ST. LOUIS – Perhaps an infusion of new blood can spur the St. Louis Blues in the right direction.
That’s what they’re hoping for when the Blues (12-15-7) entertain the Winnipeg Jets (15-15-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
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It’s because Otto Stenberg and Jonatan Berggren will each make his Blues debut in the game.
For Stenberg, it will be his first NHL game and the second of three first-round picks from the 2023 NHL Draft to play in the NHL along with Dalibor Dvorsky, who was the No. 10 pick; Stenberg was No. 25, and defenseman Theo Lindstein, who is in Springfield of the American Hockey League, was No. 29.
Stenberg was called up from Springfield on Thursday, the latest of Thunderbirds recalls with the rash of forward injuries the Blues are dealing with.
On Tuesday, he was skating on a line with Jake Neighbours and Dvorsky.
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“Of course, I’m excited,” Stenberg said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s something special. Just try to act like a normal game, soak it all in and enjoy, but I’ll just try to prepare like a normal game, I guess.
“Just play my game and do what got me here in Springfield before I get here. Be myself I guess. I’ll try to do my best to give the team energy. Try to play as good as I can and help the team any way I can.”
Berggren, claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, will also be in the lineup.
The 25-year-old, a second-round pick in the 2018 draft, had an inkling that something might happen, and was hopeful of it, too. He last played for the Red Wings on Dec. 11 and prior to that, Nov. 24.
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“It’s a business and when you don’t play many games in a row in Detroit to kind of know (something was going to happen),” Berggren said. “Maybe it was something I was hoping for too to get a fresh start. I’m really happy that the Blues took me.
“It’s been a lot for sure. I’m just so excited to come to St. Louis and meet the guys and meet the coaches and just play hockey. It’s been a lot, but I’m also excited.”
Blues coach Jim Montgomery said the infusion of new players could be just what the team needs.
“Every time you get new blood, it’s like the first game of the year, everybody’s hopes and desires are all positive and a positive attitude usually permeates in the group so it’s going to bring us good energy,” Montgomery said.
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Stenberg will have his parents, David and Cecilia and girlfriend on attendance after some scurrying of getting plane tickets from Sweden.
“My mom and dad are actually coming here. And my girlfriend is here; she came here from Springfield,” Stenberg said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. I think they got tickets yesterday.”
Berggren, who had two goals and four assists in 15 games with the Red Wings this season after 12 goals and 12 assists in 75 games last season, hopes to add some offensive prowess into the lineup for the Blues, and the fact he’s played with a couple of the guys and that there are fellow Swedes, should make for an easy transition.
“I’m a skillful forward that likes to play with the puck and likes to create offense,” he said. “I feel like this team has skillful players and like to play offensive style of hockey. That’s kind of what I want to do too. I’m excited.
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“It’s a lot of Swedes and guys I played with in Detroit too and Grand Rapids. It makes it a lot easier to adapt to the team when you know people from before.”
Montgomery said the Blues took a flier on Berggren because, “the speed and skill is something we believe with our current situation that he could add to our group, and that’s what we’re expecting him to fit in. We have a lot of Swedes so the language barrier won’t be so hard.
“You have a technical package ready to show your players that this is what we want to do in all three zones with the puck and with the schedule this year, I watched the Florida-Tampa game and I don’t recognize some of the names that are on the ice and that’s happening to everybody this year.”
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Tuesday’s game is the first between the Blues and Jets since that epic first-round seven-game series from last year’s playoffs.
“I think for our group it means a lot, and not because of the outcome of the series,” Montgomery said. “Obviously we felt we would have liked to win Game 7, but more importantly, I think it’s we were playing a really good brand of hockey and for a lot of players, I think that brings excitement to get back to that brand of hockey that we were playing.
“It brings back more of what a great series it was. I saw some things like they ranked the best series of the playoffs, it was ranked No. 2 behind the Final, which was epic with a lot of great comebacks in that series. It was old-school hockey. It was mean, it was hard, it was vicious and in the end, you had two teams that really I think were competed and emptied the tank so much that the handshake line was what you want in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Robbi Fabbri
Otto Stenberg-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jake Neighbours
Brayden Schenn-Pius Suter-Jonatan Berggren
Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Mathieu Joseph
Philip Broberg-Colton Parayko
Matthew Kessel-Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler-Logan Mailloux
Joel Hofer will start in goal; Jordan Binnington will be the backup.
Healthy scratches could include Tyler Tucker and Matt Luff. Dylan Holloway (high ankle sprain), Jordan Kyrou (lower body), Jimmy Snuggerud (wrist), Nathan Walker (upper body) and Nick Bjugstad (upper body) are all out.
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Jets Projected Lineup:
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi
Nino Niederreiter-Vladislav Namestnikov-Cole Perfetti
Morgan Barron-Adam Lowry-Alex Iafallo
Cole Koepke-Jonathan Toews-Gustav Nyquist
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg-Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley-Luke Schenn
Connor Hellebuyck will start in goal; Eric Comrie will be the backup.
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Healthy scratches include Colin Miller, Tanner Pearson and Haydn Fleury. The Jets have no injuries.
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