Sundqvist to make season debut following torn ACL, replacing Bolduc; Perunovich to play first time this season, replacing Kessel; Blues face Berube for first time
As it turns out, not only was Oskar Sundqvist activated off injured reserve with a torn right ACL on Wednesday, the forward will make his season debut for the St. Louis Blues (4-3-0) against the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3-0) and former Blues coach Craig Berube on Thursday (6 p.m.; FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1.FM).
Sundqvist, who was injured March 25 last season against the Vegas Golden Knights, has now overcome the second torn ACL of his career.
"It feels good,” Sundqvist said. “I'm excited to be back. It's been a long road, rehab and other stuff. It feels great to be back.
"I think this one, it's been feeling better since day one. I also feel it's different in a way where I know what to expect. You kind of know when to maybe lay off for a little bit instead of keep pushing it. I feel like I was more prepared on how to handle and treat the knee.
"Hopefully just get back to my game as quickly as possible and try to get some energy and some momentum for our team on the ice."
Sundqvist will skate on the wing with Alexey Toropchenko and Radek Faksa on the fourth line.
“We have to manage his minutes and also manage the games,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said of Sundqvist. “He’s pushed hard. He had a tough injury. He’s worked hard through the summer, he’s worked hard through training camp, he’s worked hard up to this point. I think he’s ready for game time now, but after that, we’ve just got to make sure we do right by him.”
The Blues will begin their time playing games without Robert Thomas, who fractured his right ankle on Tuesday in a 3-2 loss against the Winnipeg Jets blocking a shot by Jets defenseman Neal Pionk with 18:28 remaining.
Sundqvist is no Thomas, but having him back is definitely good news all things considered after skating well throughout training camp and the early part of the season.
“By the 5 ½-month mark. It started feeling really good and skating wasn't an issue,” Sundqvist said. “Minimal pain. The feeling the whole time the knee has been strong and I haven't had any thoughts about my knee being unstable or hesitating in situations. It's been a good feeling the whole time."
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With defenseman Nick Leddy (lower-body injury) out for a fourth straight game, it’s been a solid run thus far for veteran Ryan Suter playing on the top defensive pairing with Colton Parayko.
Parayko’s ice time in the three games with Suter has been 26:30, 23:28 and 23:06, while Suter, who began the season on the third pairing, has logged 25:10, a game-high 24:17 and 21:38.
“He's a great player,” Suter said of Parayko. “It’s fun to play with him. He’s big, strong. It’s been good.”
Parayko is a plus-1 in the three games, while Suter is plus-2. They’ve been on the ice for two even-strength goals against in the three games.
“So far so good,” Parayko said. “We’ve definitely been learning off each other for the first few games, but it’s been good. He’s obviously been around for a long time. He reads the game well, he knows the game well. He’s an easy player to play with. He’s a great player, playing in his 20th year. He’s definitely seen all situations. It’s good to have a calm guy back there. Just easy to play with.”
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After starting Tuesday on the fourth line, Bannister moved forward Alexandre Texier up the lineup and he will begin there tonight with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou after missing five games with an upper-body injury.
Texier didn’t factor in the scoring Tuesday but did log 12:40 ice time and had one shot attempt blocked.
“I thought ‘Tex’ got better as the game went on,” Bannister said. “He looked like a player that had been out for a little bit of time, but I thought as the game went on, his game grew.”
Notes on tonight:
* Jordan Binnington gets the start in goal against Dardenne Prairie’s own Joseph Woll, making his season debut after missing the first seven games with a groin injury.
* Toropchenko will return after missing the past two games with a lower-body injury.
* Jake Neighbours will play after taking a maintenance day Wednesday.
* Scott Perunovich will make his season debut, replacing Matthew Kessel and Sundqvist will replace Zack Bolduc, a healthy scratch for the second time this season.
* And of course, it’s the Blues against their former Stanley Cup-winning coach in Berube.
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours
Alexandre Texier-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph-Dylan Holloway-Kasperi Kapanen
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Oskar Sundqvist
Ryan Suter-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
P.O. Joseph-Scott Perunovich
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Matthew Kessel, Zack Bolduc and Nathan Walker. Robert Thomas (ankle) and Nick Leddy (lower body) are out. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
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Maple Leafs Projected Lineup:
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann-Max Domi-William Nylander
Pontus Holmberg-John Tavares-Nicholas Robertson
Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves
Morgan Rielly-Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Jake McCabe
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins
Joseph Woll will start in goal; Anthony Stolarz will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Philippe Myers and Timothy Liljegren. Max Pacioretty (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), Connor Dewar (upper body), Jani Hakanpaa (lower body), Fraser Minten (lower body) and Dakota Mermis (upper body) are out.
