Projected Lineup: April 4 vs. Winnipeg
by Chris Pinkert / St. Louis Blues
ST. LOUIS - The Blues will get Jori Lehtera back in the lineup tonight when the club hosts the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. at Scottrade Center.
Lehtera has missed 12 games with an undisclosed injury he sustained on March 10 against the Anaheim Ducks. Tonight he'll play on the left wing alongside Ivan Barbashev and Zach Sanford.
"Veteran presence, puck strength and ability to play make plays," Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo said about Lehtera will bring to the lineup tonight. "Since I've taken over, he got shuffled down the lineup and his role changed a little bit, but I feel like he stepped his game up at that time, whether it was different matchups, different pressures, not being on a line with (Vladimir Tarasenko) for long periods of time. He was playing good hockey for us before he got hurt and I'm hoping he can regain that."
Lehtera also figures to play on the top power-play unit tonight, which was been struggling as of late.
Video: Lehtera returns to lineup vs. Jets
"In a lot of our struggles, we've tried having (Jaden) Schwartz or different guys taking the faceoffs," Yeo said. "We haven't started with the puck a whole lot, so hopefully he can help us on faceoffs. It also gives us a chance to strengthen our second unit as well.
Here is the rest of the projected lineup for tonight's game vs. Winnipeg:
Forwards
Jaden Schwartz - Alexander Steen - Vladimir Tarasenko
Magnus Paajarvi - Patrik Berglund - David Perron
Jori Lehtera - Ivan Barbashev - Zach Sanford
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Ryan Reaves
Defense
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson - Colton Parayko
Petteri Lindbohm - Jordan Schmaltz
Goalie
Jake Allen