Pietrangelo's second of game in OT good enough for 5-4 win

Blues squandered two-goal lead against two-time defending Cup 

champs; Schenn, Stastny, Schwartz, Sobotka all contribute two points

By LOU KORAC
PITTSBURGH -- It would have been a tough way to squander a point.

The captain made sure the Blues didn't.

Alex Pietrangelo scored his second goal of the game in overtime to help the Blues spoil the Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-4 victory in the season opener Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo (back) celebrates with teammates Jaden

Schwartz (left) and Brayden Schenn (front) after scoring the OT winner.

The Blues (1-0-0) squandered a 4-2 third-period lead when the Penguins (0-1-1) scored two goals in 54 seconds to tie, but Pietrangelo scored 1 minute, 45 seconds into the extra period to give the Blues a much-deserved two points when he was able to take a puck into the zone with Jaden Schwartz driving the net, pull into the slot and beat Penguins goalie Matt Murray short side.

"Pretty much the same thing. We had a guy driving the net, 'Schwartzy' and the first one, Paul (Stastny)," Pietrangelo said, describing both of his goals. "I'm looking for a shot lane and those guys driving the net draws all the attention and got the goalie sliding both times.

"(Murray) was leaning on both of them. I guess when you're a pass-first guy, they don't expect you to shoot."

The win helped the Blues overcome the pregame festivities of the Penguins celebrating their Cup victory and banner-raising after beating the Nashville Predators, who eliminated the Blues in the second round, in six games.

"We know what it is," Pietrangelo said. "You want to come in here and spoil the party. We didn't watch it obviously. We were in here. ... I thought we did a good job answering the bell after they had their push.

"It was obviously a tough night to come in here. Obviously we knew what happened prior to the game. They had a lot of energy. You could feel the buzz in the building. We knew they were going to have a couple big pushes. They did. Obviously we were scrambling there for a while. Jake played outstanding as always and kept us in there. I said it last year, and I'll say it all year this year, it's a resilient group. We'll stick together. It might not always be how we planned it out prior to the game, but we'll find a way."

The Blues went up 4-2 on Stastny's goal 3:38 into the third and looked like they would lock up a regulation victory in impressive fashion. But they got into some penalty trouble late. First, Robert Bortuzzo was called for tripping at 12:10 and then Brayden Schenn, making his Blues debut with a goal and assist, caught  puck midair in the high slot and instead of batting it out of the zone, he threw it baseball style down the ice for a delay of game 16 seconds after the Bortuzzo penalty giving the Penguins a two-man advantage for 1:44.

Sidney Crosby scored to make it 4-3 with 6:14 remaining, and Conor Sheary tied it on a one-timer from the right circle with 5:20 to play to tie the game 4-4 and give the defending champs all the momentum.

But the Blues regrouped, got at least a point and fought to get the second one back.

"Coming into this building and scoring five tonight, this is just the beginning," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "We've said it before, this is just the beginning of the process. I think it was a little bit of a poise issue and that for me is normal this time of year. It can get a little hectic and you don't react as well to it, you're not as familiar with it as you are later in the year. We'll be in some more of those situations and obviously, they've got a pretty talented group over there, too. It's not like we just completely backed off and didn't continue to play. They've got some guys that made some plays at a big time, but I liked the way that we regrouped and got the win."

Five different players had two points for the Blues, including Pietrangelo, Schenn, Stastny (one goal, one assist) and Schwartz and Vladimir Sobotka each with two assists, and forward Tage Thompson and defenseman Vince Dunn made their NHL debuts. 

"It's early in the season," Stastny said. "There were a lot of good plays from a lot of our lines and there were a lot of sloppy plays by a lot of our guys and that's just the way it is. It happens on both ends of the ice. I think a few times we got in trouble playing that run-and-gun game. Especially when that ice was bad, we should have tried playing more that puck-possession game."

Justin Schultz put the Penguins on top 1-0 6:37 into the game, a shot that Jake Allen, who made 29 saves, never saw and sent the 18,652 in attendance into a larger frenzy from the pregame festivities.

The Blues quickly answered on Schenn's first of the season, scoring quickly at 8:31 to tie it 1-1 on a pass from Carl Gunnarsson into the slot off Schenn's skate and in. Review concluded the goal was good.

The Blues answered with a power-play goal at 17:45 of the first when Colton Parayko capitalized on a Matt Hunwick turnover trying to backhand a puck out of the corner with multiple players, including the Blues' Tage Thompson, Sobotka and Oskar Sundqvist battling for it. Parayko got the puck in the slot and whipped a wrister past Murray to make it 2-1.

The second period was a little more settled and the players didn't have as many open chances with free ice, but the Penguins tied it 2-2 on Mattaa's goal from the left point at 12:37 after the Blues' fourth line missed out on a couple chip plays getting the puck out of the zone moments before the goal.

But the Blues came back and grabbed the lead again on Pietrangelo's goal at 15:37, a shot from the slot after getting Sobotka's pass. Sobotka ran a little interference on Brian Dumoulin allowing Pietrangelo to get into the slot and beating Matt Murray high glove side. Sobotka also was patient on Stastny's goal, curling it around Crosby before feeding Stastny in the slot.

"He makes plays," Stastny said of Sobotka. "He's like 'Schwartzy' where he holds onto the puck and doesn't get rid of it. Tough to knock off the puck. That one I'm not even yelling. I'm kind of hoping he sees me because sometimes you don't want to yell to get the defenseman or the back-checker to kind of notice you. He makes a great play there, makes a great play on Petro's goal. I think for us, our line, it took a little bit. I was bad on draws, so that kind of puts us on a damper, but as the game went on, I think we started getting more comfortable where we could hold onto the puck more."

"I thought Sobe did a nice job with 'Stas' and 'Vladi,'" Yeo said. "He was real instrumental and obviously those guys getting on the scoresheet. I thought he did a lot of little things in his game and then we needed some more depth and some more balance scoring. Those guys showed us what they can do together. They've got good chemistry."

When Stastny scored, it sent a lot of the home crowd home, and the Blues had the chance to ice the game, but Murray squeezed the pads on Schwartz's breakaway bid.

Then, Schenn turned into a pitcher at an inopportune time.

"I think he was laughing about it as much as we were," Stastny said of Schenn. "When you get a win, no one cares about that penalty. It was kind of funny, but he played great.

"I don't know who was next to me, but I was speechless. On the bench, I was speechless. I was kind of laughing because we were up 4-2. It almost backfired on us, but it didn't. We're still in the game."

"They had some good momentum there. Obviously 5-on-3 against those guys is obviously always going to be tough," Pietrangelo said. "I felt we held it together, though. Gave up the two goals, but we held it together on the bench. We knew we had a chance, especially when it got to overtime, we did."

Schenn had a strong Blues debut, playing 16:46, was plus-1, had four of the Blues' 34 shots on goal (Pietrangelo led with eight), delivered four of the team's 36 hits and won eight of 15 draws, including five of nine against Crosby.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues center Paul Stastny (26) moves the puck against Pittsburgh's Olli

Maatta during the Blues' 5-4 overtime win on Wednesday night.

"He was good," Stastny said of Schenn. "I think he was good obviously offensively, but he was good where you really notice it is defensively coming out of the corners and not just throwing it up to the winger and kind of having poise with it. He made a lot of nice plays out there."

Playing with Schwartz made it a good combination.

"That's why we put them back together," Yeo said. "We want a little more depth in our lineup."

Next up for the Blues is Ken Hitchcock and the Dallas Stars in the home opener on Saturday.

* NOTES -- The Blues will honor the life and career of legendary defenseman Noel Picard with a no. 4 helmet decal throughout October, the team announced on Wednesday.

The decal will be worn by all of the players on the back-left of their helmets. The Blues will also recognize Picard's family prior to their home opener on Saturday against the Dallas Stars.

Prior to the national anthem, Blues PA announcer Tom Calhoun will read a brief biography of Picard's life. Following the address, the Blues will recognize Picard's daughter, Annie, son, Dan, and their mother, Viviane. The Picard family will then join the color guard for the singing of the star spangled banner.

Picard, who passed away on Sept. 6, is an original Blue who played in St. Louis until 1973, appearing in 278 regular season games. Picard also played in 47 playoff games with the Blues, including the club's first three appearances in the Stanley Cup Final from 1968-70.

Robinson sees potential in Blues, eager to help them win

Nine-time Stanley Cup winner joined franchise 

recently as senior consultant to hockey operations

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Larry Robinson has been involved in one form or another in hockey for 47 years, and when a spring phone call came from Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, Robinson felt obligated to listen.

Robinson, 66, who was recently hired as a senior consultant to hockey operations by the Blues, was most recently in the San Jose Sharks organization, as associate coach and most recently, as director of player development but was not offered a position after his contract expired this year.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Hockey Hall of Famer Larry Robinson was recently named as a senior

consultant to hockey operations by the Blues.

So Armstrong called Robinson and asked what he was thinking of doing, the two got talking and the Blues' GM asked if the Hall of Famer would be interested in joining the Blues in some capacity.

Robinson didn't need a whole lot of convincing.

"He's one of the nicest men that I've spoken to. He's a great man," Robinson said of Armstrong. "He's been in the game for a while. He's learned from a lot of good people as well. 

"I feel very comfortable being around him and talking to him. That's half the battle too."

Robinson joins the Blues staff with quite the credentials; he played in 1,384 regular-season games and 227 playoff games during his 20-year NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens (1972-89) and the Los Angeles Kings (1989-92). He was a member of six Cup-winning teams with the Canadiens and won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman twice (1977 and 1980) before being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995, and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players on Jan. 27.

Robinson also won the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003 as a coach or assistant with the New Jersey Devils.

Robinson, who first broke into hockey in 1968 with the Hull Beavers of the Canadian Junior Hockey League, has been part of nine Stanley Cup-winning teams and hopes to add to his resume by helping the Blues attempt to win their first as a franchise.

"I knew that I wasn't going to have a place and about the end of June and I wanted to do something in hockey, not necessarily full time but I wanted to stay involved," Robinson said. "I got a call in and around that time from Doug and asking if I would be interested in coming aboard here and helping out in all areas of the hockey operations or whatever. I said, 'Yes, I'd be very interested,' and went from there."

One might ask what Robinson has left to prove. The answer: nothing. He's reached the pinnacle in this league multiple times as a player and coach and has worked in a consulting level. 

"This isn't about trying to prove anything," Robinson said. "This is about staying involved in the game and applying some of the things I've learned over my career as a player, as a coach, as a consultant, just things that I've learned over 47 years of hockey. I wish I had the opportunity when I was coaching to have somebody that could come in and offer me some advice, and in some cases, I did. (Jacques) Lemaire was a huge help for me when I first started coaching. As a coach or as a team or as a management, you never stop learning. In any area that you can get some help, then I guess you take it."

Robinson will lend a helping hand in whatever capacity the Blues ask. He could lend a voice to Armstrong on a management level, or if asked, Blues coach Mike Yeo could ask for advice with the on-ice product.

"For me, that's something that I've always been interested is that idea of having a resource like that, that you can turn to, somebody that you can have a chat with and just take from their experience to learn from," Yeo said of Robinson. "You look at a guy like Larry, his career as a player, his career as a coach, what he's accomplished, what he's experienced. It would be really difficult not to find a way you could use him and not to find a way you could learn from him. I think it's going to be a great thing for me and for our group.

"I love it, for me personally. I'm pretty stubborn and I'm pretty strong-minded as far as things that I believe in and certain things that I want to see take place. But at the same time, I need to grow, as a coach. Just like players need to grow. If we want to win a Stanley Cup, we have to get better, each individual. I'm asking our players to do that, to buy into that. It wouldn't be serving them properly if I wasn't asking them to do the same thing. I've got a lot of things that I really believe in, but I'm committed to learning some other ideas and have some other voices around that's going to continue to push our group going forward, so I think it's going to be a great thing."

Whatever the case may be, even after 47 years in the game, Robinson said there's always something new to learn, which is one of the burning desires to keep a hand in hockey.

"I learned very early from Gordie (Howe)," Robinson said. "I got to play with him in an all-star game in Detroit, I said, 'Geez, how can you keep going at 52?' He said, 'You know what, all the years that I played, I never stopped learning.' I figured if it's good enough for him, it should be good enough for me."

Robinson was with the Blues through Oct. 2 and will be called upon twice a month or so to have hands-on work with them. 

A Florida resident, Robinson will rejoin the team when the Blues visit South Florida for games against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 12 and Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 14.

"This is an exciting time for me," Robinson said. "I'll do whatever it takes. It doesn't matter what position that you have, we're all in it for the same reasons, and that's to (reach) the ultimate goal. I know St. Louis came awfully close a lot of years, but we are in a really, really tough conference There's a lot of really good teams, tough division.

"... I think I'll be in contact with them on a daily, if not quite a bit over the phone and that kind of stuff. Just how much I'll be here, we haven't worked out those parameters yet. As much as I'm needed.

"I'll catch all the games the rest of the preseason and then we'll see as far as getting on the ice, if I'll get on the ice or not. We've got a lot of coaches. You can have too many of them too but I just would like to talk to the guys and get to know them, see if I can get into their heads a little bit, maybe offer a little advice, give them a few tips here or there."

Robinson said he's intrigued by the Blues because he likes the makeup of the squad and thinks they have the potential for great things, now and in the future.

"I've seen this team in the Western Conference," Robinson said. "I've seen a lot of them. Seeing them as an opponent and being with them day in and day out, you get to learn more about them as you see them every day by seeing them in practices and games. I'm looking forward to it.

"Just looking at the lineup right now, there's a lot of good, young kids. But it's like anything, you want to get an idea of what you have and then you really never know until the season starts. We've got a couple of key guys out with injuries right now. You want to hit the season in full stride, but you want to be healthy as well. Unfortunately, this isn't a 100-yard dash, it's a long race and there's a lot of games and there's a long time before the playoffs start."

Consulting is a perfect job for Robinson, who still has the burning desire to coach but doesn't miss certain aspects of it.

"I miss the coaching aspect of it, but I'm a realist, too, at my age, the traveling just kicks the crap out of me," Robinson said. "That's the biggest thing and was more so because I was in San Jose and the West Coast. 

"My last year, my first road trip was 7,500 miles and that pretty much took care of me right there. That's New Jersey in one year. That part of it I didn't enjoy, but I enjoy talking to the kids and I enjoy offering advice and any little things where I can help. I also like the camaraderie of being around a hockey team, in sports. That kind of thing, I really miss."

There will be times when Yeo calls on Robinson for a word -- or two -- of advice, and when he does, Robinson will be a giving voice.

"Definitely, but at the same time, he's got to do what he's got to do," Robinson said of Yeo. "It's easier for him to ask me. I'll offer my advice here and there, but I'm trying to keep my distance a little bit now because I don't want any preconceived notions on my part because when you're talking to each other, you can get influenced a little bit. ... It'll be a process, I'm sure. It's one that I'm very excited to be a part of."

(10-4-17) Blues-Penguins Gameday Lineup

Thompson to make debut in front of parents; Dunn debuts; Reaves 

to face former teammates; Steen, Tarasenko named assistant captains

By LOU KORAC
PITTSBURGH -- For Blues 2016 first-round pick Tage Thompson, a dream is about to become a reality.

A Penguins fan growing up idolizing Penguins star center Evgeni Malkin, Thompson could have never envisioned his journey to the NHL would see him playing his first game against the Penguins when the Blues and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions open the 2017-18 regular season today at 7 p.m. (NBCSN, KMOX 1120-AM).

"It's a legit dream, first game for me playing against him and the Penguins after they just won the Stanley Cup," Thompson said. "It's going to be a good, fun test for me and I'm pretty excited about it."

Thompson, who beat out Samuel Blais for one of the remaining forward positions, will also have special visitors and his biggest fans in the stands watching the game, his parents Brent and Kim Thompson.

Brent Thompson, coach of the New York Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers and former NHL player with the Los Angeles Kings, Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes, was given the green light by the Islanders organization to step away from his coaching duties to see his eldest son play.

"I think he talked to the staff there with the Islanders and they were like, 'Hey, you've got to go watch your son play his first game,'" Tage Thompson said of his father. "I'm very fortunate for that and it's going to be a really cool feeling to have them here. 

"I'm just looking forward to it obviously. I've grown up in the hockey lifestyle for quite some time. I've been thinking about this day for a long time. Now that it's here, try and enjoy it and try not to let the nerves get to me too much. I think having mom and dad here will kind of help settle some of that down. It's almost like just another game. I just have to try and approach it like that, just have fun and not think too much about it."

Brent and Tage Thompson will have a special conversation, one that entails talking about a first NHL game. But they do converse regularly. 

"All the time. We're always texting," Tage Thompson said. "We'll talk before and after games and throughout the day. I think he's probably more excited than I am. He's seen the hard work I've put in, he's pretty happy that it's finally paying off. It'll be a pretty rewarding feeling for myself and my family."

Tage Thompson and defenseman Vince Dunn will make their NHL debuts for the Blues tonight, and coach Mike Yeo just wants them to go out and play.

"As a coach, you try to get them on the ice as early as possible," Yeo said. "Not necessarily in the starting lineup, but that said, we're not going to pass over them for five, six shifts and ease them into it. We've got to get them in the game and for them, my advice is always the same for young players: you only get one opportunity to play your first game in the National Hockey League. I think that they've had enough time where they're aware of our systems, they're aware of the way the way that we want them to play the game, but why not go out and have a great game? Go out to try to make a difference. Don't go out trying just to play a mistake-free game. We've got plenty of time as coaches to correct things, but go and leave your mark on the game, impact it the way that you can and show us the reason why we kept you."

- - -

The Blues have elected not to be on the bench tonight when the Penguins celebrate their second Stanley Cup in as many seasons with the banner-raising ceremony.

"We talked about it ... that's something we want to do," Yeo said. "That's something we want to be a part of. The fact is it's going to be a long wait and this game is too important for us. We've discussed having it on on the dressing room but not being out there for it. Congratulations to them. We don't want to show any disrespect, but we just have to make sure that we're ready to play the game."

With the banner-raising ceremony and the hype that comes with the first game, the Blues will be well-advised to try and get off to a strong start and not allow the Penguins to build off the pregame momentum.

"I'm ready to go and and you guys are and I think our players are and I'm sure their players are, too," Yeo said. "It's always exciting, Game 1. So many possibilities and so much at stake, but it's the start of a journey and a nice, fun test here tonight to get started with.

"We're faced with a good test and even some adversity before the season even starts. For us to come into the game with the mindset that every shift, every period, every battle, every faceoff drop, whatever it is, everything is important to us right now. What it can really do for us is sharpen our game and if we're not sharp, then we'll be putting ourselves in a hole. We've got to be ready tonight. We know that this is a team that they've got high expectations for the season, and with good reason, but we've got to make sure we're coming in concentrating on ourselves."

"We know it's going to be tough," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. "That's almost the fun part for myself looking at it. It's a good challenge to see where we are right off the hop. They've obviously got a lot of good players, they're going to be very good. We know what to expect. It's going to be a good test. If we bring our 'A' game, I think we're going to give them a good game. It's a fun way to start obviously with the festivities before and the banner raising. I think it's going to be a good challenge."

"Stanley Cup champs, everybody knows what they bring and what they're capable of and what kind of game we need to bring if we want to give ourselves a chance," Blues center Kyle Brodziak said. "It's going to be a good challenge for us early on in the year. I think guys are looking forward to that."

- - -

The Blues have named their assistant captains for the season, and they are going with just two instead of the four they've recently implemented the past few seasons.

"(Alexander) Steen and (Vladimir) Tarasenko will be our assistant captains and obviously with 'Steener' out tonight, Jaden Schwartz will be wearing an 'A' as well," Yeo said. "We've got a leadership group. I'd rather not talk a whole lot about it right now. We've got obviously a number of quality veterans and quality character people and guys that we're going to count on in leadership roles. They might not be wearing a letter, but they'll be involved in various things, whether it's decisions or opinions. We need leadership from those guys. For me, first and foremost is what you do on the ice. We need leaders in that regard."

Surprisingly kept off the list was veteran center Paul Stastny, who wore an 'A' the past two seasons.

- - -

Don't look now, but for the first time in eight seasons, the Blues don't have No. 75 on their side.

Former Blue Ryan Reaves will make his Penguins debut tonight against players he called teammates the past seven seasons.

"They're going to want to keep their heads up," Reaves said with a smile. "I talked to a few of them yesterday. 

"... I already told them I'm not letting up on anybody. We're going to take 2.5 hours off the friendship and play some hockey and we'll go back to talking after that."

Reaves was traded to Pittsburgh on the first day of the 2017 NHL Draft for the Penguins' No. 1 pick (31st, which the Blues used to select Klim Kostin) and center Oskar Sundqvist.

It will be a different moment for Reaves when the banner goes up since he wasn't part of either one of those two teams.

"It's going to be one of those that's-what-I-want moments," Reaves said. "The building's going to be buzzing, fans are going to be loud. It's something all the new guys can look forward to."

But looking across the ice and seeing guys he went to battle with won't be as tough for Reaves as some might think since he faced them just 10 days ago in the Kraft Hockeyville USA preseason game.

"I don't think it's going to be as weird as everybody thinks," Reaves said. "That first exhibition game might have got a little bit of the emotion out of the way. Obviously it's going to be a little bit weird, but I don't think it's going to affect anything in the game."

Asked who he'd like to hit, Reaves was his usual smiling self.

"That's a long list," he said. "How long have you got? Anybody I can catch, I'll take a run at, don't worry.

"I've got to get after Tarasenko. That's the best player. That's what I do. I think they all know it's a job when the game's on."

Speaking of Tarasenko, he and Reaves have formed a special bond as friends, and the two of them always had a pregame ritual of skating onto the ice and shoulder-bumping for pregame warm-ups.

"The first day of stretching was weird because usually, he's right next to me, we're always talking during stretch, but after that, we're good," Reaves said. "I'm trying to get some of my new rituals over here, but guys aren't catching on too quick."

Reaves was asked if he'll be chirping his friends.

"Oh yeah. You've never seen me play," Reaves asked. "Of course I'll be talking. That's my favorite part of the game."

And the Blues will be aware when he's on the ice, especially for Parayko, who may have to go back and retrieve a puck when Reaves is on the ice.

"Probably just keep skating and try to beat him, beat him out of the corner with the puck, I don't know," Parayko said with a grin. "Maybe wheel around the net by him or else if I can suck him in and take the hit, I'll take the hit and hip it off to our forward and hope that the forward can just keep going with it. We know what kind of player he is. He's obviously going to bring a lot of energy for them. It's going to be different seeing him in a different jersey obviously. It was when we went there for the preseason game. I just try to make a play around him and let our forwards skate. 

"He treated everyone so well. I only had two years with him, but he's had a lot of years with guys here. He's one of the guys everyone loves. He's a great teammate and great guy on the ice and off the ice as well. He's easy to like. He's going to be jacked up playing against his old team, Game 1, new colors, new team and everything. It should be fun and I wish him all the best this year."

"I think everybody's going to be aware when he's on the ice," Brodziak said of Reaves, a linemate the past two seasons. "He's going to do his job, he's going to do it well because that's what he does. As long as we're aware of it out there, guys are talking to each other, it's all you can really do."

Reaves misses the Blues' fanbase but understands it's time to build a new one.

"Seven years, you build a fanbase and you start to love the city and love the fans there, but this is part of the business," he said.

- - -

Sundqvist, who will make his Blues debut tonight, is sort of the forgotten player in this transaction but will center the third line tonight.

Yeo likes Sundqvist's defensive game and ability to win faceoffs, which are a couple of reasons why he's ahead of Ivan Barbashev on the depth chart.

"It's going to be fun," Sundqvist said. "Obviously it's a good team with really good players. I know a lot of players there and I'm real close friends with a lot of them. It's going to be fun to go up against them.

"It's not going to be too hard once the puck drops. They have their banner raising and all that stuff. For us, it's just come in there and get two points and let the season start. We have to find a way to get the season going and it's going to be a fun night tomorrow.

"It's been easy to get in with this group of guys. They're really a great group of guys in here and everyone's been taking care of me really well. On the ice, I know I've been responsible defensively and all that stuff for a couple of years now. Just continue with that and hopefully do it a little more often, hold the puck a little bit longer to just find  good opportunity for my teammates."

Sundqvist was never able to crack the Penguins lineup, but with good reason he understands.

"They had, I would say, one of the best four centermen in the league," Sundqvist said. "They had Sid (Crosby), Gino, (Nick) Bonino and (Matt) Cullen. It was a tough job to crack that lineup especially with the spot I was supposed to have with Cullen there. He was one of the best faceoff guys in the league. What is he, 41, 40 years old and he's still really good."

Now he gets to make an impact with the Blues, and Sundqvist hopes to take advantage of the opportunity.

"They play a style of game that I like," Sundqvist said. "A lot of speed and getting pucks up in the offensive zone, finishing hits and all that stuff. We're playing a physical game, but at the same time, we can also make plays."

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Vladimir Sobotka-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Dmitrij Jaskin

Magnus Paajarvi-Oskar Sundqvist-Tage Thompson

Scottie Upshall-Kyle Brodziak-Chris Thorburn

Joel Edmundson-Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson-Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn-Robert Bortuzzo

Jake Allen will start in goal; Carter Hutton will be the backup.

Nate Prosser, Ivan Barbashev and Wade Megan are the healthy scratches. Alexander Steen (hand), Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Patrik Berglund (shoulder), Robby Fabbri (knee), Zach Sanford (shoulder) and Klim Kostin (lower-body) are out with injuries.

- - -

The Penguins' projected lineup:

Conor Sheary-Sidney Crosby-Jake Guenztel

Bryan Rust-Evgeni Malkin-Phil Kessel

Carl Hagelin-Greg McKegg-Tom Kuhnhackl

Scott Wilson-Carter Rowney-Ryan Reaves

Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang

Olli Maatta-Justin Schultz

Matt Hunwick-Ian Cole

Matt Murray will start in goal; Antti Niemi will be the backup.

Chad Ruhwedel and Josh Archibald are the healthy scratches. Patric Hornqvist (hand) is out.

Blues feel they're ready to tackle new season

Opener slated for Wednesday against 

two-time defending Stanley Cup champs

By LOU KORAC
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Ready or not, the Blues will kick off the 2017-18 season Wednesday night against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.

After two-plus weeks of training camp, slugging it out with one another, trudging through preseason games and in the Blues' case, trying to stay healthy, the fun stuff gets going against the Pittsburgh Penguins on the national spotlight of NBCSN at 7 p.m.

"Very excited, and I think the players are, too," Blues coach Mike Yeo aid. "Training camp, it's necessary and there's a lot of work that needs to be put in. I think the guys did that, but you could tell today there was a different energy and different pace to practice and everyone's excited to get going now."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Alex Pietrangelo (27) and the Blues open the 2017-18 season against Sidney

Crosby (87) and the two-time defending Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Blues, who finished third in the Central Division a season ago at (46-29-7, good for 99 points), were eliminated from the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Nashville Predators in six games.

St. Louis, which will open the season without Alexander Steen (hand), Jay Bouwmeester (ankle), Robby Fabbri (knee), Patrik Berglund (shoulder) and Zach Sanford (shoulder), will implement a mix of veterans and youth after making minimal changes to player personnel in the offseason.

"If you kind of look throughout the training camp, we've progressively gotten better," defenseman Colton Parayko said. "Obviously we've implemented some new strategy work and some new bodies. When you get the chance to kind of build within and build with each other, it's an opportunity to gain and to start getting better. I think that we've done  good job and I think each game has gotten better throughout training camp. If we implement the game an we stick to our game plan, we're going to be dangerous."

New additions include center Brayden Schenn, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers for Jori Lehtera and two first-round picks, center Oskar Sundqvist was acquired from the Penguins and a No. 1 pick for fan-favorite Ryan Reaves, who will face his former teammates in his new home, veteran defenseman Nate Prosser was brought in for depth, and the infusion of prospects in defenceman Vince Dunn, forward Tage Thompson and feel-good story in Wade Megan all fill the missing pieces. The Blues brought back fourth-line winger Scottie Upshall on Sunday and Vladimir Sobotka starts his first full NHL season since 2015.

Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, who led the team in goals (39), points (75) and was tied with teammate Jaden Schwartz with 36 assists, is motivated to be even better, center Paul Stastny heads into the final year of a four-year contract he signed in 2014 and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo begins his second season as captain and No. 1 blueliner.

"I don't think we feel by any means that we're close to the team that we're going to be by the end of the season," Yeo said. "Right now starts a process of trying to get better an making sure that you use every day, whether it's a practice day to get better or a game to make sure you're at your best an to put yourself in a good position. I'm happy with where we're at, but I also know that our level will go up as the season goes on."

So one looming question that remains is what will the identity of the 2017-18 St. Louis Blues be? The team seems to feel it has a pulse of what that can be.

"We talked a lot about it yesterday," Yeo said. "A lot of the things that the Blues have been known for over the past six, seven years is being a team that's really difficult to play against. Obviously you can't try to be something else and somebody else. We have some new players here, but there's certainly lots of elements in our game that are going to be very similar. There's a lot of things that we're going to be harping on to making sure that we're going to continue to be one of those teams that's difficult to play against. Whether it's our ply without the puck and how we smother teams and how aggressive we are in our checking game, whether it's the speed that we attack with or our ability to get on the offensive side of things. We want to be a team that other teams are aware of and don't look forward to playing against."

Parayko added, "Getting to our game is the first thing that we want to do. I think we already know our identity, and it's we want to play fast. We've got a team that's tough to play against, but we've got skill as well, if that makes sense. It's a gritty team, but it's a team that's willing to work hard and get the puck, but at the same time, we're also able to put the puck in the back of the net. That's a great combination. If we're able to move the puck fast, if we're able to use our speed, make it hard on teams to kind of make it to our zone and make it hard for them to score, it's going to be fun."

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Paul Stastny begins his fourth season with the Blues against Pittsburgh. 

Stastny had 18 goals and 22 assists in 66 games last season.

Yeo doesn't worry about the veterans, because they've been grasping this system for a number of years, but do the young guys have it figured out? Yeo thinks so.

"I do, I really do," Yeo said. "When you're dealing with younger players, they obviously have the challenge of trying to prove that number one, they belong in the league, but they have to make sure they stay consistent with their identity. We're not asking every player to go out and play the same way and be the same player for us. It's quite the opposite. We have a bunch of different puzzle pieces and we'd like to think that they're all going to fit well together. You have to make sure what it is that you do well, you bring it to the table and collectively as a group, we have an idea in mind what our best games look like and we want to start trying to get to it right off the hop."

* NOTES -- Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson was suspended for four games, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Tuesday evening.

Wilson was suspended due to a boarding penalty received Sunday against the Blues in preseason action during the third period in which he checked Blues right wing Samuel Blais from behind (here is video and explanation by the DofPS -- https://www.nhl.com/video/tom-wilson-suspended-four-games/t-277440360/c-53133103). 

Wilson, a repeat offender who had just received a two-game suspension after a late check during the preseason against Blues center Robert Thomas, was given  five-minute boarding major penalty and game misconduct at 17 minutes, 39 seconds of the second period.

Blais, who was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League on Monday,. was taken into the quiet room and was under observation under the concussion protocol but returned early in the third period.

Blues set 23-man roster for opening night

Thompson beats out Blais for one of final forward spots; Dunn beats 

out Walman on D; Jagr choses Flames over Blues; Kostin out 7-10 days

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues set their 23-man roster for the opening of the regular season, which will come Wednesday against two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh.

Some were expected to make the team based on their camp performances (forward Wade Megan and defenseman Vince Dunn), but perhaps the surprise of training camp is that 2016 first-round pick Tage Thompson made the cut, and 2014 sixth-round pick Samuel Blais, who had a very solid camp, was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League.

The thought was that Blais would make the opening night roster in light of injuries to some key Blues forwards, and that Thompson, who had a solid camp himself, would go down the AHL and get a full season of seasoning in before becoming a full-time NHL player.

But with a season-ending knee injury to Robby Fabbri, Alexander Steen out at least the first week of the regular season with a hand injury, Patrik Berglund being out until December with a dislocated left shoulder and Zach Sanford out until at least late February, the Blues feel Thompson, who turns 20 on Oct. 30, is ready to stick.

At least for the time being.

"It's important to remember and I know 'Army' (Blues general manager Doug Armstrong)  mentioned this yesterday that obviously you lose a couple guys," Blues coach Mike Yeo said Monday. "It puts increased focus and urgency on some guys to step up and to be ready. Just because you have that void, doesn't mean all of the sudden they're going to be ready. This is the best league in the world with the best players in the world. We needed to make decisions that we felt were going to give us the best chance going into Pittsburgh and being ready for Game 1. That said with Sammy, the meeting was extremely positive. I am very, very pleased with the development that he's had in a year and the improvement that he's shown through training camp. This is ongoing, the process is ongoing. Right now, they're not as good as we want them to be in the future. The bottom line is we believe if a player's not here to be in our opening lineup off the hop, then we don't want young players around and not have them develop. Obviously it's a long year. Sammy did a great job. He's not with us right now, things can change. Hopefully he goes down there and continues down the same path and we're real excited to see what he's going to bring us in the future here."

Thompson skated on the third line Monday with Magnus Paajarvi and former Penguin Oskar Sundqvist, and could very well make his NHL debut Wednesday.

"We want to make sure that Tage doesn't go in paralyzed by fear thinking that one mistake is going to put him back down in the minors," Yeo said. "I think they have to have some comfort, some confidence that they can play the game. But that said, the reality is whether it's him, whether it's some of the other guys that were in the conversation of who should stay and who should not, the reality is that you have to perform and that's kind of where our group is at. We've got some guys out of the lineup, some guys are getting a chance for me. What we saw with Tage is obviously you see his size, you see his shooting ability, you see his skill level. It's the ability to play a role with a line that's played two games together and looks like an NHL line. They've had an identity between him and Magnus and Sundqvist as far as a line that can be defensively responsible, can eat up minutes by hanging onto the puck in the offensive zone. For me, he's a player that has shown me that he's engaged in all aspects of the game. Every time he's on the ice, he's engaged. If he's in the defenive zone, he's alert. If it's in the offensive zone, he'd involved and that's why he's here today."

Thompson, the son of former Peoria Rivermen coach Brent Thompson, got the news from Armstrong and Yeo on Monday.

"Obviously it's a good feeling," Thompson said. "It was my goal coming into camp. When you achieve that goal, it's a good feeling. There's still work to be done. It's a long road ahead. This was a hard challenge to make the team, but I think the hard part is going to be staying here. We'll see how it goes.

"Obviously you're going up against stronger, older guys. You're going to face challenges. For me, I had a pretty good camp I thought. Luckily, there was not too much adversity I had to face. For the most part, I felt I had pretty strong preseason games. There's things I need to work on, but the staff's there to help me with that, going over things in between periods or after practice or whatever. It's made it a lot easier on myself."

* Dunn beats out Walman -- Dunn, the Blues' second-round pick in 2015, beat out Jake Walman, who was assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, for a spot among the Blues' seven defensemen while Jay Bouwmeester (ankle) is out through the first week of the season.

"Yeah, it's a pretty crazy feeling," said Dunn, who was also told Monday morning by Armstrong and Yeo. "Looking back a few years, I probably didn't see myself here, but right now, I think just a lot of hard work and a lot of determination. I finally get my chance and I'm really excited to be a part of the team.

"It's a huge honor to be a part of this club. When you're a kid, you don't really know how fast things come at you. The last few years, a lot of the things to come my way. I'm pretty fortunate for everything that's happened. "

"We talked about right from the start that we felt like there were a lot of strong candidates," Yeo said. "We knew it was going to be a competitive camp and we knew there were going to be hard decisions at the end. We knew some guys might play their way onto the team. We're here today facing exactly what we expected to face. We didn't know how it was going to pan out and what numbers were going to be there at the end. I wouldn't say that we were surprised by any of it.

"Both guys have shown us that they have high-end offensive ability, they're going to add to our organization for a long time. Both are going to have solid careers. For us, what we felt was the difference was probably the play without the puck. I think that both had their moments with the puck, both showed at different times that they have some learning to do and some growth with the puck. I'd say without the puck, Dunner was probably a little more solid and steady and a little bit more reliable and consistent with that."

* Megan wins job -- Megan is the feel-good story out of this whole bunch.

A 2016 free agent signing, Megan, who played college at Boston University, played impressively at both ends of the ice to earn a spot among the 23.

"It's a pretty good story because he deserves to be here," Yeo said of Megan, a 2009 fifth-round pick of the Florida Panthers. "He earned it. I said as much to him today that a guy when you're drawing up lines and you're kind of placing things and who might be here for the start of the season, I didn't think that Wade would be here. I believe that he could be depth and a guy that can definitely fill in and play some games for us given what he did for us last year, he changed our minds, and he did that with his play. ... That type of persistence deserves to get rewarded. We didn't give him any favors here. We didn't do anything for him because it's a feel-good story. He made the team and he did that by playing at a real high level and we're happy for him."

* Blues lose out on Jagr -- The Blues were among at least two teams that showed interest in future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr, but on Monday, the 45-year-old Jagr informed the Blues he was taking a one-year contract from the Calgary Flames for a reported $1 million in base salary and $1 million in signing bonuses.

Armstrong didn't want to comment on it but confirmed the Blues did make an offer to Jagr, who has 765 goals and 1,149 assists in 1,711 NHL games.

"Obviously when we discussed 'Jags,' he's got a lot of points," Yeo said. "Offense was a huge part of it, a guy that can control the puck and maybe he's not the fastest guy in the league, but he has the ability to get in the offensive zone and hang onto the puck. 

"It didn't work out and now we're concentrating on our group."

It was reported that the Blues' offer was similar to what the Flames offered, but St. Louis didn't jump into the discussions until Fabbri went down. The Flames have been interested since free agency opened and there's a better chance to play in Calgary, and perhaps Jagr feared that when the Blues get some of their injured guys back, it would diminish his role.

* Schwartz, Sobotka flip spots -- The Blues ran their lines on Monday in what could very well be their opening night lineup:

Vladimir Sobotka-Paul Stastny-Vladimir Tarasenko

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Dmitrij Jaskin

Magnus Paajarvi-Oskar Sundqvist-Tage Thompson

Scottie Upshall-Kyle Brodziak-Chris Thorburn

Extra forwards included Ivan Barbashev and Wade Megan

Defensive pairs included:

Joel Edmundson-Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson-Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn-Robert Bortuzzo

Nate Prosser was the seventh defenseman

Schwartz had been skarting with Stastny and Tarasenko, but Yeo wants to see things evened out among his top six while Steen is out.

"A little bit of balance," Yeo said. "We'll see how that goes. Obviously we know we can go back to that. Stastny, Schwartz and Tarasenko has been a line that's been real effective in the past for us. I also think that 'Schwartzy' and 'Schenner' had a lot of chemistry together early in camp when we were using them together. We're going to need depth and we're going to need balance, we're going to need scoring from more than one line and hopefully this takes hold and we can stay with it longer than just the one game here."

Sundqvist has, for the time being, beaten out Barbashev as the team's third-line center for what Yeo described as a variety of reasons.

"His play has just been at a higher level," Yeo said of Sundqvist. "We've had a few conversations with 'Barby.' For me personally especially, I have a ton of trust in 'Barby' and belief in him as a player and confident that he'll come around, but his level of play isn't what we would all remember from last year right now. We have to get that back, we have to find a way to get that back and we addressed some areas and some ways that we can do that. What it comes down to is 'Sunny,' he won that spot because he's been a little bit more reliable in his defensive play, a little bit more consistent in his overall play, his faceoffs have been very, very good. His penalty killing has been very good. When you look at the role of what we sort of need from that line, he's been able to fit that."

* Kostin begins season injured -- Rookie Klim Kostin, the second of two first-round picks in 2017, sustained a lower-body injury on Sunday and will miss 7-10 days.

Kostin begins the season on the injured, non-roster list along with Berglund and goalie prospect Luke Opilka (hip). 

"He's done a nice job," Yeo said of Kostin. "It's hard to believe that he's only 18 years old. Certainly has a lot of development in front of him, but you can see the tools are there."

Kostin will remain in St. Louis through the 7-10 days and Yeo said they'll then decide what corresponding move to make.

* Yeo confident Allen ready to go -- Goalie Jake Allen, who will start the season-opener against the Penguins, has the confidence of his coach that he's ready to go despite a shaky start on Sunday's preseason finale, a 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.

In that game, Allen allowed four goals on only 21 shots, including a game-tying goal in the third period on a weak backhand from the high slot by John Carlson that got through Allen's pads.

"I think I'm confident that Jake will be ready to go right from the start," Yeo said. "I think timing-wise and some things during the game, I think are not quite there, but I think that he's ready to dial it up. I've seen enough in him to know and to feel confident that he's going to be ready to step into that level. I think there's a few games where whether we had younger lineups or a little less predictable play in front of him, I would say that he was not at that same level we saw last year but I saw enough when we had the good lineups in front of him and that predictable structured play that he's used to in front of him that he'll be ready for Game 1."

* Steen skates again -- Steen has been able to keep up with his cardio while being out of the lineup; he skated again on Monday after skating at least twice before team practices last week.

Steen was injured on a non-slashing call on the first preseason game at the hands of Dallas' Antoine Roussel.

"We'll take it this week that he is not going to play and then we'll take a look at it next week, but he's obviously getting closer," Yeo said of Steen. "He wants to get in the lineup and he's doing everything that he can. Conditioning-wise, he's feeling good, he looks good and it's just a matter of things taking its course here."

* Kaspick signs entry-level contract -- The Blues locked up another prospect when they signed forward Tanner Kaspick to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Kaspick, 19, is a 2016 fourth-round pick who is currently in his fifth season with the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings, and currently has four points (two goals, two assists) through four regular season games.

Last season, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound forward recorded 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) and 75 penalty minutes in 49 regular season games as well as two assists and eight penalty minutes in three postseason games.

Internationally, the Brandon, Manitoba, native has represented Canada at multiple tournaments, including the 2016 Hlinka Memorial, where he captured a gold medal.

Prospects make final case to make opening night roster in preseason finale

Megan, Blais, Thompson, Dunn all 

perform well, Blues fall 4-3 to Capitals

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues used their final preseason game Sunday to give those deserving to get an absolute final look before rosters will be trimmed down to the season-opening 23 players.

Never mind that the Blues lost 4-3 to the Washington Capitals at Scottrade Center. It was the final dress rehearsal for those that want to make this roster coming out of camp, and in light of a rash of injuries during training camp, there will be players that stick and those that don't.

Once again, forwards Wade Megan and Sam Blais made strong respective cases to stick and be in Pittsburgh when the Blues open on Wednesday.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Blues players (from left to right) Kyle Brodziak, Wade Megan, Robert

Bortuzzo and Dmitrij Jaskin celebrate Jaskin's goal Sunday in a 4-3 loss.

Megan scored and was a plus-2 in 11 minutes, 43 seconds of ice time, Blais had a power-play assist on a Brayden Schenn goal in 17:02 despite having to go to the quiet room for concussion protocol late in the second period after being hit from behind by the Capitals' Tom Wilson (more on that later) and Tage Thompson the most minutes among all forwards (21:49) despite not getting on the scoresheet.

Defenseman Vince Dunn played 21:36 and Jake Walman played 18:55 in their final dress rehearsals.

When asked what he saw, Blues coach Mike Yeo said, "A lot of good things. Actually disappointed that we lost the game. I thought that having a young lineup, the guys that we wanted to see play well played well. I thought they competed hard. Where we lost the game was our execution in the third period. Obviously a veteran team, with a lot of skill, they recognized that we had a young group out there and they did a good job of getting in the offensive zone. We defended it well, but we didn't execute well enough. I thought there were a lot of times where we were just shoveling pucks around the wall and you have to make a play at that point to break that to get your game, to get to the offensive zone because when we did that, we we had success tonight. A lot of times, whether it was nervous plays or just not enough poise in situations, we didn't compete well enough.

"Guys that we're making decisions on, they made a case for themselves tonight. Obviously we can't keep everybody here."

Megan scored a nifty little backhand to tie the game 1-1 11:34 into the third period on a play that typified his camp: hard work and sticking with a play even when the odds are stacked against him.

Megan had just drawn a tripping penalty and the puck curled around to the back of the net, where Dmitrij Jaskin helped get the puck near the goal line, where Megan picked it up and hustled to the front of the net and slipped s backhand past Braden Holtby.

The Boston University product signed as an unrestricted free agent in 2016, Megan, 27, has made his case.

"I feel like I just competed as hard as I could and just tried to battle every day," Megan said. "It's the last game, it's done now and there's nothing more that I can do about it.

"(Camp went well) for the most part. There's still some adjustments, a couple mistakes that I made, just adapting to the NHL game. Obviously a little bit faster, a little bit stronger. Plays need to be made that much quicker. There's definitely still some adjusting to do, but I felt like I competed like I should have. It is what it is at this point. ... I try to play hard in the offensive zone as well, be responsible defensively. If you do that, the offensive chances will come, so I try to play a sound defensive game and then try to capitalize on the opportunities if I get them in the offensive zone. 

"There's nothing I can so. Whatever feelings they may have don't really matter because it's done, so there's nothing else I can do."

Yeo said Megan "made a strong case for himself."

As for Blais, he had quite the afternoon.

After assisting on Schenn's goal that gave the Blues a 3-2 lead at 13:45 of the second period, he was facing the glass in the defensive zone when Wilson planted him face-first into the boards.

Wilson, who was suspended two games in the preseason after a late hit on the Blues' Robert Thomas, received a boarding major and game-misconduct at 17:39 of the second.

But Blais, who didn't initially return for the third period, was able to pass concussion protocol and came back to play.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just had to do the (concussion) protocol, but I'm feeling good right now.

"I didn't see (him), but I think it was not a good hit. I didn't see him coming. For sure if I would have seen him coming, I would have protected myself. I never saw him coming.

"I wanted to do a play, I didn't see him coming, but I'm good right now."

Needless to say, Yeo didn't like it.

"It's a predatory hit with a guy that apparently didn't learn his lesson from the first suspension," Yeo said. "Maybe coming down on him a little bit harder will make him think a little bit more about it. It's tough going after vulnerable people.

"(Blais) a tough kid. You can see the toughness for me is not dropping the gloves, there's different types of toughness for him. His toughness is the way he plays through things, the way that he wins puck battles, the way he's willing to take  hit to make a play, those types of things."

As far as making the team, Blais, who finished with two goals and two assists in seven preseason games, also put himself in position to make it.

"I think I did my best and I played (and did) what I have to do, play the offensive zone, try to do the little details and I think I did a good job," Blais said. "Just got to wait right now.

"I was trying to do it through the games and I think it went pretty good. For sure, it's not perfect but it's going to take time, but I thought I did a pretty good job at it.

"I'm getting comfortable game after game and I think my confidence is getting (better) game after game. I've just got to keep playing hard and everything is going to be alright. ... It's not in my hands. For me, I just have to wait and see the decision at the end."

Thompson certainly put himself in the conversation.

"What I like about Tage and what I've seen is his mind is in the game no matter what happens on the ice," Yeo said. "If he's in the d-zone, he's thinking the game, he's aware, he's alert. If it's in the offensive zone, he's got that same mindset. He wants to make a difference, whether it's offensively or defensively right now and he's engaged. I think that he did a nice job again tonight."

Dmitrij Jaskin, who gave the Blues a 2-1 lead on Sunday, had himself a decent camp, and for a guy whose job is safe, he sees an opportunity for everyone to step up.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Vladimir Sobotka (71) skates with the puck during the Blues' 4-3 preseason

loss to the Washington Capitals on Sunday.

"It's a good chance for everybody," Jaskin said. "I'm pretty sure everybody does. We've just got to be at our best to play in this competition with so many guys injured. I think it's a great chance for everybody and it's even a greater challenge for us.

"Today was pretty good, but we had some bad shifts. Three goals, it's not good. Our line (got scored on) three goals. I think we have to work on that."

Jake Allen played the whole game Sunday and gave up four goals on just 21 shots, including two goals on three shots in the third period.

Now comes the final decisions, and let the regular season begin.