The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars open their season on Friday night, and during the Blues’ morning skate, the lines have revealed themselves. The Blues made a couple of offseason moves, including trading Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Connor McMichael.
A new season is on the horizon, and the Blues are looking to establish a new era under Captain Robert Thomas and new general manager Alexander Steen.
Blues Forward Lines
At the Blues’ morning skate in Dallas ahead of Friday night’s season opener, Jeremy Rutherford reported the lines for opening night.
Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud
Pavel Buchnevich-Mason McTavish-Connor McMichael
Jake Neighbours-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonatan Berggren
Alexy Toropchenko-Pius Suter-Ross Johnston
The Blues top line could take over a game. It includes St. Louis’ top three goal scorers last season and the Blues’ top three point-getters. Holloway, Thomas, and Snuggerud were in sync down the stretch last season, allowing the Blues to push into a late playoff hunt before ultimately falling short. The Blues’ first line played in 21 games as a unit last season and scored 22 goals.
Three new faces are suiting up in the blue note for the first time in regular-season play on Friday. Mason McTavish, Ross Johnston, and McMichael are all offseason acquisitions meant to deepen the Blues’ bench. McMichael and McTavish will share a line and are in the Blues’ top 6 on opening night.
Blues Defense Pairings
Philip Broberg-Adam Jiricek
Theo Lindstein-Colton Parayko
Cam Fowler-Brandon Carlo
Broberg is St. Louis’ most capable defenseman; he is useful in five-on-five situations, the power play, and the penalty kill. Rutherford reported that Broberg would not be quarterbacking either of the man-advantage lines because of his ability in the other two scenarios, plus injuries to the defense corps.
Adam Jiricek is getting the call up to the top pairing with injuries to Tyler Tucker and Logan Mailloux to begin the season. Jiricek had five goals and six points in seven games for Czechia at the World Junior Championship last year. He took home the silver medal but was thrown into the spotlight with his two game-winners during the tournament. Jiricek has been touted as a potential star in the making, drawing comparisons to Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar.
Joel Hofer Starting In Net
Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Jordan Binnington is going to take a seat on the bench in the opening game, with Joel Hofer getting the nod between the pipes.
Hofer started 43 games last season and came in relief of Binnington three times. The Blues are shifting to Hofer as the goaltender of the future in St. Louis, while Binnington has been relegated to the backup. Hofer went 24-13-5 last season and completed six shutouts for St. Louis.
With Binnington aging and Hofer playing well, St. Louis is making the shift for now. Both Blues goaltenders are in the top 32 of The Athletic’s goaltender tiers, and if Binnington can regain some momentum, the Blues could have one of the best tandems in hockey.
Blues Starting Lineups For Opening Night Tilt With Stars