Blues at Bruins preview
Boston seeks to extend point streak in Stanley Cup Final rematch; Tarasenko out for St. Louis
by Matt Kalman / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
BLUES (5-2-3) at BRUINS (6-1-2)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV
The Game
The St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins will meet for the first time since the 2019 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on Saturday.
The Blues defeated the Bruins in seven games last season to win the Stanley Cup for the first time their 51-season history.
Forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 10 games, will not play for the Blues, who have won two straight, because of an upper-body injury.
Forward Brad Marchand will look to extend his point streak to nine games for the Bruins; he has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past eight games. Boston is 3-0-2 in its past five games.
Players to watch
Blues forward Brayden Schenn has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in his past nine games.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak has 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak including a four-game goal streak.
They said it
"Obviously good memories being a part of this room. It feels like yesterday we were just here. So I look forward to the match tonight, and it's going to be a tough one." -- Blues forward Brayden Schenn
"Not a rematch, no. The Stanley Cup unfortunately is not in the building tonight. So this is for two points. Again it's a team we got to know well, so I'm sure there could be some level of intensity more than other games develop. But going into it I don't see it as any different." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy
Blues projected lineup
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Oskar Sundqvist
Alexander Steen -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Zach Sanford -- Tyler Bozak -- Robert Thomas
Sammy Blais -- Ivan Barbashev -- Mackenzie MacEachern
Colton Parayko -- Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester -- Justin Faulk
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Carl Gunnarsson, Robby Fabbri
Injured: Vladimir Tarasenko (upper body)
Bruins projected lineup
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- Charlie Coyle -- Brett Ritchie
Anders Bjork -- Par Lindholm -- Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom -- Sean Kuraly -- Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk -- Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Steven Kampfer, David Backes
Injured: David Krejci (upper body), Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), John Moore (shoulder), Anton Blidh (shoulder)
Status report
Blais, who has missed one game with an upper-body injury, will be a game-time decision. If he plays, he'll replace Tarasenko, who will also not play at the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. … Krejci skated Saturday but will miss his fourth straight game; he will not play at the New York Rangers on Sunday. … Nordstrom will play after missing two games, replacing Backes.
Stat pack
Schwartz has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a six-game point streak. ... Perron is two points from 500 in the NHL. … Chara will tie Phil Housley (1,495) for 22nd on the NHL all-time games played list. … Bergeron has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past eight games.