By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Chris Thorburn has made the most of his time in St. Louis, even if it hasn't included many games on the ice recently.
Thorburn, signed to a two-year contract during the offseason to replace Ryan Reaves, who was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, will play for the first time in five games and just the second time the past 10 games for the Blues (10-3-1) on Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs (8-6-0), who wrap up a four-game west coast swing.
Tonight's game is at 6 p.m. on FS-MW, KMOX 1120-AM).
Thorburn played four of the first five games this season but has been a healthy scratch more often recently but is taking it all in stride.
"It's very exciting," Thorburn said of the opportunity to play. "Obviously the team's been on a roll so to be positive has been easy. I knew the situation coming in, to get back in the lineup is great, just to be around the locker room, around the guys, that's my favorite part.
"... I'm a guy that people can talk to, I'm very approachable in that respect. It's not like I'm going to sit guys down and hold court. At the same time, keep a positive vibe when things are down, just keep an even keel throughout the locker room. I'm here to learn, too. I'm still learning, still figuring my way out, still a process. I'm an older guy so guys tend to bounce things off me, not that my decisions or opinion carries any weight. At the same time, I still appreciate being asked."
Blues coach Mike Yeo said it's been tough getting Thorburn, the eldest player on the team at 34, into the lineup with the way the third and fourth lines have been playing. But by admission, Yeo said perhaps Thorburn could have been used against a bigger, heavier Philadelphia Flyers team on Thursday.
"It was not an easy decision to take him out," Yeo said. "His last game he played was his best game for us, hasn't played for us in a while, Looking for an opportunity to get him in. But our third and fourth lines have done a nice job for us.
"He's handled it real well, he's just a fantastic pro and a teammate, his calling card is a physical game and we need that from him. He plays reliable too, that's what I like. You can trust him in his positional play, he's obviously had a lot of experience, he's a guy you can trust and put him on the ice and know he's going to go out and get the job done."
What Yeo does is look for matchups, and despite the Maple Leafs utilizing a team with speed and skill, he feels Thorburn deserves a turn.
"Looking back, I think we should have played him last game, to be honest with you," Yeo said. "Coming off a couple days where we were feeling really good, you've got an Eastern Conference team, I think he could have dragged us into the fight a little bit more last game. But you always try to pay attention to that, you do that for every player, the play of our third and fourth line hasn't allowed him to get in, but there was an opening here and we wanted to give him back in."
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The Leafs were a team that came out of the chute blazing, scoring 44 goals the first seven games and off to a 6-1-0 start. But Toronto has hit the skids a bit, going 2-5-0 the past seven games and scoring three goals or fewer each time.
There's still plenty of weapons that the Blues will have to contain, young weapons like Auston Matthews, who is third in the NHL with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists, William Nylander, Zach Hyman and Mitchell Marner to go with veterans James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri.
"You look at Matthews, you look at some of the young players they have there, their surrounding players, it's speed and skill," Yeo said. "They play a very fast-paced game. With 'Babs' (Leafs coach Mike Babcock), they're always going to be well-structured and well-coached and a team that I believe has a real knack for dialing up the tempo and the pace of the game. Their transition game is as good as anybody's, so that'll be a fun test."
Babcock has taken notice with the Blues, even though he doesn't notice them as much as when he was coach of the Detroit Red Wings.
"I don't know St. Louis as good as I used to," Babcock said. "We used to play them 100 times a year and it was lots of fun.
"'ve been hearing about [Jaden] Schwartz now for a number of years from the guys here and how good he is. Now that I do the pregame scout and I see how good he is, everyone talks about [Vladimir] Tarasenko, who is an unbelievable player, but Schwartz has taken it to another level."
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Tarasenko has a goal in five straight games against the Leafs.
Schwartz has six points in six games against Toronto (two goals, four assists)
Alexander Steen, who was drafted by the Leafs in the first round (24th overall) in 2002, has 15 points in 11 games against his former team (six goals, nine assists).
Paul Stastny has six points in his last five games against the Maple Leafs (three goals, three assists).
Blues goalie Jake Allen, who is 2-0-0 the past two starts against Toronto with a 1.00 goals-against average and .966 save percentage, is 10-2-1 in his last 13 home starts, posting a 2.02 GAA and a .931 save-percentage.
Alex Pietrangelo ranks first in the League among points by a defenseman with 13 (four goals, nine assists).
Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak won't get the chance to open the 'Roman Polak door' tonight. He will he a healthy scratch.
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The Blues' projected lineup:
Vladimir Sobotka-Paul Stastny-Alexander Steen
Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko
Dmitrij Jaskin-Oskar Sundqvist-Magnus Paajarvi
Scottie Upshall-Kyle Brodziak-Chris Thorburn
Carl Gunnarsson-Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson-Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn-Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen will start in goal; Carter Hutton will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Nate Prosser and Beau Bennett. Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder) and Zach Sanford (shoulder) are all out.
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The Maple Leafs' projected lineup:
Zach Hyman-Auston Matthews-William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk-Patrick Marleau-Connor Brown
Leo Komarov-Nazem Kadri-Kasperi Kapanen
Matt Martin-Tyler Bozak-Mitchell Marner
Morgan Rielly-Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner-Connor Carrick
Andreas Borgman-Nikita Zaitsev
Frederik Andersen will start in goal; Curtis McElhinney will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Dominic Moore, Josh Leivo and Roman Polak. The Maple Leafs report no injuries.
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