"Playing St. Louis, there's no time to ease into it," defenseman Roman Josi said. "They play hard, they're a great team so we've got to be ready right from the beginning. I think everyone in this room knows that the break is over, and it's a huge game."
Nashville is currently in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and will try to have a better close to the regular season than last season, where it sputtered down the stretch after being in first place in the NHL.
"Obviously last year we were kind of in a different situation," Josi said. "I think we were first in the League after the All-Star break, and now we're in the middle of the playoff push. We need to play well. It can be a good thing, too, to be in that playoff mode already right now because every game matters."
The Blues are looking for a quick start to get their legs back under them after the All-Star break. They believe playing a smart game, especially in the first period, will be key.
"You've got to be ready from the start and keep your shifts short," forward Paul Stastny said. "Everyone has been off for a while so you don't want to feel it out. You want to get out there right away and maybe minimize the errors early on, especially on the road when you're playing a tough opponent like this. Not weather the storm, but just kind of play an even game early on and slowly get your legs back under you, your hands to think and process."
Here are the projected lineups:
BLUES
Patrik Berglund - Alexander Steen - David Backes
Robby Fabbri - Jori Lehtera - Troy Brouwer
Magnus Paajarvi - Paul Stastny - Vladimir Tarasenko
Scottie Upshall - Kyle Brodziak - Dmitrij Jaskin
Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo
Joel Edmundson - Kevin Shattenkirk
Carl Gunnarsson - Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Elliott
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Colton Parayko, Ty Rattie, Ryan Reaves
Injured: Jaden Schwartz (ankle), Steve Ott (lower body), Jake Allen (lower body)
PREDATORS
Filip Forsberg - Ryan Johansen - James Neal
Calle Jarnkrok - Mike Ribeiro - Craig Smith
Viktor Arvidsson - Mike Fisher - Austin Watson
Miikka Salomaki - Paul Gaustad - Cody Bass
Roman Josi - Shea Weber
Barret Jackman - Ryan Ellis
Mattias Ekholm - Petter Granberg
Pekka Rinne
Carter Hutton
Scratched: Anthony Bitetto
Injured: Colin Wilson (lower body), Gabriel Bourque (upper body), Eric Nystrom (broken foot)
Status report: Gunnarsson, Bortuzzo and Parayko rotated together on the last defense pairing for the Blues at the morning skate. … Elliott is expected to start for the Blues. … Rinne was the first goaltender off of the ice for the Predators at the morning skate and is expected to start.
Who's hot: Elliott has a save percentage of .939 or better in four of his past five games. … Ekholm has six points in his past five games.
