Blues looking to close out homestand with third straight win; Texier to return after missing five games; Binnington gets start in goal
ST. LOUIS – Alexandre Texier will return for the St. Louis Blues (4-2-0), who close out a four-game-homestand on Tuesday against the lone remaining unbeaten team in the NHL in the Winnipeg Jets (5-0-0) at 7 p.m.(FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
To make room for Texier, the Blues have placed defenseman Nick Leddy (lower-body injury) on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday.
Texier has missed the past five games with an upper-body injury sustained in the season opener, a 3-2 win against the Seattle Kraken; he had an assist on the eventual game-wining goal scored by Jordan Kyrou when the Blues overcame a 2-0 deficit.
“It was my first shift; it’s in the past,” Texier said. “I didn’t know. After that I couldn’t go.
“I think I had a good game, but just got to focus on tonight now and bring my best.”
Texier will skate on a fourth line with Radek Faksa and Kasperi Kapanen.
“I’m super-excited,” Texier said. “I feel like it’s been a long time, but I’m just going to try and bring my best game, play simple, compete, a simple game.”
Blues coach Drew Bannister had been playing Texier up and down the lineup throughout training camp and figures it’s best to work the 25-year-old in slowly.
“I think we want to kind of ease him in here a little bit early on,” Bannister said. “He’s been out a little bit with that injury, but previous to that, I thought he had an outstanding training camp. He can play a lot of different roles and a lot of different situations.
“I was impressed with his ability to protect pucks and hold onto them, the strength and the way he skates. And certainly he can shoot a puck. We want to play faster, we want to be harder on pucks and he sees the ice well and makes good plays. I think he has both the ability to make plays but also finish plays.”
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The Blues have faced tough opponents throughout this homestand, a 4-1 loss against the Minnesota Wild, a 1-0 overtime win against the New York Islanders and a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Each opponent has different strengths. As for the Jets, Bannister said the record speaks for itself.
“Tonight for us, obviously being a divisional game, it’s important,” Bannister said. “The last game before we go out on the road, make sure that we finish here strong.
“They play good hockey. That’s where they’re at. We’ve got to continue to build our game and it’s going to be a good test here tonight against them.”
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Brandon Saad-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Zack Bolduc-Pavel Buchnevich-Jake Neighbours
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Mathieu Joseph
Alexandre Texier-Radek Faksa-Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Suter-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
P.O. Joseph-Matthew Kessel
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Scott Perunovich and Nathan Walker. Nick Leddy (lower body), Alexey Toropchenko (lower body) and Oskar Sundqvist (knee). Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
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Jets Projected Lineup:
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi
Cole Perfetti-Vladislav Namestnikov-Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Niederreiter-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron-Rasmus Kupari-Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg-Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley-Colin Miller
Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal; Eric Comrie will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include David Gustafsson, Haydn Fleury and Dylan Coghlan. The Jets report no injuries.
