Blues head coach Jim Montgomery will split his top line of Jake Neighbors, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich on Monday when his club meets the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena (5 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
The move comes after the Blues once again failed to secure a three-game winning streak Saturday in a 4-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club.
“(I try) to have a professional attitude on every line,” Montgomery said of the decision to change things up. “Mixing things up sometimes creates a spark of, ‘I need to do more individually, I’m not going to rely on the guy next to me.’ » That’s all.
The new line combinations used in Sunday’s practice in Vegas allowed Thomas and Neighbors to play with Brandon Saad, who is expected to return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to a healthy scratch. Buchnevich skated on the right wing alongside Alexey Toropchenko and Oskar Sundqvist – a line Montgomery used to make things happen against Utah.
The Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou line will remain together for Monday’s game.
Montgomery is also making changes on defense. Cam Fowler and Colton Parayko will remain the team’s top pairing, but the bottom two pairs saw changes during Sunday’s team practice. Ryan Suter and Philip Broberg skated together, while Tyler Tucker and Justin Faulk were a couple.
Below is a projected lineup based on Sunday’s team practice. If additional changes become available before Monday’s game, they will be updated here.
PROJECTED RANGE
Attackers
Dylan Holloway – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Brandon Saad – Robert Thomas – Jake Neighbors
Alexei Toropchenko – Oskar Sundqvist – Pavel Buchnevich
Nathan Walker – Radek Faksa – Mathieu Joseph
Defense
Cam Fowler – Colton Parayko
Ryan Suter-Philip Broberg
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Goalkeeper
Jordan Binnington
