Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock said he needs Fabbri to think of himself as a go-to player.
"He played two really good games, and then he had a tough night (against Chicago)," Hitchcock said. "When you're going to go play up the lineup like he is, we need a good player… and when he's there, he's really effective. That's what we need. We need him to be thinking he's a go-to guy, so we need him to play like a go-to guy. His tenacity and his compete level, with that skill, makes him a very effective player. That tenacity and work ethic has to be there every night."
Fabbri has struggled offensively this season, posting one goal and three assists in 14 games played thus far. Tonight, he'll get a chance to play alongside Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko - where he had success in last year's postseason.
"He's a smart player, skilled with good speed," Lehtera said of adding Fabbri to the line. "I think it's good to just mix a little bit because we haven't been scoring the last couple games. I think it's going to be good tonight."
"He's a great player, but our team can play way better, every one of us," Tarasenko added about Fabbri. "I've always said this before, you just need to go on the ice and enjoy your time there. It doesn't matter who you play with… if we keep working hard, we'll have success."
BLUE NOTES
- The Blues have won back-to-back games against the Blue Jackets, including last Saturday's 2-1 overtime win thanks to Tarasenko's goal with 42.1 seconds left in the extra frame.
- The Blues have given up just two power-play goals to Columbus in the last 10 games (25 attempts).
- Former Blues Associate Coach Brad Shaw now serves as an assistant coach with the Blue Jackets.
- Shattenkirk has four assists and a plus-5 rating over his last four games.
- Steen remains one goal shy of 200 in his career.
