{"id":336005,"date":"2025-10-27T12:26:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336005\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:26:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:26:16","slug":"game-preview-st-louis-blues-pittsburgh-penguins-10-27-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/336005\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview: St. Louis Blues @ Pittsburgh Penguins 10\/27\/25"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Who:<\/strong> <strong>St. Louis Blues <\/strong>(3-4-1, 7 points, 7th place Central Division) @ <strong>Pittsburgh Penguins <\/strong>(6-2-1, 13 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>How to Watch<\/strong>: Broadcast in the local markets on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and FanDuel Sportsnet Midwest, national game on NHL Network<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Pens\u2019 Path Ahead<\/strong>: It\u2019s a quick turn to head to Philadelphia to play the Flyers tomorrow and then the Pens will stay on the road for matchups in Minnesota (Thursday), Winnipeg (Saturday) and Toronto (next Monday).<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Opponent Track<\/strong>: The Blues have been flat to start the season, they\u2019ve lost three straight (0-2-1) including a 6-4 loss in Detroit on Saturday in their last game where St. Louis had a 4-0 lead before giving up six straight goals. In their last five, STL is just 1-3-1.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Season Series:<\/strong> Pittsburgh doesn\u2019t head out to the Lou until way out on April 14, which will be the final game of the regular season. Last year the Pens sported a 1-0-1 record against the Blues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Hidden Stat:<\/strong> Through nine games this season, the Penguins have only been trailing one time after two periods, where they ended up losing 6-1 to the Rangers. (They\u2019ve been ahead four times and tied in the four other games).<\/p>\n<p>Getting to know the Blues<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Jake Neighbours &#8211; Robert Thomas* &#8211; Jimmy Snuggerud<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Mathieu Joseph &#8211; Brayden Schenn &#8211; Jordan Kyrou<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Pavel Buchnevich &#8211; Pius Suter &#8211; Nathan Walker<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Dylan Holloway &#8211; Oskar Sundqvist &#8211; Nick Bjugstad<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Cam Fowler \/ Colton Parayko<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Philip Broberg \/ Justin Faulk<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Tyler Tucker \/ Matthew Kessel<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Goalies: <\/strong>Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Potential scratches<\/strong>: Alex Texier, Alexey Toropchenko, Logan Mailloux<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Injured reserve: <\/strong>Torey Krug<\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">*Thomas left Saturday night\u2019s game against Detroit with an injury and did not return. We\u2019ll see what his immediate future holds, would be a major loss on the depth chart if the Blues have to play without their top center in this game.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Even independent of Thomas\u2019s status, there could be some changes based on the disappointment of blowing a 4-0 lead in the last game. As you could have guessed, not too many happy faces for the Blues after Saturday and they\u2019ll be looking to bounce-back from that poor performance last time out with a better effort against the Penguins.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.pensburgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/10\/blues.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,12.416427889207,100,75.167144221585\" data-pswp-height=\"524.6666666666667\" data-pswp-width=\"787\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blues.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Jake Neighbours\/Jimmy Snuggerud level players are probably what the Pens are hoping Rutger McGroarty can turn into (which is kind of an ironic statement since Snuggerud was drafted a few picks after McGroarty and they played on many of the same US teams growing up). STL always seems to have those type of blue collar, hard-working guys.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Jordan Kyrou\u2019s point totals in his last four seasons: 75, 73,67, 70. There are other stars around the league with higher ceilings but his consistency is right there on point to know what you\u2019re going to get from him year in and year out.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Curious start for Jordan Binnington, he\u2019s got to be one of the most variable and unpredictable players in the whole league as far as what he\u2019s going to do from even game to game. He\u2019s a gamer and finds way to play well in the bright spotlights but that apparently isn\u2019t regular season hockey in October.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Projected lines <\/strong>(from yesterday\u2019s practice)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Filip Hallander &#8211; Sidney Crosby &#8211; Bryan Rust<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Anthony Mantha &#8211; Evgeni Malkin &#8211; Justin Brazeau<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Tommy Novak &#8211; Ben Kindel &#8211; Ville Koivunen<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Connor Dewar &#8211; Blake Lizotte &#8211; Noel Acciari<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Parker Wotherspoon \/ Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Matt Dumba \/ Connor Clifton<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Goalies: <\/strong>Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Potential Scratches:<\/strong> Philip Tomasino, Harrison Brunicke<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>IR:<\/strong> Kevin Hayes (upper body), Jack St. Ivany (lower body), Rutger McGroarty (upper body), Joel Blomqvist (lower body), Rickard Rakell (hand, out 6-8 weeks), Caleb Jones (lower body, out 6-8 weeks)<\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Ville Koivunen scored an OT goal in Charlotte on Saturday night for Wilkes-Barre and found himself back in Pittsburgh for practice on Sunday. Life can move fast at that level. Koivunen ripped up the AHL by scoring 11 points in six games, drawing back into the big league to help fill the hole in the lineup created by Rakell going to IR.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Ben Kindel worked with the top power play, if you needed any further signs that he definitely is going to play over 10 NHL games this season. Mantha was there in a pinch during last game. Kindel can play the left side with his right shot and have a lot to look at with Crosby and Malkin to work off of. Should be fun.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Game focus: Pittsburgh power play vs St. Louis penalty kill<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.pensburgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/10\/pitstl.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"515\" data-pswp-width=\"944\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/pitstl.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">This focus could easily extend out a little further to Pittsburgh finishing (hot!) versus STL goaltending (not!), but we\u2019ll zero in a closer on the special teams component for today\u2019s key.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Blues rank 24th with only a 72.0% penalty kill this season \u2014 but they at least have only been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhl.com\/stats\/teams?report=penaltykill&amp;reportType=season&amp;seasonFrom=20252026&amp;seasonTo=20252026&amp;gameType=2&amp;sort=timesShorthanded&amp;page=0&amp;pageSize=50\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">shorthanded 25 <\/a>times in their eight games to mitigate that weakness by staying out of the penalty box. They\u2019d be well-served to continue that trend and stay out of the box tonight, the Pittsburgh power play is scorching hot having scored on 5\/10 opportunities in the last three games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Pens have gotten some great goaltending lately and been heavily out-shot in recent games, but the stats say that St. Louis should be an opponent they can step up against. The Blues have had a ton of trouble keeping the puck out of their own net.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: St. Louis Blues (3-4-1, 7 points, 7th place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (6-2-1, 13 points, 2nd&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":336006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[114893,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-336005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-game-preview","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115446126733995034","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}