The St. Louis Blues face the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in an NHL matchup featuring returns, a debut and several absences due to injuries. Both teams have adjusted their rosters recently, with the Blues at 9-11-7 and the Bruins at 15-13-0. The game starts at 7 p.m. ET on FDSNMW and NESN.
The St. Louis Blues travel to Boston to take on the Bruins in a key early-season contest. Projected lineups show both squads dealing with personnel shifts as they aim to improve their standings.
Blues Lineup and Updates
For the Blues, forward Pius Suter returns to the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, will make his NHL debut after being recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Monday. He was set to debut in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks but arrived late due to flight delays from bad weather. Forward Matt Luff was also recalled from Springfield on Wednesday but is scratched for this game, along with defenseman Matthew Kessel.
The Blues' forward lines include Brayden Schenn centering Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours on the first line, Dylan Holloway with Suter and Jordan Kyrou on the second, Kaskimaki between Dalibor Dvorsky and Pavel Buchnevich on the third, and Mathieu Joseph with Oskar Sundqvist and Nick Bjugstad on the fourth. Defensemen pairs are Philip Broberg with Colton Parayko, Tyler Tucker with Justin Faulk, and Cam Fowler with Logan Mailloux. Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer are the goalies.
Injuries sideline Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Alexey Toropchenko (leg burns), and Nathan Walker (upper body). Walker was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will be reevaluated in eight weeks.
Bruins Lineup and Updates
The Bruins welcome back no major players but have multiple injuries. Forward David Pastrnak misses his fourth straight game for an undisclosed reason. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy skated in a noncontact jersey during morning practice but has been out since facial surgery following a puck to the face against the Montreal Canadiens on November 15. Defenseman Michael Callahan was placed on injured reserve after leaving a 5-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in the second period Tuesday. Victor Soderstrom was recalled from Providence of the AHL on an emergency basis Thursday to replace him.
Other injured Bruins include Jordan Harris (ankle), Matej Blumel (lower body), Henri Jokiharju (undisclosed), and forward Jeffrey Viel is scratched.
Bruins forwards are led by Alex Steeves with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, Casey Mittelstadt centering Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot with Fraser Minten and Mark Kastelic, and Marat Khusnutdinov with Sean Kuraly and Michael Eyssimont. Defensemen pairs: Hampus Lindholm with Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov with Jonathan Aspirot, and Mason Lohrei with Soderstrom. Joonas Korpisalo and Jeremy Swayman are in net.