buchnevich leads in assists with 23. Tucker’s 60 penalty minutes continue to lead the team, while Otto Stenberg, currently in the American Hockey League (AHL), leads the team with a plus-4 rating.
Storyline #1: Holloway – Suter – Berggren
This line was fantastic for the Blues on Thursday. We talked about Holloway’s hat trick, but he also picked up an assist on a goal by Suter, who also had two assists. Berggren, meanwhile, recorded two assists as well. Members of this line were responsible for four of the team’s five goals.
This will be a fun line to watch on Saturday. Each player carries their own storyline, which makes the line as a whole interesting. Holloway is looking to salvage what has been a frustrating season and show the Blues the player they saw last season was the real Holloway. Suter’s name is popping up in trade rumors as we inch closer to the trade deadline. For Berggren, he was a waiver claim who was supposed to be a placeholder for a few games, but he has played his way into the Blues’ gameplan.
Storyline #2: Silver and Gold
As we mentioned in the opening paragraph, golden-goal hero Hughes comes to St. Louis for the first time since his historic goal. He got a huge ovation in front of his home fans on Wednesday and did so again on Thursday in Pittsburgh. Saturday will be an opportunity for fans from St. Louis, with its rich hockey culture, to honor the gold medalist.
However, the team wearing the Blue Note will have at least one player who was on the other side of Hughes’ goal. Parayko played well during the Olympics but settled for the silver medal. Should Parayko and Hughes end up against the boards or in front of the net during a stoppage in play, could we see a little gamesmanship between the two? Could some extra jabs from Parayko be in store? If Binnington is between the pipes, he can never be ruled out from giving his two cents about something.
How to Watch
The game starts at 4:00 P.M. Central Time and can be seen on FanDuel Sports Midwest. It can be heard on 101 ESPN.
If you are attending, stay safe, have fun, and bring home a winner. Do not forget to check back in with The Hockey Writers for more Blues-related content.
