The St. Louis Blues will take on the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7 p.m., Blue Note+, 101 ESPN), but they'll have to do it without one of their veteran forwards.
It was announced Thursday afternoon that Pavel Buchnevich has returned to St. Louis for the birth of his child. Buchnevich has four points (G, 3A) in his last two games, including a three-point night in Ottawa on Tuesday.
Head Coach Jim Montgomery said rookie forward Zach Dean will re-enter the lineup to round out the team's forward group.
Dean has suited up for two games for the Blues this season. He will take the fourth-line center spot with Ross Johnston and Dylan Peterson on the wings. Pius Suter, who scored twice in Ottawa, will move up to the third line alongside Dalibor Dvorsky and Jake Neighbours.
"His strengths," Montgomery said on what he hopes to see from Dean tonight. "His speed, his ability to be tenacious on pucks, get scoring chances because of his speed. And also watching him grow defensively."
The remaining forward lines and the defense pairings are expected to remain the same. Goaltender Joel Hofer will get the start for the Blues.
