The St. Louis Blues return home after a short two-game road trip. After a frustrating defeat on Wednesday, the Blues turned things around on Thursday evening. Now the team will aim for a second straight win against the Seattle Kraken on home court. Blues fans attending the game will see some familiar faces as Jaden Schwartz and Vince Dunn return to St. Louis once again with the Kraken. The winners of the last two Winter Classic games meet in downtown St. Louis. Who deserves the two points?
Blues vs. Kraken example
The Blues and Kraken meet for the first time this season. Last season the Blues won the season series 2-0-1. Additionally, the Blues lead the all-time series, 9-2-1. The last time the Blues fell to the Kraken in regulation was in February during the 2022-2023 season.
Time: 7:00 Eastern time
TV: FanDuel Sports Midwest (Blues), Kraken Hockey Network (Kraken)
Blues’ recent game
The Blues are 5-8-2 this season with 12 points. On Thursday evening, the Blues recorded their first shutout of the season with a 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Joel Hofer stole the show with a 28-save performance between the pipes. Mathieu Joseph was another standout player, scoring a short-handed goal and adding two assists.
‘I just try to be aggressive in the penalty killing’ said Joseph. “When I see opportunities to attack, try to get breakaways, sometimes the opponent doesn’t play as tight defense on the power play. I had a lucky bounce on the blue line and tried to attack the net.”
Projected lineup (Under the condition)
It’s difficult to project the Blues’ lineup for this match. Kyrou was a healthy scratch on Thursday in an attempt by head coach Jim Montgomery to send a message to the rest of the team. It can be assumed that Kyrou will return to the lineup sooner or later.
Likewise, Montgomery could run it back with Hofer in goal after his shutout.
- Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
- Dylan Holloway – Pius Suter – Brayden Schenn
- Alexey Toropchenko – Dalibor Dvorsky – Alexandre Texier/Jordan Kyrou
- Mathieu Joseph – Nick Bjugstad – Nathan Walker
- Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
- Cam Fowler-Justin Faulk
- Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel
- Jordan Binnington/Joel Hofer
Team leaders
Suter leads the team in points with nine. Despite his injury, Neighbors is still the team leader in goals with six, although Suter is only one goal behind him. Thomas leads the Blues with six assists. Tucker leads the team with 24 penalty minutes. Finally, Kessel leads the plus/minus rating among skaters with a plus-2.
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Between the pipes, Binnington leads the Blues with three wins and a 3.34 goals against average. After his shutout, Hofer is now the team leader with a save percentage of .864.
Kraken’s recent game
The Kraken are 6-3-4 with 16 points. Despite their early success, the team is set to suffer a tough loss on Wednesday. Playing in front of their home fans, the Kraken fell to the San Jose Sharks, losing 6-1. It was a close battle for more than half the match, as the Kraken trailed by just two going into the final period. However, the Sharks opened the game with three goals in the third period. Macklin Celebrini stood out with a goal and two assists for the Sharks. Ryan Winterton scored the Kraken’s lone goal.
Projected lineup (Under the condition)
- Berkly Catton – Chandler Stephenson – Jordan Eberle
- Jaden Schwartz – Matty Beniers – Kaapo Kakko
- Mason Marchment – Shane Wright – Ryan Winterton
- Tye Kartye – Ben Meyers – Eeli Tolvanen
- Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
- Ryan Lindgren – Brandon Montour
- Joshua Mahra – Jamie Olicem
- Joey Daccord
Team leaders
Schwartz and Eberle are tied for the team lead in points with 10. Eberle leads in goals with five, while Schwartz leads with six assists. Lindgren leads the Kraken in penalty minutes with 27. Finally, Mahura leads in the plus/minus category with a plus-6.
When it comes to goaltending, Daccord leads the Kraken with six wins and an SV% of .900. Philip Grubauer leads the league with a GAA of 2.12. However, it is worth noting that he has only played two games this season.
Blues storyline to watch
When the Blues rebranded in the summer, they changed their jerseys. Their regular home jerseys became their “third” jerseys, typically worn for Saturday games. Their ‘new’ home jerseys were introduced as a redesign of the jerseys the Blues wore during the 2017 Winter Classic, which also served as their heritage jersey until the end of last season.
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Why is this a storyline? The Blues have only two home games scheduled this season. Both came when they were wearing the “third” jersey. With this match taking place on Saturday, the Blues are expected to wear them again. If the Blues get a third win in the ‘third’ jersey, Blues fans can call for the team to wear it more often.
Kraken’s storyline to watch
Schwartz has started the season strong. The former Blue has also enjoyed recent success against his former team. Last season, Schwartz scored two goals in three games against the Blues. The Blues and Kraken only play each other three times a season, so the sample size isn’t strong. However, a strong start to the season, combined with a good series against the Blues, could point to a look at Schwartz when he takes the ice on Saturday.
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