NEWARK, N.J. - Neither Matt D'Agostini nor Jason Arnott will skate tonight for the Blues against the Devils at the Prudential Center.
Arnott is in Toronto doing rehab work on the shoulder he injured in the Los Angeles game on Friday. D'Agostini, who has concussion symptoms after a hit in the Ottawa game, is with the team in New Jersey but stayed at the team hotel for the morning skate.
"We'll kind of review it for tomorrow on both guys," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Arnott will join us for practice tomorrow (in St. Louis) and Dags, we're day to day but he's certainly not going to play today. We'll get a further update after we see our doctors back home."
As for the forward lines without Arnott and D'Agostini, Hitchcock said the Blues will "mix and match."
The issue will be how they go up against the New Jersey line of Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk.
"If they play them," Hitchcock said, "we'll need four lines. That's an awfully good line."
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TONIGHT'S LINEUP
Forwards
David Perron-David Backes-T.J. Oshie
Evgeny Grachev-Patrik Berglund-Jamie Langenbrunner
Chris Porter-Vladimir Sobotka-Chris Stewart
B.J. Crombeen-Scott Nichol-Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Barret Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk
Carlo Colaiacovo-Alex Pietrangelo
Kris Russell-Roman Polak
Goalie
Jaroslav Halak
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NEW IMPROVED GRACHEV?
With D'Agostini out, Peoria callup Evgeny Grachev will get a look tonight on the second line.
"He was really good when we had him from a checking standpoint," Hitchcock said. "What we wanted him to do down in Peoria he did. We wanted him to be more assertive offensively rather than be a guy that deferred to other people. We wanted him to kind of put the puck in his hip pocket and really drive to the net and he did that. We had the coaches and some of our pro people with work him down there and he was very good, and they played him anywhere and everywhere.
"For us, he's a trusted player, but he's a trusted defensive player. We think there's a lot more offensively he can do if he uses his body to take the puck to the net. So we're curious to see if the stuff he was doing in Peoria that made him a good player comes here and he shows us what he can do. Even when he was here before, we used him to kill penalties. He's been good that way but we think there's an offensive upside we haven't seen yet. His last three games there he really started to do it and hopefully he brings it tonight."
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HALAK IN GOAL
Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Blues. "It's his turn," Hitchcock said.
Brian Elliott is expected to play Saturday when the Blues come home to face Colorado.
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BISHOP ON THE BLOCK?
After the re-signing of Blues goalie Brian Elliott to a two-year extension, it's been widely assumed that Peoria netminder Ben Bishop will be dealt before the Feb. 27th trading deadline.
Bishop, 25, will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 if he does not play 30-plus minutes in 17 NHL games the remainder of the season.
It appears the Blues are shopping Bishop, who was recently named MVP of the American Hockey League all-star game, but GM Doug Armstrong says the club won't trade him for the sake of trading him.
The Rivermen are 24-20-3 and Bishop is a large part of their success with a record of 20-12, along with a 2.30 goals-against average and .928 save-percentage. Backup Jake Allen is having a disappointing sophomore season (4-10-1, 3.50 GAA, .900 save-percentage) after an outstanding rookie year (25-19-3, 2.52 GAA and .917 save-percentage). And now Allen is out 7-10 days with an arm injury suffered in practice.
"Ben has put himself in a great position," Armstrong said. "He’s having an excellent year in Peoria. He’s going to be an unrestricted free agent if he doesn’t get in 17 games. He’s like anyone else. There’s a value on the players you put out there and if those values aren’t met, then we just keep the player.
"Winning in Peoria is just as important for development. Ben Bishop is a big part of Peoria. And you never know what’s going to happen here (i.e. injuries to either goaltender in St. Louis). So there’s nothing set in stone just because we signed one player. I don’t view Ben Bishop any different than I do the seven unrestricted guys up here."
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ODDS & ENDS
- It's a homecoming for Jamie Langenbrunner, who spent parts of nine seasons with the Devils, from 2002 to 2011. He was the Devils' captain from 07-11. He said he went to dinner last night with current Devils captain Zach Parise.
-The Blues are 10-0-2 vs. the Eastern Conference. They're the only team to get a point in every game against the opposite conference.
-Ex-Blue Cam Janssen has no qualms about fighting ex-roommate B.J. Crombeen. "I actually like it even more," he told New Jersey writers. "People ask me that all the time: 'How do you fight somebody you know and are friends with?' I get more pumped up when I fight somebody I'm close to. It's competitiveness, that's what it is. ... You should have seen me and my brother growing up. Oh, my gosh, my Mom would cry."
