(2-2-21) Coyotes-Blues Gameday Lineup

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues have a chance to build on their first sustained winning streak of the season and they get to do it in front of a larger crowd.

When the Blues (6-2-1) put a three-game winning streak on the line to begin a four-game homestand against the Arizona Coyotes (3-4-1) at 7 p.m. (FS-MW, ESPN 101.1-FM), they'll get to do so with 1,100 more people in the stands.

The Blues played their first four home games in front of family and first responders, which totaled 300 in number, announced that they will increase attendance up to 1,400 beginning with tonight's game.

That number begins with season-ticket holders that can attend a game for the first time in 11 months.

Florida, Dallas, Arizona, and most recently, Nashville, are among a handful of teams that have allowed fans to attend games, and this will be a first of sorts for the Blues even though there have been people in the building for home games in January.

"It's exciting for us," Blues defenseman Torey Krug said. "We got the news obviously. The chatter in the locker room was just the excitement of having people back in the building. I know as an opposing player how hard it is to play. We want to continue that excitement and the roll we're on and give them something to cheer about. The guys are really pumped up."

The Blues, who came off a 3-0-0 road trip that was cut short by one because of the postponed game in Vegas last Thursday, play the first of back-to-back home games against the Coyotes, who have had the Blues' number in recent seasons and snapped a pair of seven-game winning streaks by the Blues last season.

"They've got a lot of speed on their team, their goaltending's very strong, they play a good-structured game, they do things right," Blues coach Craig Berube said of Arizona. "You've really got to work to beat that team. They're going to work hard and they're going to play within themselves. You've got to find a way to break that. We've had some good games against them here at home where we really possessed the puck and did a lot of good things, but still, it's a tight game. I expect the same tonight.

"We're going to have to work hard to win this game."

The Blues outscored Vegas and Anaheim by a combined 15-6 on the trip.

"We played three pretty solid games out there and I feel like we're getting closer to the way we want to play," Krug said. "If we just continue to hang onto the puck and overwhelm teams, the way our goalies have played recently, we're going to have a chance to win every game. We've got to keep the momentum and try to continue that."

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Speaking of Krug, Berube made the switch a pair of games ago, going back to his former shutdown pair of Marco Scandella and Colton Parayko and pairing Krug with former World Championship partner Justin Faulk.

"We played together, it was a long time ago," Krug said. "Both of us were younger. We're different players now, probably matured a little bit. I think we've hit the ground running. Faulker has been playing great. At this point for me, it's just trying to keep up with him, get the puck into his hands, the forwards' hands. I think we think the game very similar. Any time one of us has it, we know it's going up to the forwards and the other guy can join the rush and be a part of the attack. Crafty guys on the breakouts and it's been a good pairing so far.

"We play similar for sure. We think the game very similar. We've had conversations on the bench. In the locker room, we talk about each other's tendencies on what we like. It's a pretty good match. We defend similar. He's a heavier body, bigger that probably plays a little more physical than I do, but we're both very competitive and we like to close out plays with our feet and have the puck and go. It's been good so far."

Faulk, who is second in the NHL in plus-minus at plus-11 behind former Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson (plus-12), started the season playing with Scandella and Krug was with Parayko and not that he can't or won't go back to those pairings in the future, but these started working instantaneously.

"I knew that they played together before in the World Championships," Berube said. "I think with the way that Faulk is playing right now, they're both doing a lot of things up the ice offensively, getting involved in the play. Faulk's just doing overall a great job killing plays defensively, which helps creates loose pucks and that helps Krug in my opinion to get up the ice on the offensive side of things and transition and go the other way. He's great at getting up the ice and transitioning the puck. That was kind of the thought process on it."

Krug admits that there is a difference in playing styles between Faulk and Parayko, and not just Parayko's physical stature.

"A little bit, yeah. Both great players obviously," Krug said. "With Parayko, he ends plays so quickly and he's just so big out there and you kind of rely on that a little bit. With Justin, I think we play a little bit quicker in transition instead of hanging onto the puck in the neutral zone and waiting for set breakouts. We're just moving it up and getting going right away. That's probably the biggest difference."

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Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who posted an Instagram photo of his sticks and skates on Saturday indicating he's resumed skating following offseason shoulder surgery, is nearing closer to the five-month reevaluation period the Blues set when he had surgery on his left shoulder for the third time in his career, second in the past year.

Tarasenko hasn't skated with his teammates yet since training camp resumed but he is on the ice.

"He's skating. He's doing a good job," Berube said of Tarasenko, who was injured Oct. 24, 2019 against Los Angeles. "I think he's worked really hard off the ice, kept himself in good shape from what I've seen. Now he's on the ice skating and that's good. He's putting in the work on the ice now, so we'll see how it goes."

Tarasenko came back and skated in four games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season but needed surgery again, and when Berube was asked if it's still a ways away from Tarasenko skating with teammates, he said, "Probably."

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Sammy Blais will get a nod again as the third-line winger with Robert Thomas and Mike Hoffman.

Blais, who scored his first goal Sunday in a 4-1 win at Anaheim, has filled in for the injured Tyler Bozak, who will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury.

"I played with Tommer last year and Hoffman is a really good player," Blais said. "Both two good players. I'm just trying to bting my physicality and my offensive play to them. I'm just trying to keep it simple and we're just going to try and keep it going tonight.

"For (Hoffman), it's a new system and he's only been playing for eight games with us. But he's a really good player and I really like playing with him and Tommer. We just try to keep things simple and we talk a lot on the ice and when we come on the bench, we try to say some stuff to each other. I think we've been good the two games we've played together and we want to try to keep it that way."

Bozak, who was injured against Vegas, did not skate this morning again, but defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, who has missed seven straight games with an upper-body injury, did. 

"It's day to day and see how he feels and right now, he doesn't feel good enough to go on the ice," Berube said of Bozak.

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The Blues' projected lineup:

Zach Sanford-Ryan O'Reilly-David Perron

Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou

Sammy Blais-Robert Thomas-Mike Hoffman

Kyle Clifford-Ivan Barbashev-Oskar Sundqvist

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn-Niko Mikkola

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

Healthy scratches include Carl Gunnarsson and Jacob de la Rose. Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Tyler Bozak (upper body) and Robert Bortuzzo (upper body) are out.

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The Coyotes' projected lineup:

Clayton Keller-Nick Schmaltz-Conor Garland

Barrett Hayton-Derick Brassard-Phil Kessel

Drake Caggiula-Christian Dvorak-Tyler Pitlick

Dryden Hunt-Johan Larsson-John Hayden

Jakob Chychrun-Alex Goligoski

Niklas Hjalmarsson-Jason Demers

Jordan Oesterle-Jordan Gross

Darcy Kuemper will start in goal; Antti Raanta will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Ilya Lyubushkin and Adin Hill. Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower body), Lawson Crouse (undisclosed) and Christian Fischer (undisclosed) are out.