Jonatan Berggren will get an opportunity to play on the first line with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich as the St. Louis Blues begin a two-game road trip in Florida before the holiday break.
Berggren scored his first goal as a Blue on Thursday night against the New York Rangers, and has shown an ability to make plays in two appearances with the Blues since being claimed off waivers last Tuesday.
"[Thomas, Buchnevich and Berggren] see the game commonly in the offensive zone and off the rush. There's no question Berggren has really good hockey sense," Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery said of the new line combination. "(Alexey Toropchenko) did a really good job last game (with Thomas and Buchnevich). He got them in on the forecheck because of his speed through the neutral zone, he got pucks in, he got them o-zone time. And he's so responsible defensively they didn't have to spend as much time in the D-zone... Berggren has the ability to create more offense. It might be the first two and a half periods with Berggren (on that line), but you might see (Toropchenko) on that line the last 10 minutes, just depending on the score."
Robby Fabbri is expected to return to the lineup for Saturday's game against the Florida Panthers. No changes are expected on defense, and Joel Hofer appears to be starting in goal.
The puck drops at 5 p.m. CT on FanDuel Sports Network and 101 ESPN.
