The st. louis blues head into Thursday’s matchup with momentum after Jimmy Snuggerud scored two goals in a 7-5 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. The Blues visit the Utah Mammoth in Central Division play, with both teams still working through late-season roster questions. The game is set for Thursday in Utah ET.
Projected Lineups Set the Tone for St. Louis Blues
The st. louis blues are expected to dress the same 18 skaters from Tuesday’s win and did not hold a morning skate. That gives St. Louis a familiar group around Dylan Holloway, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud on the top line, with Pavel Buchnevich, Pius Suter and Jordan Kyrou listed behind them.
Projected forward combinations also include Jake Neighbours, Dalibor Dvorsky and Jonathan Drouin, plus Alexey Toropchenko, Jack Finley and Oskar Sundqvist. Scratched for the Blues are Jonatan Berggren, Matthew Kessel and Nathan Walker. The Mammoth held an optional skate, and coach Andre Tourigny said there will be some game-time decisions.
Mammoth Search for Clean Finish in Final Tune-Up
Utah enters the matchup with a 43-32-6 record and a 13-10-2 mark in Central Division games. The Mammoth have also been flagged for 313 total penalties, a pace that places them 10th in league play.
The expected Mammoth lines feature Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz and Lawson Crouse on one unit, with Kailer Yamamoto, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther next. JJ Peterka, Alexander Kerfoot and Michael Carcone are also projected, along with Liam O’Brien, Kevin Stenlund and Brandon Tanev. Scratched for Utah are Nick DeSimone, Kevin Rooney and Dmitri Simashev.
Barrett Hayton is out with an upper-body injury, Jack McBain is out with a lower-body injury, and John Marino is day to day with an upper-body issue.
Blues Look to Build on Recent Scoring
The st. louis blues are 36-33-12 overall and 9-16-0 against Central Division opponents. Their 7-5 win over Pittsburgh was part of a stretch in which the Blues have shown they can score in bunches, with a 29-10-5 record when they score at least three goals.
St. Louis is 6-3-1 over its last 10 games, averaging four goals per game and allowing 2. 9. Utah is 6-4-0 over its last 10, averaging 4. 2 goals while giving up 3. 4. The teams meet for the fourth time this season, and the Mammoth won the most recent meeting 4-2 with two goals from Nick Schmaltz.
Clayton Keller leads the Mammoth with 26 goals and 60 assists, while Snuggerud has 21 goals and 29 assists for the Blues. Dylan Holloway has added six goals and nine assists over the past 10 games, giving the st. louis blues another forward to watch as the matchup arrives in Utah ET. The next step will come on the ice, where both clubs can use this game to sharpen details before the schedule moves on.
