St. Louis Blues Prepare for Clash with San Jose Sharks

The St. Louis Blues are poised to pursue their second consecutive victory as they ready themselves to face the San Jose Sharks on Thursday evening at the SAP Center. The match, scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT, will be available for viewing on ESPN+/Hulu and broadcast on 101 ESPN.

In preparation for the game, forwards Alexandre Texier and Kasperi Kapanen were absent from Wednesday’s practice, taking maintenance days. However, Head Coach Drew Bannister has indicated that both players are expected to return to the lineup against the Sharks. “They’re key parts of our lineup, and we’re confident they’ll be ready to go,” Bannister stated.

The only anticipated adjustment in the lineup for the San Jose game is Joel Hofer taking the goalie position. This change comes as the Blues embark on their first set of back-to-back games of the season. Following the match in San Jose, the team will swiftly travel to Las Vegas to face the Golden Knights less than 24 hours later.

The projected lineup for Thursday’s game includes Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas, and Jake Neighbours as one of the forward lines. Joining them are Alexandre Texier, Pavel Buchnevich, and Jordan Kyrou; Mathieu Joseph, Brayden Schenn, and Kasperi Kapanen; and Alexey Toropchenko, Radek Faksa, and Nathan Walker. On defense, the pairs are Nick Leddy with Colton Parayko, Philip Broberg with Justin Faulk, and Ryan Suter with Matthew Kessel.

The Sharks enter the match following a challenging season with a record of 19-54-9, including 11-25-5 at home. With a goal differential of -146 last season, San Jose will be looking to improve from an offensive standpoint.

Last season, the St. Louis Blues finished with an overall record of 43-33-6, including 18-19-4 on the road. The Blues’ power play success rate was 18.0%, scoring 45 goals on 250 opportunities.

Currently, there are no reported injuries for either the Sharks or the Blues.