Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery is making some adjustments to his lineup in search of more speed as his team gets set for an important matchup against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday (6:30 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
Montgomery will bring Nathan Walker back into the lineup, reuniting the fourth line of Walker, Alexey Toropchenko and Radek Faksa. He’s also moving Mathieu Joseph to center to skate with Brandon Saad and Zack Bolduc on the third line.
“I want more of a speed lineup tonight,” Montgomery said. “I want to get that Faksa line back because they give us a lot of energy and I can match them up against anyone. And (Joseph) is doing a really good job — Mojo can play center so he’s going to move and play with Bolduc and Saad, a real fast line there.”
The adjustments mean Montgomery is re-uniting his first line of Jake Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. The Dylan Holloway, Brayden Schenn and Jordan Kyrou line remains unchanged.
Defensively, Montgomery is going with a different look again.
“Things were going a little flat,” he said. "(Cam Fowler) is someone that doesn’t matter (who he plays with), and (Colton Parayko) and (Ryan Suter)… it seems like everybody plays better when they play with him. It’s just an opportunity to give a different look. I want more minutes for (Philip) Broberg, and playing with 55, he’s going to get more minutes.
Jordan Binnington is expected to start in goal.
The Canucks sit two points ahead of the Blues in the race for a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
