At the Rink: Blues at Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- The next chapter of Olli Jokinen's NHL career begins when his St. Louis Blues face his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NHLN-US, CBC) at Air Canada Centre.

Jokinen, 36, will make his debut with the Blues, who acquired him from Toronto on March 2. It will be the Blues' final stop on a five-game road trip that has seen them go 2-1-1 thus far.

"It was a quick stop here and I really liked my time here," Jokinen said. "The focus is now on St. Louis and I am trying to fit in here. I am looking forward to my first game with the Blues. It is pretty exciting."

Jokinen played six games for the Maple Leafs, who had acquired him Feb. 15 from the Nashville Predators as part of the trade that sent defenseman Cody Franson and Mike Santorelli to the Predators. He played 111 shifts for Toronto, had 10 shots on goal and one assist, on an overtime goal by left wing James van Riemsdyk to beat the Winnipeg Jets on Feb. 21.

The Maple Leafs traded Jokinen to the Blues on March 2 for forward Joakim Lindstrom and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Jokinen will have to compete for playing time with the Blues but knows his new team has a legitimate shot at success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has not been told exactly what his role with the team is but that doesn't matter to him.

"Any player wants to be a part of something good and this team has been near the top of the standings for many years," Jokinen said. "We're not any different than other teams in this position in that we want to go far. The focus here is to go day-by-day and try to get a win tonight and go from there. As a new player you try to fit in and make the best of every chance you get to play."

It was understood from the moment the Maple Leafs traded for Jokinen they would try to move him to a playoff-bound team prior to the March 2 NHL Trade Deadline. In his short time in Toronto he made a positive impression on Maple Leafs interim coach Peter Horachek.

"He was as professional as you could expect from a player in that situation," Horachek said. "He prepared himself well. He was intelligent. When you asked him a question he gave you a right answer. You have to appreciate that."

While Jokinen wasn't around long enough to forge close friendships with his temporary teammates, there was one, right wing David Booth, who had a history with him from their time as teammates with the Florida Panthers.

"For me it was really good to see him again and to play with him again," Booth said. "He was my captain when I was in Florida so I had good memories of playing with him. We got to play a couple of games together here and we were both excited to relive the good time we had in Florida. When he came here he was professional and it was good having his presence in the room."

Booth believes Jokinen has enough gas in the tank to be a positive force on a team that will be going into the playoffs with high expectations.

"He can distribute the puck really well and he has a great shot," Booth said. "He's a very good center that can still play the game."

Here are the projected lineups:

BLUES

Alexander Steen - David Backes - T.J. Oshie

Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitrij Jaskin - Paul Stastny - Patrik Berglund

Steve Ott - Olli Jokinen - Ryan Reaves

Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo

Petteri Lindbohm - Jay Bouwmeester

Barret Jackman - Robert Bortuzzo

Brian Elliott

Jake Allen

Scratched: Chris Butler, Chris Porter, Marcel Goc

Injured: Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen), Zbynek Michalek (upper body)

MAPLE LEAFS

James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel

Joffrey Lupul - Nazem Kadri - Richard Panik

Leo Komarov - Peter Holland - David Booth

Zach Sill - Trevor Smith - Joakim Lindstrom

Dion Phaneuf - Jake Gardiner

Morgan Rielly - Roman Polak

Eric Brewer - Stephane Robidas

Jonathan Bernier

James Reimer

Scratched: Tim Erixon, Brandon Kozun

Injured: None

Status report: Horachek said Erixon, who missed Toronto's March 5 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning because of illness, is available for Saturday. … With Jokinen making his debut for the Blues, Goc is expected to be a healthy scratch.

Who's hot: Panik and Booth each have points (one goal, one assist) in back-to-back games. … Jaskin has two goals in the past three games.