Forward Nail Yakupov will return to the St. Louis Blues lineup Thursday after being a healthy scratch for three straight games, replacing Robby Fabbri on the third line alongside left wing Dmitrij Jaskin and center Jori Lehtera. Fabbri will be a healthy scratch. "It's a numbers game," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said after St. Louis' optional morning skate Thursday. "We're not disappointed in Yak, but he needs to come in and he's going to get a real opportunity with good players, so this is a good chance for him." Yakupov has two goals and two assists in 11 games this season for the Blues, who acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 7 for forward prospect Zach Pochiro and a conditional third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Goaltender Carter Hutton will start against his former team. Hutton signed with the Blues on July 1 after spending the previous three seasons with Nashville, and is looking forward to playing against Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, a close friend. "It's going to be great," Hutton said. "Obviously I wish he wasn't playing, I know how good he is. That's one of those things, it's great, just being able to play against a guy who I consider almost one of my mentors. We had a pretty close relationship here, and we still do." Forward Alexander Steen is one goal from reaching 200 in his NHL career.
