Sundqvist returns to St. Louis lineup; Mailloux to return after two healthy scratches; Snuggerud talks benching, going against buddy Logan Cooley;
ST. LOUIS – There will be a number of changes and a couple new – and familiar – additions to the St. Louis Blues lineup when they close a four-game homestand on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth (7 p.m.; FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
Oskar Sundqvist will make his season debut after the forward missed the first six games with a lower-body injury. He told us on Monday that the plan was for him to be back on Thursday.
“It’s more what he adds to our team,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “He adds a warrior mentality. He’s hard to play against. He’s hard in the hardest areas, whether it’s walls or net fronts, offensively and defensively, and his detail. He adds an exceptional defensive stick. Whether it’s on the PK or whether it’s in our own end, whether he’s playing wing or he’s playing down low, he kills a lot of plays and he knows how to build our team game offensively.”
All four lines and all three defensive pairings will have a different look than the 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
It includes the re-insertion of defenseman Logan Mailloux, who was a healthy scratch the past two games; the 22-year-old will be paired with veteran Cam Fowler.
“He’s got a ton of experience and I think he’s been through it all,” Mailloux said of Fowler. “And he’s still doing it at a really high level, so it’s just able to feed off him should be beneficial for me.
“You look around the room, we’ve got a handful of guys like that. Him, ‘Pars’ and ‘Flacker.’ It’s definitely cool to look over there and have him by your side and just be a sponge off of him.”
Montgomery added, “It’s very beneficial. Breaking into this league, I saw an article on (Chris) Pronger and I was talking to Chris Wideman at dinner last night, he talked about it takes at least 200 games to really understand how to manage a game. Not so much to play it, but how to manage it. It’s two significantly different things and it’s much harder as a defenseman that it is as a forward. Playing with someone like Fowler who really takes pride in being a great teammate and helping others, and he helps others better is very beneficial because he defends and he possesses the puck a lot, it allows a partner to really watch and learn while you’re playing with someone, and the two of them together skate so well and they’re so long that they’re going to be able to defend really well tonight as well.”
Mailloux has spent some time the past two games sitting with Hall of Famer Al MacInnis and now-retired former Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo.
“It’s guys who have kind of done it all and been through it all,” Mailloux said. “Just being a sponge around them and pick up some little tips and tricks. Definitely had some good chats. I think it was good for me to have a little reset. I’m looking forward to getting back in there.
“It’s a different game from when you’re watching up top. The reset was good. I just want to play hockey. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and playing my game.
“There’s some things that you kind of see up there that you don’t see when you’re on the ice. It’s definitely a lot slower up there and you kind of see stuff, but I think it kind of helps you realize that sometimes you have more time than you think or you have less time in some areas. It’s good to get a different view and I was sitting with some pretty good ex-players. So just kind of being able to learn from them is definitely cool.”
When Montgomery pulled Mailloux from the lineup, he said the next time the defenseman comes back in, he doesn’t expect him to come out again.
“I think that’s my goal,” Mailloux said. “I came into the year hoping to play every game and obviously I wasn’t off to a hot start, but I think it was good to have a little reset. I feel like I was feeling a little rushed out there at times. I just wasn’t playing my game, I wasn’t being myself. I think I just took some time to settle down and then hopefully come in there tonight and stick for good. That would be nice.”
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Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud will be in the lineup with Pius Suter and Mathieu Joseph on Thursday.
Snuggerud, who has played just 13 regular-season games, was held on the bench for all but one shift in the third period and overtime on Tuesday and is determined to have a more efficient game Thursday.
“Just go out and play hard,” he said. “Just go out and play hard when your number’s called. There’s a lot of ups and downs, but it’s just staying level-headed, staying parallel knowing there’s going to be off nights and there’s going to be good nights. Just try and work my butt off as much as I possible can and just try and play hard.”
Snuggerud and former college teammate at the University of Minnesota, Logan Cooley, will lock up going against each other for the second time in the NHL. They played together as Gophers in 2022-23 and the previous two years with the United States National Team Development Program the previous two years.
Snuggerud got the best of Cooley in the final game of the regular season last year when the Blues won 6-1.
“It’s always fun to go up against him. We’re good buddies,” Snuggerud said. “We’re pretty good friends. I was going to go eat with him last night, but my sister’s in town and I went out with her. We stay in touch a little bit.
“It’s nice to see him succeeding and things like that and playing well with Arizona and then Utah. He’s so skilled and such a good skater and a great mind for the game, fast and things like that. He’s got such a great skill set and stuff like that. Not surprised to see how he’s doing.”
Cooley added, “Great buddy of mine. Obviously had the chance to play with him in Minnesota. Unbelievable player and it’s fun to get to see him again.
“You’re used to passing him the puck. Now you’re trying to defend him, hit him a little bit. It’s different but it’s obviously cool to see him in the NHL now and going up against him is obviously special.
“He’s an elite shooter. He’s really good at finding open ice and finding the soft areas that gives him the chance to score. I think he’s going to score a lot of goals in this league.”
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Montgomery said on Wednesday one of the reasons he’s assembled Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou together on a line Thursday is he wants that line in a matchup going against the red-hot line of Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton.
Keller, who has 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists) in 32 games against his hometown Blues, has eight points (two goals, six assists) in a three-game point streak; Schmaltz, who has 37 points (14 goals, 23 assists) in 37 games against the Blues, has eight points (four goals, four assists) in a four-game point streak.
“The last two times we played Salt Lake, that’s the matchup I wanted and in Salt Lake, they wanted it too (and) we won both games,” Montgomery said. “And they (scored) the game-winning goal in Utah. Last time we played them I think we had three power play goals and it was a little different. I think the game was 6-0 (6-1 actually) if I can remember correctly.
“(Keller is) just a dynamic player. Typical of an elite player in the league. He gets better every year. He seems to be off to a better start this year than I’ve ever seen him. He’s had some incredible starts. He understands where he has success off the rush and in zone now. He’s so compatible with Schmaltz and the two of them are off to a great start this year. So you’ve got to be aware of them. You’ve got to be aware of them on face-offs, you’ve got to be aware of them on the power play. He presents a lot of problems just because of his dynamic skill and competitiveness.”
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A couple noteworthy items:
* Buchnevich will be playing in his 600th NHL game.
“Overall I thought he had a great camp,” Montgomery said. “I thought he started the year off playing well. Hasn’t had puck luck, and I think like anyone that’s a gifted offensive player when you don’t have the production that you’re used to, it gets magnified early in the year. But I know by the end of the year he’s going to be a 25 to 30 goal scorer for us with 70-80 points for us.”
* Blues forward Nick Bjugstad will face the Mammoth for the first time since signing a two-year, $3.5 million ($1.75 million average annual value) contract with the Blues on July 1. Bjugstad spent one season in Utah last year; he was with Coyotes franchise for previous two seasons before they relocated to Salt Lake City.
* Thomas needs one point for 400 in his career (472 games).
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours
Mathieu Joseph-Pius Suter-Jimmy Snuggerud
Nathan Walker-Oskar Sundqvist-Nick Bjugstad
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Alexandre Texier and Matthew Kessel. Alexey Toropchenko (lower, upper body soreness) is out.
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Mammoth Projected Lineup:
Clayton Keller-Barrett Hayton-Nick Schmaltz
JJ Peterka-Logan Cooley-Dylan Guenther
Lawson Crouse-Jack McBain-Michael Carcone
Liam O'Brien-Kevin Stenlund-Brandon Tanev
Mikhail Sergachev-Dmitri Simashev
Nate Schmidt-John Marino
Ian Cole-Olli Maatta
Karel Vejmelka will start in goal; Vitek Vanecek will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Nick DeSimeone and Kailer Yamamoto. Sean Durzi (upper body) and Alex Kerfoot (lower body) are out.