Projected Lineup: Dec. 12 vs. Detroit
Craig Berube #CraigBerube
Craig Berube appears to be making changes to all four of his forward line combinations when the St. Louis Blues begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings (6:30 p.m., ESPN, 101 ESPN).
The team held an optional practice on Tuesday at Enterprise Center, but Monday’s practice revealed several changes.
Jordan Kyrou was back on the top line with Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours, while Pavel Buchnevich moved to the second line with Brandon Saad and Kasperi Kapanen.
“Thomas and Kyrou have played together before in the past, and Neighbours has been a good fit with Thomas this year with what he does on the forecheck, puck battles and getting to the net,” Berube said. “I think hopefully Kyrou can get scoring some goals here with Tommer, and Tommer can give him some good looks. That’s basically why I did it.
“And I wanted to move Buchy in the middle,” he added. “Going off last year, when he was in the middle of the ice, his wingers had good opportunities offensively and Buchy’s numbers defensively were really good.”
The third line featured Brayden Schenn centering Kevin Hayes and Oskar Sundqvist, while Hugh McGing – who made his season debut Saturday in Chicago – was centering Alexey Toropchenko and Sammy Blais.
“Our guys will be ready to go tonight,” Berube said. “We talked about it yesterday. I thought practice was excellent.”