Jordan Kyrou will be back in the lineup Saturday when the St. Louis Blues begin a four-game homestand by hosting the Seattle Kraken at 6 p.m. at Enterprise Center (FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
Kyrou was held out of the lineup on Thursday night in Buffalo, where the Blues rebounded after a bad loss Wednesday in Washington with a 3-0 victory against the Sabres.
"Everybody has a role and responsibility on our team. When you don't live up to your standard, you risk the chance of coming out of the lineup," Blues Head Coach Jim Montgomery said of the decision to sit Kyrou out against Buffalo. "It could have been a lot of guys, it's just the way I ended up making my decision. This morning (Kyrou) showed up, he's in a good frame of mind and I'm giving him the opportunity to respond.
"I expect him to be good tonight."
Kyrou was skating on the top line with Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas on Saturday morning, so that's where he's expected to be for the game against the Kraken. Oskar Sundqvist and Logan Mailloux, who also did not play Thursday in Buffalo, are expected to remain out of the lineup.
Joel Hofer will start in goal.
"I've always thought that if a goalie has as a shutout, he should start the next game unless you're on a hard back to back with travel, less than 24 hours (rest), and you've given up like 40 shots. That's a hard back-to-back for any goalie," Montgomery said. "He got a shutout, he played great, he's the No. 1 reason why we won and he deserves the opportunity to get us going on a roll."
