Drew Bannister shuffles deck to gain spark after another disappointing showing Tuesday in a 3-1 preseason loss against Columbus Blue Jackets
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Drew Banister wasn't kidding when he was displeased with another preseason performance on Tuesday.
The St. Louis Blues coach was in regular-season mode Wednesday with the reshuffling of lines at practice at Centene Community ice Center:
There were some interesting combinations to say the least, including having Kasperi Kapanen skating alongside Brayden Schenn, who was back in the middle after spending much of training camp on the wing, and Mathieu Joseph on the left wing and dropping 2021 first-round pick Zack Bolduc off the top six and with the extra line of Brandon Saad (baby alert duty) and fellow 2021 first-round pick Zach Dean.
Splitting up Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou isn't a surprise, but the elevation of Dylan Holloway to the top line with Thomas and Jake Neighbours and Alexandre Texier off the fourth line to the second line with Pavel Buchnevich and Kyrou raised some eyebrows.
"We've been impressed with them," Bannister said regarding the elevation of Holloway and Texier. "Now it's can they go up there and make a difference too and give them an opportunity, but we've been happy with the way they've played and I think it's important to give those reps and those opportunities to players that have come in and played well."
There seems to be a clear indication that Bannister and the Blues, less than a week away from the season-opener Oct. 8 against the Seattle Kraken, are trying to find the level and gear needed to go into the season with the level necessary, and the coach has sent a clear message to some that what he's seeing is truly not what he's expecting.
"I think we did that yesterday, trying to get some life into our group," Bannister said of the reshuffling he did in a 3-1 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets to drop them to 1-4-0 in the preseason. "Today's a new day and yesterday was yesterday. We've moved on from that and I thought our group had a good response on the ice. Guys worked and I thought we got what we needed accomplished here today to get ourselves ready for tomorrow."
On defense, there really weren't any surprises among them since nobody that played Tuesday battling for roster positions stood out among anyone else, but it was the first game that will likely make up one of the top two pairings in Philip Broberg and Justin Faulk.
"I thought Broberg looked like a player that was trying to do too much at times, and first home game, probably trying to impress," Bannister said. "I go back to the game in Iowa, he was outstanding. I think there's a lot more there. I think for him, it's just getting comfortable and having expectations that are fair for him. But when he's at his top, which was in Iowa, he's a good player. But as a group, we weren't very good. He wasn't at his best, but 95 percent of our players weren't at their best."
The Blues will have one more full dress rehearsal on Thursday at home against the Dallas Stars before sending what amounts to a minor league squad to Milwaukee on Saturday in the preseason finale against the Chicago Blackhawks.
