The St. Louis Blues (1-0-0, 2 points) kicked off their season on Saturday, Oct. 15, with a decisive 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Goals by Vladimir Tarasenko (1,2), Pavel Buchnevich (1), Ivan Barbashev (1), and Jake Neighbours (1) led the way offensively while goaltender Jordan Binnington stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn the victory. Outside of the two quick goals they allowed to Columbus in the second period to briefly tie the game, the Blues had this game very much in hand.
After three days off, the Blues travel northwest to take on the Seattle Kraken (1-2-1, 3 points) in their first game of a three-game, six-day road trip.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Blues’ 5-2 Win Against the Blue Jackets
St. Louis Blues Projected Lineup
Forwards
- Brandon Saad – Ryan O’Reilly – Jordan Kyrou
- Pavel Buchnevich* – Robert Thomas – Vladimir Tarasenko
- Jake Neighbours – Brayden Schenn – Ivan Barbashev
- Alexey Toropchenko – Noel Acciari – Nathan Walker
- *Buchnevich is a game-time decision
Defense
- Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
- Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
- Niko Mikkola – Robert Bortuzzo
Goalies
- Jordan Binnington – Thomas Greiss
Seattle Kraken Projected Lineup
Forwards
- Andre Burakovsky – Alexander Wennberg – Oliver Bjorkstrand
- Jaden Schwartz – Matthew Beniers – Jordan Eberle
- Jared McCann – Yanni Gourde – Karson Kuhlman
- Ryan Donato – Shane Wright – Brandon Tanev
Defense
- Vince Dunn – Adam Larsson
- Jamie Oleksiak – Justin Schultz
- Carson Soucy – William Borgen
Goalies
- Martin Jones – Philipp Grubauer
Quick Look at the Kraken
The Kraken come into this matchup fresh off of a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday, Oct. 17. Their lone victory so far came in their second game against the season against a Pacific Division-foe in the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 13. They’ll be coming into this game tonight in search of their first point in nearly a week after earning three points in their first two games of the season.
Related: Blues’ 3 Up, 3 Down: 2 Points, Injury Updates, & More
Statistically, this team is being led by veteran Andre Burakovsky (2 goals, 3 assists) and rookie Matthew Beniers (1 goal, 3 assists) on offense and Justin Schultz (1 goal, 2 assists), and Vince Dunn (2 assists) on defense. Goalies Philipp Grubauer and Martin Jones have split their four games so far with two starts each – neither yielding great results (Grubauer: 0-1-1, 10 goals allowed, .851 save percentage; Jones: 1-1-0, 6 goals allowed, .882 save percentage).
Blues fans will see a few familiar faces in the lineup tonight for the Kraken. Forward Jaden Schwartz and defenseman Vince Dunn were both members of the Blues’ Stanley Cup-winning team in 2018-19 and both departed the team after the 2020-21 season. Dunn was selected by Seattle in the expansion draft after being left unprotected by St. Louis while Schwartz joined them via free agency later that summer. After spending 10 years with the Blues, this will be Schwartz’s first game against his former club.
Players to Watch
St. Louis Blues: Jordan Kyrou
While the second and third lines for the Blues led the way in their win over the Blue Jackets, the first line failed to produce a point on the night. Tonight, fans should be watching for Jordan Kyrou to get things going against the Kraken. He registered three shots on goal in the season opener but ended the night with a minus-2. I thought he played well without the puck on the forecheck and backcheck but was still on the ice for the two goals given up. Look for him to register more than three shots and get at least one point tonight.
Honorable Mention: Colton Parayko (playing in his 500th career game)
Seattle Kraken: Shane Wright
18-year-old center Shane Wright was projected as the consensus number-one prospect leading up to the 2022 NHL Entry Draft until roughly 2-3 weeks beforehand. He ended up falling to the Kraken with the fourth overall pick. He’s initially made the team out of camp, but Seattle is remaining cautious with breaking the rookie into the NHL. He’s been a healthy scratch for two games while logging less than seven minutes of ice time in their other two games – registering zero points and just one shot on goal. While he still may not get much time on the ice tonight, he’ll no doubt be pushing to make a difference by getting on the scoreboard for the first time in his young career.
Honorable Mention: Jaden Schwartz (first game against the Blues)
Where You Can Catch the Game
St. Louis Blues @ Seattle Kraken – 9:00 PM CST
With the Blues travelling northwest to take on the Kraken at the Climate Pledge Arena, this will be the fanbase’s first late game of the season with puck drop scheduled for 9:00 PM CST. If you’re able to fight off sleep long enough to catch this one, you can find it nationally televised on TNT, as well as on the radio at 101 ESPN and the 101 ESPN app.
Marcus Ashpaugh is a husband, father, coach, and a huge sports fan. He has had a few of his own websites in the past where he published pieces about both the Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Blues.
