Here's what the lineups could look like when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks face off tonight at Nationwide Arena.

It will be the first game for the Blue Jackets since their 9-2 loss in Philadelphia last Saturday. The Jackets have used the time since then to completely overhaul their lines and systems, and tonight is their first chance to test them out.

The Blackhawks also come in to tonight's game a desperate team, having gone winless in three straight, thanks in part to a power play that has scored just one goal in the last eight games and currently ranks 30th in the League at 8.8 percent.

BLUE JACKETS
R.J. Umberger - Antoine Vermette - Rick Nash
Vinny Prospal - Derick Brassard - Mark Letestu
Derek Dorsett - Samuel Pahlsson - Cody Bass
Matt Calvert - Derek MacKenzie - Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin - James Wisniewski
Marc Methot - Grant Clitsome
John Moore - Kris Russell

Steve Mason will start in goal, with rookie Allen York backing him up.

Rookie Ryan Johansen will be a healthy scratch.

BLACKHAWKS
Viktor Stalberg - Jonathan Toews - Marian Hossa
Daniel Carcillo - Patrick Kane - Patrick Sharp
Bryan Bickell- Marcus Kruger - Michael Frolik
Jamal Mayers - Andrew Brunette - Rostislav Olesz

Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Niklas Hjalmarsson - Nick Leddy
John Scott - Steve Montador

Corey Crawford will start in goal, with Ray Emery the backup.

For more on tonight's game, check out the preview here.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

WINNIPEG -- The Florida Panthers wrap up a two-game Canadian road trip tonight with a stop in Winnipeg.

The Panthers took a 5-1 decision on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs  behind 38 saves from Jose Theodore. Florida’s 7-4-3 start is the franchise’s best since a 9-1-4 beginning to the 1996-97 season.

The Jets, winless in three games, return home for the first time since Oct. 24 after a 3-2-2 seven-game road trip.

Here are the projected lineups:

PANTHERS
Tomas Fleischmann - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
Jack Skille - Mike Santorelli - Tomas Kopecky
Marco Sturm - Marcel Goc - Sean Bergenheim
Scottie Upshall - Shawn Matthias - Matt Bradley

Ed Jovanovski - Keaton Ellerby
Jason Garrison - Brian Campbell
Dmitry Kulikov - Mike Weaver

Jose Theodore will start for the Panthers, with Scott Clemmensen backing up.

JETS
Andrew Ladd - Bryan Little - Blake Wheeler
Alexander Burmistrov - Nik Antropov - Evander Kane
Kenndal McArdle - Tim Stapleton - Chris Thorburn
Tanner Glass - Jim Slater - Kyle Wellwood

Mark Stuart - Zach Bogosian
Johnny Oduya - Dustin Byfuglien
Brett Festerling - Mark Flood

Ondrej Pavelec will start for the Jets, with Peter Mannino backing up.

ST. LOUIS -- When Ken Hitchcock stepped behind the Blues' bench for the first time Tuesday night, not much changed as far as the lineup was concerned.

However, one change turned into a very bright spot, where recently recalled defenseman Ian Cole stepped in.

Cole, who played 26 games and recorded 1 goal and 3 assists in his first stop of NHL duty last season, played in his first game this season after being called up from the American Hockey League's Peoria Rivermen.

It may have arguably been his best game as a pro.

"Really good," Hitchcock said of Cole's game. "I don't even know anything about him and he just looked like an NHL player yesterday.

"He was strong, he won a lot of 1-on-1s, very competitive. ... I liked the part that he was comfortable moving the puck in the middle of the ice instead, rather than just banging it off the boards getting it out. He made plays in the middle of the ice and really got us out of trouble."

Cole didn't register a point in Tuesday's 3-0 win over Chicago but played solid with partner Roman Polak. Cole played 18 minutes, 59 seconds, and blocked two shots in the game, but as Hitchcock said, made smart decisions.

"I really liked it," Cole said of his game. "I thought as a whole it was good, but as far as dissecting it, there were definitely things I could have done better."

Such as?

"I can think of four or five things I wish I could have done differently," Cole said. "As soon as they happened, I was like, 'Why did I do that?'

"I'm probably my hardest critic."

ST. LOUIS -- It's non-game days that makes Ken Hitchcock a load to deal with from a player's perspective, simply because he's a stickler for teaching on practice days.

Hitchcock, who said he likes to practice in smaller rinks, was going full bore Wednesday. Thursday was an optional gameday skate for the players.

"Days like (Wednesday), I'm a bear," he said. "Between the video and the teaching and the preparation for practice, I'm really selfish. The day of the game, I find it very peaceful and relaxing. Competition is what it is, but I find that practice days for me are, 'Get out of my way. It's my time.'"

Hitchcock said the style of game he likes his players to play is hard, not only mentally but physically as well.

"The whole game is about back-pressure, tempo and (a) 200-foot (game)," Hitchcock said. "It's not easy playing that way."

He believes the Blues are physically there but mentally, it will take some getting used to.

ST. LOUIS -- If the sellout crowd Tuesday night didn't notice who was killing penalties against the Blackhawks, that's understandable.

It's not often Patrik Berglund and Chris Stewart are playing against the man advantage. As a matter of fact, they never play there at all. They are typically playing on the Blues' power play. But new coach Ken Hitchcock has changed that as well. Only he hadn't realized the two members of the Blues' second line never played in those situations before.

"I didn't know that they weren't on the PK," Hitchcock said. "They just looked like they could check so out they went.

"I just felt like that anybody that's got a good stick and anybody that's got a smart stick needs to kill penalties. I trusted Stewy before. He was a good player. I had him for a month (for Team Canada at the World Championship this summer), but he was a darn good player for me. He's got a really good stick, Berglund's got a great stick. For me, you've got to have those guys kill penalties."

Why?

"To me, good players have to play 20-plus (minutes)," Hitchcock said. "Your top forwards have got to play 20-plus because you've got all these stoppages and time outs. You've got three or four periods where you've got 90 seconds. There's all kinds of time to rest. I don't know why these guys can't play those types of minutes.

"When you play top players in critical situations, there's ownership that takes over. They know that they can't get scored on, they know that the coach trusts them and plus, there's only one way to kill penalties: You have to stop and you have to start. There's no easy ice. You've got to make sacrifices, you've got to block shots, you've got to get pucks out, playing against other teams' best players, you've got to compete like hell ... it forces you to compete.

"You have no choice, because everybody's counting on you. I've always done that. I've always played top players killing penalties. I haven't worried about a shot off an ankle or whatever. That's the chance you take. (Mike) Modano killed penalties, (Rick) Nash was an unbelievable penalty killer. I just feel like the top players have to be out there in every situation. Nothing more unnerves a power play when the top players are going out there because they're one bobbled puck away from giving up a 2-on-1 or a goal against. They anticipate the play."

Both players have taken the added responsibility accordingly.

"It's a really tough mission to go out there and kill penalties, a big responsibility," Berglund said. "You've really got to work hard for your teammates. I just tried to stay aggressive and move my feet."

Added Stewart, "A game like yesterday, if you weren't on the PK, you were going to be sitting on the bench a long time. It shows that (Hitchcock) trusts me to put me in a situation like that, so it's obviously a big confidence booster.

"I'll invite all the ice time I can get. I want to be a guy who can play in those key situations."

ST. LOUIS -- After scoring a power-play goal Tuesday night, Blues forward Chris Stewart said it felt like getting "three gorillas" off his back, since he hadn't scored the previous 10 games.

New coach Ken Hitchcock's take on Stewart:

"We need Stewy to use his skills in confrontational areas," he said. "For me, running around and banging bodies is not what I want. Winning races to pucks, winning loose puck batttles, second and third whacks in front of the net, traffic at the front of the net ... that's his game. That's where he needs to play because there aren't many players in the league that have that size and those hands."

ST. LOUIS -- The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the surprise teams in the NHL this season, jumping out to an impressive 9-5-1 start.

But the Leafs, who are without starting goalie James Reimer (head injury), have dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season to Boston and Florida, getting outscored 12-1.

However, Wilson said that the Leafs just need to keep shooting the puck and eventually they'll start to go in.

"Just keep shooting the puck," Wilson said. "It's carpet bombing. Eventually, one of your bombs is going to land where it's supposed to.

"The simple philosophy is Phil Kessel: get as many shots as I can; the more shots increases the more opportunities to score. What we've got to do a better job of is stopping in front of the other team's net and be willing to get our noses bloodied in order to score a goal."

Hitchcock's not buying into the downfall talk regarding the Leafs.

"I've watched that team play," he said. "I've watched that team play twice and they're dynamic. They're on the wrong side of things now but only for two games. They only need a crack about this big and then they score. They're the top rush attack team in the league. They've got speed and skill on those first two lines ... it's pretty scary. You're going to have to really play smart against them."

The Leafs will come to town with Kessel, who leads the NHL in goals (11) and points (22).

Here are the projected lineups for tonight's game at the Scottrade Center between the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs:

BLUES
Vladimir Sobotka - David Backes - T.J. Oshie
Matt D'Agostini - Patrik Berglund - Chris Stewart
Alex Steen - Jason Arnott - Jamie Langenbrunner
Evgeny Grachev - Scott Nichol - Ryan Reaves

Carlo Colaiacovo - Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk
Ian Cole - Roman Polak

Jaroslav Halak will start for the third straight time; Brian Elliott is the backup.

No changes from Tuesday's win over Chicago, as Nichol, who left early in the first period Tuesday with an upper-body injury, skated Thursday morning and deemed himself fit to play.

The Blues' healthy scratches include winger Chris Porter and defenseman Nikita Nikitin. Defenseman Kent Huskins (ankle) will miss his fifth consecutive game. Wingers Andy McDonald (concussion), David Perron (post-concussion syndrome) and B.J. Crombeen (shoulder) remain on injured reserve.

Defenseman Taylor Chorney was placed on waivers Wednesday and to nobody's surprise, he was reclaimed by the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers originally placed Chorney on waivers and the Blues claimed him on Oct. 11. Chorney played in two games with the Blues, recording no points.

MAPLE LEAFS
Clarke MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin
Joffrey Lupul - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel
Matthew Lombardi - David Steckel - Matt Frattin
Joey Crabb - Philippe Dupuis - Mike Brown

Carl Gunnarsson - Dion Phaneuf
John-Michael Liles - Mike Komisarek
Jake Gardiner - Luke Schenn

Ben Scrivens gets the start in goal; Jonas Gustavsson will be the backup.

Since James Reimer (concussion-like symptoms) has been out of the Toronto lineup, the Leafs have been trying to figure out who will grab the bull by the horns and run with the goalie situation.

Scrivens, recalled on Oct. 27 from the Toronto Marlies, made his NHL debut Nov. 3 in Columbus, stopping 38 shots in a 4-1 win.

"He played really well in Columbus," coach Ron Wilson said. "We believe in both our goalies. Every once in a while, you're going to struggle. Sometimes a goal scorer doesn't score. ... The goalie's responsibility is to work hard in practice and come prepared to play, so tonight, I've decided to go with Ben."

Defenseman Cody Franson is a healthy scratch. The Leafs are without winger Colby Armstrong (ankle), center Tim Connolly (upper-body) and Reimer, all on injured reserve.