(4-1-24) Oilers-Blues Gameday Lineup

ST. LOUIS -- It comes as no surprise, but the St. Louis Blues have put their lineup in a blender.

When the Blues (39-31-4) host the Edmonton Oilers (45-23-4) at 8 p.m. today (HULU, ESPN+, ESPN 101.1.FM), the forward lines will have a new look, and a new defensive pairing will jump into the lineup.

Brandon Saad has been elevated to the top line; Alexey Toropchenko's hard work continues to pay off and the forward moves up to play with Pavel Buchnevich in the middle again and with Jordan Kyrou; Brayden Schenn and Kevin Hayes reunite, and Zach Dean moves back in after being a healthy scratch, replacing Zack Bolduc.

"When you play as poorly as we did last game, we have to make changes," Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said. "Changes to players coming in and out of the lineup, changes to the lines. I think when you look at Edmonton and how they roll out four three or four good lines. They double-shift some of their top players and I think it's important for us down the middle to have strength."

The Blues are coming off that dismal and brutal 4-0 loss against the San Jose Sharks in a grossly missed opportunity to gain ground on the Los Angeles Kings, who fell to the Calgary Flames 4-2, on the Western Conference wild card chase.

"We made some adjustments from that game," said Toropchenko, who will also get in on the second power play unit at the net front. "We need to forget about this game and move forward because it will be a huge game tonight. These last eight games will be very important for us to make a push."

Forget it, yes, but not completely talk about what can't happen moving forward.

"There was a conversation," Bannister said. "Yesterday was a day off. You want to move past it, but you can't forget it either. We addressed it quickly and now we're moving forward to Edmonton in front of us here tonight."

- - -

Toropchenko continues to work his tail off, no matter the role, no matter the opportunity given, no matter the circumstances of a game.

He's a prime example of what it means to work hard for more opportunity but someone who puts the team success first.

"It's always a good feeling. First of all, I care more about whole team's success and just try to do everything that I can to help the team, protect my teammates and be a good guy," Toropchenko said. "Just put the work (in) every day to get better for those things. Just be patient with it and keep it going.

"Just go and play the same way that I always play. Nothing changes. Try to create for those guys (Buchnevich and Kyrou) more space and try to be first on the puck and stick around the front of the net like usual."

With Toropchenko and Neighbours, two young players that get the concept of working for your time, it's a good building block moving forward.

"Whether it's 'Torpo' or Jake, with our young players and the way they're playing, certainly those guys have deserved everything they've got," Bannister said. "He's earning more ice time on the PK and now he's getting opportunity on the power play.

"He's somebody that has success around the net. A lot of his goals are scored around there. He's brave, he's going to go to the hard areas, so there's absolutely no reason not to have him there and give him that opportunity. I think he deserves it."

And what is Toropchenko's net front role?

"Screen the goalie and make confusion," he said. "Give the opportunity to my teammates to shoot the puck because they will know that I will be there. It's hard to see behind me. ... I always like going to the hard areas and be hard to play against. I like to be a pain in the ass for the other team. Just give them (a reason) to start to be angry. If you are out of control, you start to play worse."

- - -

On the defensive front, Marco Scandella and Tyler Tucker are in, and Scott Perunovich and Matthew Kessel are out tonight on the third defensive pairing.

The reasoning?

"I think as a group, we have to play with more of an edge," Bannister said. "Putting [Tucker] and 'Scandy' in the lineup gives us that. We're looking for somebody on our back end to give us a little bit more pushback. I think 'Tucks' brings that and certainly 'Scandy' brings an edge to his game too. That's something that's been lacking in our game and we need to have more of that moving forward."

The Blues got Perunovich to the threshold of making him eligible to be a restricted free agent on Saturday with his 74th NHL game (reduced from 80 because of the 56-game COVID-19 season), but the defenseman has just one assist in his past 11 games, and for an offensive defenseman, more is needed.

"Scotty at times has played to Scotty's potential and I think as of late, we need more from him," Bannister said. "After a game like we played last game, we have to make changes. He's one of the players that has to be better for us. He's not the only guy either. What I know about Scotty is he can be a really good player for us and I think we need that more on a nightly basis from him and more consistency in his game and what he does well."

- - -

A pair of milestones will be a go for tonight, with defenseman Justin Faulk set to play in his 900th NHL game and Schenn will play in his 500th game with the Blues.

- - -

The Blues' projected lineup:

Brandon Saad-Robert Thomas-Jake Neighbours

Alexey Toropchenko-Pavel Buchnevich-Jordan Kyrou

Brayden Schenn-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen

Sammy Blais-Zach Dean-Nathan Walker

Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko

Torey Krug-Justin Faulk

Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker

Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Zack Bolduc, Matthew Kessel, Scott Perunovich and Nikita Alexandrov. Oskar Sundqvist (torn right ACL) is out for the rest of the season.

- - -

The Oilers' projected lineup:

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman

Adam Henrique-Leon Draisaitl-Corey Perry

Evander Kane-Ryan McLeod-Warren Foegele

Mattias Janmark-Sam Carrick-Connor Brown

Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci

Brett Kulak-Vincent Desharnais

Stuart Skinner will start in goal; Calvin Pickard will be the backup.

Healthy scratches include Derek Ryan and Troy Stecher. The Oilers report no injuries.