Blues are 7-1-2 past nine games, set to open three-game homestand against Capitals; Berggren gets back into lineup; Hofer to start
ST. LOUIS – Beginning a three-game homestand starting Tuesday against the Washington Capitals, it’ll be just the third game in nine days for the St. Louis Blues.
It’s a rare commodity to have such time off in between games this late in the season, but the Blues (28-30-11) are here, and it’s been actually a refreshing aspect, at least from a physical standpoint of guys dealing with minor injuries, bruises and all.
“It was a bit weird on the road trip with a couple days off,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “Usually you don’t get that. I thought it felt weird on the road, but since we’ve been back home, it’s felt pretty normal getting a practice in yesterday and back to a game today. The time off is a little weird this late in the season, but that’s all we’ve got left. The rest of the season’s go, go, go so it’ll be good. Guys got their little week of break there and now we’re ready to go every other day.
“Little nicks and bruises and things you’re dealing with, the more days you can have off the ice and away from the gym and stuff like that, it helps. It’s definitely appreciated by us getting a couple extra days off, but at the same time, it could play both ways. You’ve got to make sure you keeping your body sharp and mind sharp and ready to play.”
What it has done is allow the Blues, 7-1-2 the past 10 games and 8-2-2 since the Olympic break, some practice time, which is rare this time of season with a compacted schedule.
“There’s been so many games in such a short amount of time, I’m not as concerned about having that time off,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “It should give us a huge benefit to have fresh legs and play with pace, because it’s allowed us to have three really good practices.”
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Today marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Blues legend Bob Plager, and the first thing Montgomery did when addressing the media is acknowledge the original Blue, whose No. 5 hangs in the rafters of Enterprise Center.
“I know we all sorely miss him, but I remember the incredible jokes, the vibrant personality and the positive personality that made everyone around him better and he's sorely missed within the organization,” Montgomery said who said he first met Plager as a rookie. “… I didn’t know exactly who he was. They didn’t have the internet back then to prepare you for what he looked like. I knew what he looked like as a player, but it was just this jolly person that came in, one one-liner after another. The only guy that I knew that could out-duel ‘Chaser’ in wit.”
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Speaking of Neighbours, the left wing admits his confidence has taken a bit of a hit since the return to play from the Olympics. He has just one assist in 12 games.
“I think I’ve been just pretty inconsistent,” Neighbours said. “A lot of my game, I’m trying to be physical, trying to do the little things I tend to do on most nights, but just fighting it confidence-wise, a lot of frustration, but that’s part of the game. You’re going to go through stretches like that. I’ve got to keep working.”
Montgomery said when Neighbours affects the game, it affects the Blues in such a positive way.
“I would like to see him be more involved in the momentum of the game, whether it’s keeping momentum or changing momentum and also being in and around the areas where he has success, which is below the tops,” Montgomery said.
As for confidence, Neighbours said the way for him to grab it back is, “I think just being simple and going north, not trying to do too much and just being around the net and being physical and kind of getting back to the staples of my game, the foundation of it, and usually when I’m doing that, other things fall.”
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The Blues are looking at veteran Justin Holl these days, with Tyler Tucker (lower-body injury) out week to week, rather than Matthew Kessel.
“A lot of it just goes to we know Kessel a lot better than Holl,” Montgomery said. “We just want to see Holl play games right now, and I’m sure Kessel will get his opportunity. That’s what it comes down to.”
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud
Jake Neighbours-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou
Otto Stenberg-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonatan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko-Jack Finley-Pius Suter
Philip Broberg-Logan Mailloux
Theo Lindstein-Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler-Justin Holl
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Jonathan Drouin, Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Matthew Kessel. Tyler Tucker (lower body) is out.
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Capitals Projected Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Anthony Beauvillier
Aleksei Protas-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael-Justin Sourdif-Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime-Hendrix Lapierre-Ivan Miroshnichenko
Martin Fehervary-Rasmus Sandin
Jakob Chychrun-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cole Hutson-Matt Roy
Logan Thompson is projected to start in goal; Charlie Lindgren would be the backup.
Healthy scratches include David Kampf, Declan Chisholm, Dylan McIlrath and Timothy Liljegren. Ethen Frank (lower body) is out.
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