(4-6-22) Kraken-Blues Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues passed the test on Monday, finally, against an opponent they should handle and will be faced with a similar situation today in the second of a four-game homestand.

The Blues disposed the Arizona Coyotes 5-1 to open the homestand on Monday, dusting aside the last place team in the Central Division and get another cellar dweller today at 7 p.m. (BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM) when they face the Seattle Kraken, last in the Pacific Division, for the third and final time this season.

The Blues (39-20-10) are 2-0 against the Kraken (22-41-6) this season, outscoring Seattle 7-1 although the home matchup on Jan. 13 was a 2-1 win, a game in which the Blues trailed 1-0 entering the third period.

Seattle, which downed Dallas 4-1 in its previous matchup, is 5-4-1 in its past 10 games and will look to play the spoiler role moving forward. The Blues are aware of this.

"They play good, structured hockey," Blues coach Craig Berube said of the Kraken. "You don't get a lot of opportunities offensively. Their shots against are one of the best in the league (fourth at 29 shots against per game). So you've got to work for your offense. We've got to work for our opportunities. They protect their net really well and they're 5-4-1, I think, in their past 10. They beat Dallas last game.

"We're going to have to play well. We're going to have to work for our offense tonight. It's not just going to happen. There's not going to be all these plays that are going to be made. You've got to work, you've got to shoot pucks and you've got to get on the inside. We're going to have to get some ugly goals against them."

The Blues simply need to continue on the upward trend they've been on, 4-0-1 their past five games and they have a earned a point in 10 of the past 13 games (7-3-3) despite some of the doom and gloom. They have a chance to pull within a point of second in the Central Division behind the Minnesota Wild and six ahead of the Nashville Predators, who are chasing the Blues for third in the division.

"It's just really important for us to stay on top of our game," forward Ivan Barbashev said. "We know the playoffs are coming and the standings are really tight. Right now at this time, we've got to give 100 percent every single game because one loss can hurt us later on to be honest. Those points are big every single game. We've got to just play our game and prepare for playoffs."

The Kraken are certainly aware of the Blues and what their challenge will be.

"This is arguably the deepest team in the National Hockey League," Kraken coach Dave Hakstol said of the Blues. "If you look at their group of forwards, their top nine forwards, every one of them has 41 points, everyone gas 15 goals-plus. The depth of their team is impressive and it doesn't stop there. On their back end, they're a good, solid, sound team. The mindset and the competitiveness of our group is going to be really important tonight through 60 minutes. There's going to be different momentum swings. We've got to make sure any of the negative swings are short-lived and we go back and push the next shift. We just have to be ready and competitive shift in, shift out."   

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* Center Robert Thomas has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in a six-game point streak, tying his NHL career-high. 

* Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko has 15 points in his last 13 games (six goals, nine assists)

* Forward Pavel Buchnevich has a three-game point streak (three goals, three assists).

* Barbashev, part of the NHL-leading seven 20-goal scorers on the Blues, has 22 goals on the season and has scored in three straight games.

* Center Ryan O’Reilly has a four-game point streak (two goals, three assists).

* The video tribute for former Blues first round pick Jaden Schwartz will have to wait until next season. Schwartz, who missed the Jan. 13 game here with a broken hand, will not play tonight because of an upper-body injury.

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The Blues' projected lineup:

Brandon Saad-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron

Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Vladimir Tarasenko

Ivan Barbashev-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou

Mackenzie MacEachern-Nathan Walker-Alexei Toropchenko

Marco Scandella-Colton Parayko

Nick Leddy-Justin Faulk

Calle Rosen-Robert Bortuzzo

Ville Husso will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Niko Mikkola and Logan Brown. Torey Krug (hand), Tyler Bozak (lower body) and Scott Perunovich (wrist) are out.

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The Kraken's projected lineup:

Ryan Donato-Alex Wennberg-Jordan Eberle

Daniel Sprong-Morgan Geekie-Joonas Donskoi

Victor Rask-Yanni Gourde-Kole Lind

Jared McCann-Riley Sheahan-Karson Kuhlman

Adam Larsson-Vince Dunn

Will Borgen-Cale Fleury

Carson Soucy-Jamie Oleksiak

Chris Driedger will start in goal; Philipp Grubauer will be the backup. 

The healthy scratch is Derrick Pouliot. Jaden Schwartz (upper body) and Haydn Fleury (undisclosed) are out.