Ottawa Senators vs St. Louis Blues Preseason Game #5 – Thursday Night Faceoff: 8:00 PM | Location: Enterprise Center, St. Louis
The Senators are back at it on Thursday night, in game number five of the preseason, in what is sure to be a more civilized affair than the one we saw on Tuesday night in Quebec City against the Montreal Canadiens. The Senators take their 2-2 preseason record into St. Louis to play the Blues.
Here are your game notes:
- Leevi Merilainen will start in goal for the second game in a row. Head coach Travis Green says he will go the distance, which is likely a “get right back on the horse” move after the rookie was shelled in Tuesday’s 5-0 loss.
- Green says Drake Batherson skated on Thursday morning. He's out with an upper-body injury suffered at practice last week.
- Green hopes Lars Eller and Nick Jensen will be ready for the preseason finale on Saturday in Montreal.
- Preseason or not, Brady Tkachuk rarely misses a chance to play in his hometown.
"I mean, it's not distracting," Tkachuk said. "I'm more excited just to get back. I didn't think I'd be fortunate enough to play in preseason back in St. Louis. So an extra trip there is always special."
Here's how the Sens lined up their troops on Thursday morning in Ottawa before heading to Missouri. Again, game-day skates in the preseason aren't always a fully accurate predictor of how things will align in the game.
Ottawa Senators – Thursday Morning Game-Day Lineup:
Forwards:
- Tkachuk – Stutzle – Zetterlund
- Greig – Halliday – Lycksell
- Bourgault – Pettersson – MacEwen
- Kaliyev – Jenik – Boucher
Defense:
- Sebrango – Spence
- Donovan – Matinpalo
- Thomson – Yakemchuk
Goaltenders:
- Merilainen (starter)
- Mads Sogaard (backup)
This will be the final game of the preseason for most of tonight's group. Some will be reassigned, while others will get Saturday's finale off. Tonight's group can be divided into three camps.
"Some guys are on the team, obviously, either on top of their game or trying to find their game still as you ramp up to regular season," head coach Travis Green said after practice. "Some guys are here for experience for tonight's game as well. They know they're not going to be on the team, but we're giving them a game. And then there's guys that we're still making decisions on."
So let's break down what that probably looks like:
On the team: Tkachuk, Stutzle, Zetterlund, Greig, Spence, Merilainen
Not on the team, but getting a game: Washkurak, Pettersson, Boucher, Donovan, Thomson, Sogaard
Still making decisions on: Halliday, Lycksell, MacEwen, Kaliyev, Jenik, Sebrango, Matinpalo, Yakemchuk
The Blues, on the other hand, will ice a lineup that's opening night quality.
St. Louis Blues – Expected Lineup (as per Blues website)
Forwards
Pavel Buchnevich - Robert Thomas - Jimmy Snuggerud
Dylan Holloway - Pius Suter - Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph - Brayden Schenn - Nick Bjugstad
Milan Lucic - Oskar Sundqvist - Nathan Walker
Defense
Cam Fowler - Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg - Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker - Logan Mailloux
Goalies
Jordan Binnington
Colten Ellis
Broadcast Info:
- English radio: TSN 1200
- No TV broadcast. The Senators are working on a website stream: “Our plan is to stream the game on our website and we’re hoping to iron out the technical glitches once we arrive at Enterprise Center this afternoon,” Sens VP of communications Ian Mendes posted on X Thursday morning.
Faceoff: 8 p.m.
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