Drew Bannister felt 'WTF Line' play dipped as game went along of 4-1 loss against Minnesota Wild
ST. LOUIS -- Not only could there be a change on defense for the St. Louis Blues on Thursday against the New York Islanders, but there appears to be a change at forward too.
Kasperi Kapanen, a healthy scratch Tuesday in a 4-1 loss against the Minnesota Wild, took Nathan Walker's spot on the fourth line right wing spot.
The fourth line, which has consisted of Walker, Radek Faksa and Alexey Toropchenko, has been a consistent thorn in the side of opponents in the early going, but coach Drew Bannister felt the line's play dipped as the loss Tuesday progressed.
"That line as a whole has been really good, especially on the road for us," Bannister said, "and I thought they took a step back as a group, not just one player. They had the one shift in the second where they got hemmed in when we had a lot of o-zone time. For that line, they're at their best when they're able to wear teams down and playing in the other team's offensive zone. I just thought they didn't get to their game as much as they had in previous games. When we do that, we have good players sitting out right now that want to get in the lineup. If guys aren't playing to what we feel the expectations are as players, then somebody will step in and want to take their job."
