(9-27-22) Blues-Blackhawks Preseason Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The Blues are starting to trickle out the top guns for preseason games.

Tuesday night in Dallas, a 4-0 win to run their record to 2-0, the Blues implemented defenseman Colton Parayko and Torey Krug. Today at 7:30 p.m. against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center, Ryan O'Reilly, Brandon Saad, Jordan Kyrou, Brayden Schenn, Justin Faulk and Nick Leddy will each make his preseason debut.

For the Saad, O'Reilly, Kyrou line, it's a look at what could potentially be a top line when the regular season opens. Coach Craig Berube has used Saad, Schenn and Jake Neighbours up there through the first week of camp and is trying to find the right combinations as we go along here leading up to the start of the regular season.

Tonight, it will be Saad.

"I think that whether it's Saad or Schenn up there on left wing, they've all played together," Berube said. "I've just got to see how the third line, other lines are shaping up. As of right now, that's kind of where we're at.

"It could be something where they're together."

Neighbours will get a look with Schenn tonight, a spot where he played last year when he played nine games to begin his NHL career.

It will be Neighbours' second preseason game after scoring twice in Wichita, Kan. Saturday in a 5-4 win over Arizona. Oh, he also had a jarring check in the third period.

"He's feeling good, he's playing really well for sure," Berube said of Neighbours. "He finds a way to get things done, whatever way you want to shape it. He's involved physically, he's around the net and makes little plays all over the ice, a very highly competitive player. 

"That's a good hit, it's a clean hit. That's what I mean, he's not going to shy away from that stuff. He doesn't care if guys go after him or whatever at the end of the game. It doesn't bother him."

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Josh Leivo gave his thoughts Saturday on trying to crack a tough lineup; the forward had two goals and an assist Monday and now it'll be guys like Matthew Highmore (two-way contract) and Tyler Pitlick (professional tryout) looking to make another impression on the coaching staff tonight.

Pitlick, 30, split last season with Calgary and Montreal, played in 39 games due to injury and had a goal and four assists; he has familiarity with Leddy and Faulk being a Minnesota native and was a teammate of Leddy's in their younger days of triple-A 

"It's definitely interesting. It's something I'm not used to," Pitlick said of the PTO. "It's a little bit of an uncomfortable feeling not having a job right now, but all I can do is come in, do what I do and play hard, show all the things I do well and hope that things work out well. 

"They invited me and kind of laid out how things were shaking out. It seemed like a good opportunity for me to come and try to win a job so I'm here.

"I think I've just got to keep showing my speed, get in on the forecheck and making the other team's life miserable. Just get on the puck, get the pucks, make some plays, be physical, good defensively, show that I can be trusted out there, that when I'm in the game, they've got nothing to be worried about. They know what they're going to get.

"I know I didn't have a great year and I had the injury, just didn't get in a lot of games. I think a guy that's been around for a while would get something, but it is what it is. A lot of teams want to give their young guys a shot and that was kind of the consensus that I kept hearing from teams, that they want to see what the young guys had. We'll see how that goes. Sometimes it doesn't work out how they think and jobs open up later on, so we'll see."

For the 26-year-old Highmore, who signed a one-year, $750,000 NHL/$400,000 AHL contract, a familiarity of playing against the Blues as a member of the Blackhawks (2017-21) and the past season and a half with the Vancouver Canucks along with word through the grapevine that this could be a good fit enabled the Halifax, Nova Scotia native to make his way to St. Louis.

"You know that this team always competes, always has a chance every year," Highmore said. "I've heard a lot of good things before I got here regarding the coaching staff, players, camaraderie and how much everybody cares for each other and ultimately wanting to win. That's the most important thing.

"I'm still learning it here as we go during training camp. A little bit different than what I'm used to so still trying to get used to it. I think once you start reading and reacting instead of thinking out there, I think it's going to be a pretty good fit and everything works out. 

"I'm just going to try and get in on the forecheck and create energy. When you do those things, you end up creating chances and chances for others. That's what I want to bring and continue to get better as we go through camp here and ultimately we'll see where that ends up."

Players like Highmore, Leivo, Pitlick, Martin Frk, Nathan Walker, and Klim Kostin, who will play tonight, are trying to leave those favorable impressions, and they can by doing the little things, such as be heavy on the forecheck and creating energy.

"That's a big part of the game, especially if you're not Robert Thomas or (Vladimir) Tarasenko or (Pavel) Buchnevich who ... these guys are highly-skilled players who can make plays off the rush and do things," Berube said. "These other guys, they're trying to find a role. It always impresses a coach when you see a player forecheck hard, finish his checks, gets in there, fight for loose puck battles, win those puck battles and create offensive zone time. That's an important part of the game.

"They've played well, all of them. They're doing what they're supposed to do. It's just going to come down to decisions and we still have lots of games left for them to prove themselves and look at them."

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Berube said Frk and Mathias Laferriere, each who sustained a lower-body injury in Dallas Monday, are "banged up." Neither skated on Tuesday.

Berube said Laferriere has a chance to play in the home preseason game Thursday against Columbus; he's not sure on the status of Frk as of Tuesday afternoon.

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Junior-eligible players were not part of practice Tuesday and it's likely that they are the first cuts of camp and will be assigned to their junior teams. They include defensemen Tyson Galloway, Michael Buchinger and Marc-Andre Gaudet, forward Landon Sim and goalie Will Cranley. That would reduce the Blues' camp roster down to 48.

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The Blues' projected lineup:

Brandon Saad-Ryan O'Reilly-Jordan Kyrou

Jake Neighbours-Brayden Schenn-Klim Kostin

Matthew Highmore-Nikita Alexandrov-Tyler Pitlick

Brayden Guy-Dylan McLaughlin-Nathan Todd

Scott Perunovich-Justin Faulk

Nick Leddy-Matthew Kessel

Tyler Tucker-Griffin Luce

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Vadim Zherenko will be the backup and play.

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The Blackhawks' projected lineup:

Andreas Athanasiou-Max Domi-Patrick Kane

Taylor Raddysh-Jonathan Toews-Tyler Johnson

Buddy Robinson-Cole Guttman-Colin Blackwell

Samuel Savoie-Josiah Slavin-Michal Teply

Alex Vlasic-Seth Jones

Kevin Korchinski-Connor Murphy

Caleb Jones-Ethan Del Mastro

Petr Mrazek will start in goal; Alex Stalock will be the backup.