St Louis Blues News

Matthew Kessel will be a healthy scratch on Thursday against the New York Rangers, allowing Tucker to re-enter the lineup. The 25-year-old Tucker is averaging 13:09 time-on-ice and has five points (1G / 4A) in 30 games this season.

Joel Hofer has outplayed Jordan Binnington lately and recorded his third shutout of the season last night in a 1-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets. That said, the Blue will turn to the veteran Binnington on the tail end of a back-to-back on Thursday against the New York Rangers. The 32-year-old Binnington is coming off an ugly 7-2 loss to the Nashville Predators, where he allowed six goals on 25 shots (.760 SV%). He has an ugly 3.49 GAA and .869 SV% in 21 games this season (7-8-5). The Blues enter Thursday's contest as +125 home underdogs against a Rangers team that is a solid 12-5-1 on the road this season.

Binnington has struggled all season, with quality starts in a career-low 31 percent of games, but he will tend the twine for the Blues on Thursday in the tail end of a back-to-back. The 32-year-old Binnington has an ugly 3.49 GAA and .869 SV% in 21 games (7-8-5), and allowed six goals on 25 shots (.760 SV%) in his most recent outing, a 7-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

The Blues have relied more heavily on Hofer lately, and he will return to the crease on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets despite a poor performance in Monday's 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators, allowing four goals on 25 shots (.840 SV%). The 25-year-old Hofer has a 3.16 GAA and .890 SV% in 18 games (5-7-2), but has been much better lately, with a 1.95 GAA and .924 SV% in his last seven appearances (3-2-0). The Blues enter Wednesday's contest as +130 road underdogs against a Jets team they face for the first time since being eliminated by them in the first round of the playoffs.

Stenberg was drafted 25th overall by the Blues in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft and will make his NHL debut on Wednesday against the Winnipet Jets. The 20-year-old forward has eight points (3G / 5A) in 21 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season.

Berggren was drafted 33rd overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but had trouble establishing himself with them at the NHL level and was ultimately placed on waivers. The 25-year-old forward had six points (2G / 4A) in 15 games this season and hopes to solidify himself as a full-time NHLer with the Blues.

Berggren was drafted 33rd overall by the Red Wings in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but had trouble establishing himself with them at the NHL level and was ultimately placed on waivers. The 25-year-old forward had six points (2G / 4A) in 15 games this season and hopes to solidify himself as a full-time NHLer with the Blues.

Hofer was solid in his most recent game, saving 27 of 29 shots (.931 SV%) in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, and will return to the crease on Monday against the Nashville Predators. The Blues have struggled between the pipes this season, but Hofer has been slightly more reliable than Jordan Binnington and has seen an uptick in deployment over the past few weeks as a result. The 25-year-old Hofer has a 3.10 GAA and .893 SV% in 17 appearances this season (5-6-2). The Blues enter the action on Monday as slight -106 home favorites against a Predators team that handily defeated them 7-2 less than a week ago.

Holloway suffered an injury at the end of practice on Sunday and will be out of the lineup for approximately six weeks. The 24-year-old Holloway has not reached the breakout pace of a season ago, but was still putting together a solid season before his injury, with 17 points (8G / 9A) in 33 games. Jake Neighbours is expected to slot into Holloway's spot on the top powerplay unit.

Hofer was solid in his most recent game, saving 27 of 29 shots (.931 SV%) in a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, and will likely return to the crease on Monday against the Nashville Predators. The Blues have struggled between the pipes this season, but Hofer has been slightly more reliable than Jordan Binnington and has seen an uptick in deployment over the past few weeks as a result. The 25-year-old Hofer has a 3.10 GAA and .893 SV% in 17 appearances this season (5-6-2). The Blues enter the action on Monday as slight -106 home favorites against a Predators team that handily defeated them 7-2 less than a week ago.

The Blues will unsurprisingly turn to Hofer between the pipes tonight after Jordan Binnington got the nod in Nashville on Thursday. Hofer was tagged with the loss in his last start, allowing four goals on 30 shots in a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Bruins on Tuesday. The 25-year-old netminder carries a 4-6-2 record and an .890 SV% into Friday night's matchup with the Blackhawks, where St. Louis enters action at -115 on the money line.

Finley did not play in Tampa Bay's most recent game and has been assigned to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL). The 23-year-old Finley has two points (1G / 1A) in 11 games this season.

Kaskimaki was a third-round pick, 73rd overall, of the Blues in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The 21-year-old Finnish forward has seven points (4G / 3A) in 16 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) this season. He made his NHL debut earlier this month, scoring zero points and recording a -6 plus/minus in five games.

Carlo has not played since November 13th due to a lower-body injury. He was seemingly nearing his return, but suffered a setback and ultimately underwent foot surgery on December 3rd. The 29-year-old defenseman was averaging 20:04 time-on-ice and scored two assists in 18 games before his injury.