ST. LOUIS – It’s been a week since Jordan Binnington has seen the net for the St. Louis Blues.
Binnington was last in action against the Nashville Predators and received the mercy pull in a 7-2 loss, in which he allowed six goals on 25 shots in a poor effort by those playing in front of him.
Joel Hofer has started the past three games, including a 1-0 shutout win of the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday, but it will be Binnington back between the pipes when the Blues (13-15-7) host the New York Rangers (16-15-4) on Thursday in the second of back to back games at 7 p.m. (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
“The team needed a reset, first of all,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “He’s been the negative benefit of our poor play. When we’ve really played poorly, it’s been in front of ‘Binner’ in these last two weeks. I think it’s given him the opportunity to work and to prepare and to get back the right mindset that makes him an elite goaltender in this league along with coach (David) Alexander.”
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The Blues will make a couple skater changes for the game Thursday, including inserting Matt Luff in at forward for Robby Fabbri, and Tyler Tucker will go in for Matthew Kessel.
For Fabbri, he started off the season with an assist in each of his two games but on Wednesday, played in just two shifts in the third period with Alexey Toropchenko taking Fabbri’s spot on the top line and double-shifting protecting a one-goal lead.
“I think that he got here, his first two games were excellent,” Montgomery said of Fabbri. “I think his last two games, and I spoke to him about this, a little less juice in his legs, not being as impactful. And on a back to back, it’s a lot. He wasn’t in a training camp, he’s not in the same hockey shape as everybody else is. It’s just an opportunity, and Luff’s been really good for us. We’re playing a bigger, heavier team tonight on a back to back, a team that’s fresh, so we’ll just get a fresh body in. It really wasn’t a negative of anything of his play. He’ll be back in the lineup soon.”
Toropchenko will start on that top line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. As for how the game progresses, it will be determined if he stays there.
“He’s smart enough to play with anyone,” Montgomery said of Toropchenko, normally a fourth-line winger. “It’s not ideal that he’s in that situation, but we’re playing with a lead (Wednesday). He brings north hockey to playing with 18 and 89, who like to play east-west because they have the creativity and the ability and skill level to do it, and he allows them to be a little bit simpler and the way he reloads and the way he back-checks, his habits, his sticks, creating turnovers in the offensive zone, we just thought it would allow us to close out that game a little bit better, and he’s going to start there tonight.”
Tucker, who sat out Wednesday not necessarily as a healthy scratch but he was banged up from Monday’s loss to the Predators, is an insertion into the lineup to provide beef against a bigger lineup.
“Tucker was a little sore yesterday from the slew-foot that he received at the end of the game in the third period (Monday),” Montgomery said. “It’s just with a back to back, we weren’t going to play Tucker with him being sore. It wasn’t so much of a matchup as it was we’re in a back to back, we’re in the middle of a three in four. Kessel’s been really good for us, his numbers suggest that, we have a lot of confidence in him, but now we’re on a back to back, so we’re going to go back to Tucker. It’s that simple.”
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Montgomery was asked about Otto Stenberg, a first-round pick (No. 25) in the 2023 NHL Draft, and his successful debut in the NHL on Wednesday, playing 13:38. Here is an interesting take on Stenberg’s awareness and ability to read a game by Montgomery.
“He’s a first-round pick not because of his stature, it’s because of his brain, his instincts and his ability to make plays at both ends of the ice,” Montgomery said. “As a coach, you see the things that make a guy very effective right away, stick positioning, angling, little things, always being on the right side of the puck.
“There was a play yesterday in the third period that a defenseman was in, taking a shot off the rush, I believe it was (Philip) Broberg, and he was the last forward back. And the puck went into the corner to where he could have dove at it. He didn’t go because he read numbers. Most young players would dive in and the other team would have a 2-on-1 off his back. As a coach, it’s a confidence-builder as a coach when you see a player read numbers that quickly because the game of hockey, especially when you come to play your first game in the NHL, things happen faster than you’ve ever seen before and he read that instantly. And they got nothing. We actually reloaded above, they turned it over by the red line.”
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Injured players Jordan Kyrou (lower body), Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist) and Nathan Walker (upper body) were on the ice Thursday morning working prior to an optional morning skate.
None will play Thursday, but that’s some encouraging signs that they are on the mend.
“It’s always good when you see guys getting closer,” Montgomery said. “What’s not good is when you win a game, the fist pump line of guys not dressed is about eight long, that’s when you’re like, ‘Holy Jesus, we do have a lot of injuries.’”
Dylan Holloway (high ankle sprain) and Nick Bjugstad (upper body) were not skating.
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The Blues, after wearing their old home uniforms that are now their third jerseys on Wednesday, will don the road whites at home for the first and only time on Thursday, so fans will get to see firsthand -- unless you've seen them on the road -- those sweaters.
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Alexey Toropchenko-Robert Thomas-Pavel Buchnevich
Jake Neighbours-Brayden Schenn-Otto Stenberg
Pius Suter-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonatan Berggren
Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Matt Luff
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Robby Fabbri and Matthew Kessel. Jordan Kyrou (lower body), Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Dylan Holloway (high ankle sprain), Nathan Walker (upper body) and Nick Bjugstad (upper body) are out.
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Rangers Projected Lineup:
Will Cuylle-Vincent Trocheck-J.T. Miller
Artemi Panarin-Mika Zibanejad-Alexis Lafreniere
Conor Sheary-Noah Laba-Taylor Raddysh
Gabe Perreault-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov-Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy-Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson-Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin will start in goal; Jonathan Quick will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Jonny Brodzinski and Scott Morrow. Adam Fox (upper body) and Adam Edstrom (lower body) are out.
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