Brayden Schenn is expected to move to the first line to center Klim Kostin and David Perron, while Tyler Bozak - who has played this season on the fourth line - moves up to Schenn's former spot between Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich.
The red-hot line of Ivan Barbashev - Robert Thomas - Vladimir Tarasenko remains untouched.
"We've had lines that have been doing very well, but I do want balance throughout the lineup," Berube said. "We've got a significant amount of young guys in the lineup, so it's nice to have veterans with those guys.
"(Schenn and Perron) played together last year and probably the year before that at times, too," he added. "That was always one of the switches I made if I took Perron from O'Reilly, I'd put him with Schenn all the time. They do have familiarity with each other. (And Bozak), he does a lot of different things for us in the lineup, whether he's playing up in the lineup, down in the lineup, different areas like power play, penalty kill, he's a real smart player. (His line) would be a real effective line."
Thursday will be the first time the Blues have played without O'Reilly since his arrival in the offseason of 2018. On Wednesday, the team recalled Dakota Joshua from the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds. Joshua is expected to center the fourth line with Jake Neighbours and James Neal on Thursday.
"You've got to rely on your leadership group more than anything," Berube said of his team without two of it's Top 6 forwards. "I've had conversations with guys already about stepping up with guys out of the lineup. You've got to rely on each other, got to rely on the leadership group, which really has to pull through."
The team held an optional practice Thursday, so the projected lineup is based on Wednesday's practice at Centene Community Ice Center.
