Less than 24 hours after facing off against the Dallas Stars, the Blues are back in St. Louis and back on home ice to host the New York Rangers (5 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
While the team did not hold a morning skate today, Head Coach Jim Montgomery offered some insight into Sunday’s lineup during his pregame media availability. Here’s what we know:
Radek Faksa (lower-body) is “getting better,” but is not an option for tonight’s game
Brandon Saad will be back in the lineup; Oskar Sundqvist will be out
Dylan Holloway will move to center tonight
Scott Perunovich will go in for P.O Joseph on defense
Joel Hofer will start in net
Regarding Saad, who was a healthy scratch vs. Dallas, the coach hopes to see a return to form for the veteran forward.
“Brandon Saad is someone who’s helped the Blues win a lot of games,” Montgomery said. “I know how important he was in that playoff drive we had when we lost in six to Colorado. I just want him to get back to that level of play because I know it’s in him.”
And overall Montgomery wants to see his team focus on improving their habits and being more consistent with them, especially during this busy stretch in the schedule.
“As simple as that may seem, it’s not that simple when you’re playing a lot of games – three in four nights or whatever it is, with travel,” Montgomery said. “Sometimes it escapes you.”