Jim Montgomery’s line mixer is back – at least on offense – as the St. Louis Blues prepare to take on the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, FanDuel Sports Network, 101 ESPN).
The head coach made changes to all four forward lines in a bid to boost his team. As the team continues to develop its game, Montgomery hopes these changes will lead to more balance.
“I think our biggest challenge is creating our identity as a control team,” Montgomery said. “Our goal will be to be a very good control team, and that starts in the offensive zone.”
The Blues went 1-2-1 in their four-game homestand and were outscored by their opponents 18-11. As they return to the road, where they are 2-0 this season, Montgomery wants to instill a hard-working spirit in the lineup.
“I just don’t think the consistency in how we work on each line has been there,” Montgomery said. “So we try to have at least one to two workers, that’s their calling card, on each line.”
The projected lineup below is based on Saturday’s morning practice at Little Caesars Arena.
