Blues at Golden Knights preview

BLUES (32-15-9) at GOLDEN KNIGHTS (28-22-8)
10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, FS-MW, NHL.TV

Bouwmeester experienced a cardiac episode Tuesday in their previous game, against the Anaheim Ducks, which was postponed.
The Blues, 2-5-2 in their past nine games, lead the second-place Colorado Avalanche by one point; the Avalanche host the Washington Capitals on Thursday.
Goalie Jordan Binnington will start for St. Louis, which is 1-6-1 in its past eight road games.
Goalie Malcolm Subban will make his first start since Jan. 31 for the Golden Knights, who have lost two straight. Vegas is tied with the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes for third place in the Pacific Division.

Players to watch

Blues defenseman Colton Parayko has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past four games.
Golden Knights center Paul Stastny has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past nine games.

They said it

"We're not going to let [Colorado] pass us; that's the goal. I'm sure guys know, but we know where we're at. We know what the standings are. We've been in this situation before. We just need to find a way to play well and bounce back." -- Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo
"Any time you're playing the Stanley Cup champion, you know what you're getting. This is going to be a good test for us to see where we fit against a team like that. You've got to put your work boots on and man up and get in the trenches against a team like this, or else they'll push you out of the game." -- Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer

Blues projected lineup

Zach Sanford -- Ryan O'Reilly -- David Perron
Jaden Schwartz -- Brayden Schenn -- Alexander Steen
Sammy Blais -- Robert Thomas -- Tyler Bozak
Mackenzie MacEachern -- Ivan Barbashev -- Jordan Kyrou
Carl Gunnarsson -- Alex Pietrangelo
Justin Faulk -- Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn -- Robert Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Niko Mikkola, Jacob de la Rose
Injured: Jay Bouwmeester (cardiac episode), Troy Brouwer (illness), Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), Oskar Sundqvist (lower body)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Max Pacioretty -- William Karlsson -- Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault -- Paul Stastny -- Reilly Smith
Chandler Stephenson -- Cody Eakin -- Alex Tuch
William Carrier -- Tomas Nosek -- Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb -- Nate Schmidt
Nick Holden -- Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill -- Zach Whitecloud
Malcolm Subban
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched:Deryk Engelland
Injured:Cody Glass (lower body)

Status report

Bouwmeester was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. … St. Louis recalled Mikkola, a defenseman, from San Antonio of the American Hockey League in a corresponding move. … Karlsson (broken finger) will center the top line with Pacioretty and Stone in his second game back since missing the previous eight. … Fleury and Carrier (maintenance day) did not skate.

Stat pack

The Blues (5-0-3) are the only NHL team that has not lost in regulation to the Golden Knights since Vegas joined the League in 2017-18. … Theodore has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in his past 10 games.