Projected Lineup: Dec. 14 at Dallas

Two players are back from COVID-19 protocols and another will make his NHL debut on Tuesday when the St. Louis Blues begin a home-and-home set with the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center (7:30 p.m., BSMW, 101 ESPN).

Defenseman Justin Faulk and forward Tyler Bozak will be back after serving their mandatory 10-day COVID-19 protocol requirement. Faulk has been out since being pulled from pregame warm-ups on Dec. 2 in Tampa Bay due to a positive COVID-19 test, and Bozak will return after being placed in protocols one game earlier on Nov. 30.
"They're two good veterans for us," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said. "They've been around a long time. They add stability to our team. Faulk has been a real good player for us, logs a lot of minutes and does everything for us. Bozak, same thing. He's at a different time in his career but he's still a presence out there, a veteran presence, penalty killer. He can do a lot of different things. Very smart player."
Alexey Toropchenko will also make his NHL debut for the Blues on Tuesday night. The 6-foot-6 winger was drafted by St. Louis in the fourth round (No. 113 overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft.
In 22 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds this season, Toropchenko has posted five goals and four assists (nine points).

On Tuesday morning, Toropchenko was skating on the fourth line with Dakota Joshua and Matthew Peca.
"He's played well within his game. He's a big guy, he's a heavy guy out there, skates well and gets on top of people," Berube said of Toropchenko. "He forechecks well, bangs bodies, just plays a hard, heavy game. He adds nice size to us, and his skating, it's an important part of our game to have some size and some heaviness out there and he provides that."
Berube said defenseman Scott Perunovich will not play due to a non-COVID related illness.
Below is a projected lineup based on Tuesday's skate in Dallas.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Forwards
Saad - O'Reilly - Brown
Buchnevich - Barbashev - Tarasenko
Walker - Bozak - Sundqvist
Toropchenko - Joshua - Peca
Defense
Mikkola - Parayko
Krug - Faulk
Scandella - Bortuzzo
Goalie
Lindgren