Jim Montgomery’s line blender is back – at least for the offense – as the St. Louis Blues prepare to face the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
The head coach has made changes to all four forward lines in an effort to spark his team. As the squad continues to build its game, Montgomery hopes these changes will lead to more balance.
“I think our biggest challenge is creating our identity of being a checking team,” Montgomery said. “That’s going to be our focus is to be a really good checking team, and that starts in the offensive zone.”
The Blues went 1-2-1 on their four-game homestand and were outscored by opponents 18-11. As they head back on the road, where they’re 2-0 this season, Montgomery wants to instill a hard-working spirit up and down the lineup.
“I just don’t think the consistency with how we’re working each line has been there,” Montgomery said. “So we’re trying to get at least one to two workers, that that’s their calling card, to be on every line.”
The below projected lineup is based on Saturday’s morning skate at Little Caesars Arena.