ST. LOUIS – Two of the hottest teams as of late in the NHL do battle on Tuesday when the St. Louis Blues (37-28-7), winners of six in a row, host the Montreal Canadiens (33-27-9) at 7 p.m. (Matrix-MW, Victory+, ESPN 101.1-FM).
The Blues are on their best heater of the season, which includes a 13-2-2 run and want to keep their firm grip on the second wild card in the Western Conference; they lead the Vancouver Canucks by three points, Calgary Flames by four points and Utah Hockey Club by six points but now have the Minnesota Wild, holders of the first wild card, in their sights, trailing the Wild by just four points.
The Canadiens 8-1-4 their past 13 games, are 3-0-3 their past six games.
“A lot of similarities,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said of the Blues and Canadiens. “Two good goalies, [Nick] Suzuki has been unreal like [Robert] Thomas has been unreal, the first line is leading like you want your team to lead and they’re playing real good, committed offense and defense in all three zones.”
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Blues forward Dylan Holloway, fresh off being named the NHL’s third star of the week for the week ending March 23, continues to gain favorable impressions from teammates and coaches.
“I don’t think there’s an area that he hasn’t grown,” Montgomery said of Holloway, who had seven points (one goal, six assists) in four games last week and is on a seven-game point streak (three goals, eight assists). “He’s always had that dogged determination to win puck battles and stay on pucks. I think his physicality has improved, I think his offensive creativity has improved, his shot-first mentality, and defensively, I had him out there in a pulled goalie situation because his defensive habits have augmented so much that the trust level has gone (up). We can use him in those situations that he just has the physical tools that will enable you to have success when you’re short in that situation.”
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Blues defenseman Colton Parayko skated on Tuesday morning, his first time skating with the team since injuring his left knee in a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 5 and having a knee scope.
“I got to be honest, I saw him twice,” Montgomery said. “When I’m out there, I’m focused on the team. I know he’s a long ways away. It’s great to have him out there. It’s just the first step in the recovery process towards becoming a player for us.
“I was just happy with the pace and execution of our team.”
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Defenseman Nick Leddy and center Oskar Sundqvist will return after each missed Sunday’s 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators with an undisclosed maintenance day.
Leddy will replace Matthew Kessel and Sundqvist will replace Dalibor Dvorsky, who made his NHL debut on Sunday.
“I spoke to him before we went out,” Montgomery said of Dvorsky, who played 10:49. “We were really happy with his first game in the league, shows his hockey sense, shows his poise with the puck. Game management was beyond his years as far as he didn’t complicate the game, he didn’t force anything, allowed us to play to our identity. Today is an opportunity to be part of a morning skate, be part of a practice tomorrow, watch the game tonight and grow and learn about why we’ve had success here recently.
“It’s very tempting to keep him in, but I think as a coach, you’ve got to reward the guys that have gotten you here and those guys have battled hard and they’re all fresh and rested right now so we’re going to go with the horses that have gotten us here.”
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Pavel Buchnevich (illness) remains out of the lineup, his third straight game missed tonight, but Montgomery said that the forward is getting better.
"Doing better, not a player yet," Montgomery said, who noted it's nothing related to the hit he took in a 4-1 win against the Predators on March 18. "It's something different."
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Jake Neighbours-Robert Thomas-Zack Bolduc
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph-Oskar Sundqvist-Alexandre Texier
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler-Nick Leddy
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter-Tyler Tucker
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
The healthy scratches include Dalibor Dvorsky and Matthew Kessel. Colton Parayko (knee) and Pavel Buchnevich (illness) are out.
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Canadiens Projected Lineup:
Cole Caufield-Nick Suzuki-Juraj Slafkovsky
Joshua Roy-Alex Newhook-Patrik Laine
Josh Anderson-Christian Dvorak-Brendan Gallagher
Emil Heineman-Jake Evans-Joel Armia
Mike Matheson-Alexandre Carrier
Jayden Struble-Lane Hutson
Arber Xhekaj-David Savard
Sam Montembeault will start in goal; Jakub Dobes will be the backup.
The healthy scratch includes Michael Pezzetta. Kaiden Guhle (quad) is out.