MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Judging by the way practices were conducted on Wednesday, the St. Louis have a good grasp on what the opening night roster that has to be set by Monday at 4 p.m. (CT) in time for the Oct. 12 opener against the Dallas Stars will look like.
All that needs to be addressed are a few spots, including who will grab the 13th forward slot and what how will coach Craig Berube address his defensive pairings at the bottom.
Oh, and will the Blues keep two extra defenseman and one forward or will they surprise everyone and expose someone off the blue line they wouldn't have thought wouldn't need to be and keep two forwards?
It seems as if Berube made those intentions somewhat crystallized at the very least when the Blues split into two groups at Centene Community Ice Center but the main group was pretty well identified.
The lines and defensive pairings that ran in the full team practice Wednesday included:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad-Brayden Schenn-Kasperi Kapanen
Jakub Vrana-Kevin Hayes-Sammy Blais
Jake Neighbours-Oskar Sundqvist-Alexey Toropchenko
Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko
Torey Krug-Justin Faulk
Marco Scandella-Tyler Tucker
Scott Perunovich-Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
The holdovers included:
Goalie Malcolm Subban; defensemen Matthew Kessel and Calle Rosen; and forwards Nathan Walker, Mackenzie MacEachern, Nikita Alexandrov, Zach Dean, Zachary Bolduc and Mathias Laferriere.
Let's first dive into the 13th forward, if that's the direction the Blues are going in, and who will be the one left standing. Will it be Walker? Will it be Alexandrov? Will it be MacEachern? Or how bout first-round picks Dean or Bolduc?
"They've all competed hard here," Berube said. "We still have two games left. They're going to get a look still. Those are still conversations we have to have and we will. Competition's competition, right? We'll see what happens."
The issue seems to be that nobody has seemed to separate themselves with the battle. The MacEachern-Alexandrov-Walker like did not do itself any favors in a 5-3 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
"I think it's pretty close to be honest with you," Berube said. "There have been a number of guys that have done a good job, worked hard and showed what they can do."
As for the defense? Well, it's a foregone conclusion that Leddy-Parayko and Krug-Faulk will start as the top four, but what about the bottom? It was Scandella-Tucker there on Wednesday, as it was on Monday in Columbus.
"That's where we're at right now," Berube said. "I think that we're still battling who's on right and who's on left. 'Tuck' took a lot of reps on right today."
For now, it looks like the veteran Bortuzzo and Perunovich are the extra D. Perunovich has been getting extensive ice time throughout the preseason but played with Bortuzzo on Monday and played less than 18 minutes after being in the 20's his first three games. And Bortuzzo seems destined to be an extra as well.
"'Borts' is a great pro, great team guy that just gives you effort every game that he plays," Berube said. "Good penalty killer that blocks shots. He makes subtle, little plays coming out of your zone that are very effective."
It certainly appears that the Blues will attempt to try and slip Rosen, who played 49 games last season (eight goals, 10 assists), through waivers most likely affected by the fact the Blues can no longer send Perunovich down without waivers.
"Last year's last year, this is this year," Berube said Monday. "Every spot has to be earned. It's just not given to you. That's going to play out, that's going to play itself out. If [Rosen] plays well enough, then he's going to be in a good spot to be in the lineup every night, and if you don't, then you're not.
"He did a great job last year. He had a good year. He scored some goals for us and did some good things offensively. In saying that, he still has to be responsible defensively and really battling in our zone on people and pucks, breaking pucks out, things like that, that's really important stuff too."
The forward line combinations have been par for the course throughout much of training camp, and Berube likes how they've shaken out.
"I do right now. I do like them," Berube said. "I think that they're starting to form some chemistry. Right now, that's where we're at. Always subject to change, I say, but we'll see."
That includes Kapanen with Saad and Schenn.
"Speed, two-way hockey player, but his speed, you've got really fast wingers with both him and Saad that can drive pucks deep," Berube said. "I like their work ethic, I like Kapi's work ethic. He's had a real good camp for me. He's been hard, skating, very noticeable with his work ethic. His puck play's been really good, solid, strong on pucks and doing the right things."
One skater most certainly going down to Springfield of the American Hockey League but has made a good name for himself throughout this camp has been Laferriere, a sixth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft in his third year as a pro.
"Competitive on pucks and competitive in tight situations and his skating," Berube said of what he's noticed. "He can separate himself with his speed.
"Laferriere has improved every year. He's a great skater, he's got good puck skills and decent size."
Kessel, who had a cup of coffee up last season playing in two games, is also one of the holdovers remaining that is likely to head down to Springfield.
"Kessel going back to last year played some games for us," Berube said. "We like his skating ability and his size, and he's a right-handed shot. I think they're important things."
