The St. Louis Blues are embarking on a crucial five-game road trip, starting tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. This Eastern Conference swing presents an opportunity for the Blues to find consistency and solidify their identity after an underwhelming 1-2-1 homestand.
Both the Blues (6-9-4) and the Maple Leafs (8-9-2) are aiming to break out of recent slumps. St. Louis is coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, a game where they struggled to generate offense and, according to Alternate Captain Justin Faulk, lacked life on the bench. Toronto, meanwhile, has lost their last five games, including a 3-2 defeat against the Chicago Blackhawks.
"We're just a little bit unconfident, I'd say, right now,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. "But we have to get through that, because we've had the leads, and we had an opportunity to close this game out, win it. And we get a power play in the third, and we don't do anything with it, either." Blues coach Jim Montgomery echoed similar sentiments after the loss to Vegas: "I thought we were doing a lot of staring and watching and not enough trying to make plays or kill plays".
Despite their struggles, the Blues have had success against the Maple Leafs in the past, sweeping last season's series and outscoring them 9-3. St. Louis also holds the all-time series lead at 106-96-25-2. In their recent matchups, the Blues have capitalized on the power play, converting at a 31.3% rate (5-for-16) in the last six games.
Key players for the Blues include Robert Thomas, who leads the team with 12 points, and Jimmy Snuggerud and Jordan Kyrou, who each have 11 points. Kyrou is tied with the injured Jake Neighbours for the team lead in goals with six. The Maple Leafs' offense is led by William Nylander and Auston Matthews, though Matthews is currently on injured reserve.
The projected lineup for the Blues is subject to change, but is expected to be:
- Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
- Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
- Pius Suter – Dalibor Dvorksy – Nick Bjugstad
- Alexey Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Nathan Walker
- Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
- Cam Fowler – Justin Faulk
- Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel
- Jordan Binnington
The game tonight marks the first of two meetings between the Blues and Maple Leafs this season, with the series shifting to St. Louis on March 28.
With both teams eager to turn their seasons around, tonight's game promises to be a competitive contest. The Blues hope that this road trip will provide an opportunity to "gel, find some consistency and solidify their identity away from Enterprise Center".
