TV: FS-N, FS-MW
ST. LOUIS -- After making sure he was symptom-free and his conditioning was up to par, defenseman Zbynek Michalek will make his St. Louis Blues debut Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
After talking it over with the Blues' medical staff, Michalek, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes along with a conditional 2015 third-round pick for prospect Maxim Letunov, was cleared to return.
"First, the symptoms I had went away. That was the most important thing and then my conditioning," Michalek said. "When I felt like I was ready to go, I let them know and that's how it goes.
"It's been very frustrating the last few weeks. It's been tough mentally not being able to play coming to a new team, but right now, I'm very excited and try to hopefully win the game and help the team win."
Michalek will be paired with Jay Boumeester on the Blues' second defensive pair. He will play the right and Bouwmeester can return to his natural left-landed side after recently playing on the right with Petteri Lindbohm.
Bouwmeester feels the transition should be easy.
"Little things you just talk about. More communication stuff on certain plays," Bouwmeester said. "Every guy has a tendency to call different things and use different words. That's one thing. I know him from being around for a long time. He's a pretty solid guy that plays good defense. We'll just try to play a simple game and try not to confuse each other.
"... What you see is what you get. Guys like that are always easy to play with."
Michalek said the two haven't spoken much but will before the game.
"Honestly, not too much. At least not yet," Michalek said. "We will talk before the game a little bit and go over things. We've both been in the league for a long time so nothing should surprise us. To me, it looks like the team plays a similar system that I was used to in Arizona. It should make things easier for me hopefully to adjust."
Forward Patrik Berglund will return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Berglund, who has eight goals and 12 assists in 62 games, will go in on the fourth line and said sitting out is never something a player likes to go through but certainly understands
"Well absolutely, but I'm always honest to myself, too," Berglund said. "I'm not going to sit there and lie to myself. I had a talk with [Hitchcock]. I had a feeling even before that [Thursday] morning skate that I probably would sit out because I haven't played well. It's not fun, but it's also something you've got to go through. I know I haven't played well, so I'm a believer that the guys who earn their ice time, earn their spot, they should play. And guys that don't play well should not play. That's my belief, so it's a fair deal for me."
The Wild did not skate Saturday other than injured defenseman Marco Scandella, forward Jordan Schroeder, who's been a healthy scratch the past three games and goalie Darcy Kuemper, who is likely to back up Devan Dubnyk.
Minnesota lost 2-1 on home ice to the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Here are the projected lineups:
WILD
Zach Parise - Mikael Granlund - Jason Pominville
Nino Niederreiter - Mikko Koivu - Chris Stewart
Thomas Vanek - Charlie Coyle - Justin Fontaine
Sean Bergenheim - Erik Haula - Kyle Brodziak
Ryan Suter - Jonas Brodin
Nate Prosser - Matt Dumba
Jordan Leopold - Jared Spurgeon
Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper
Scratched: Niklas Backstrom, Jordan Schroeder, Christian Folin
Injuried: Jason Zucker (clavicle), Marco Scandella (upper body), Keith Ballard (concussion/facial fractures), Matt Cooke (sports hernia), Ryan Carter (upper body)
BLUES
Chris Porter - David Backes - T.J. Oshie
Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko
Alexander Steen - Paul Stastny - Dmitrij Jaskin
Patrik Berglund - Steve Ott - Ryan Reaves
Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester - Zbynek Michalek
Barret Jackman - Robert Bortuzzo
Brian Elliott
Jake Allen
Scratched: Marcel Goc, Chris Butler, Petteri Lindbohm
Injured: Olli Jokinen (upper body), Kevin Shattenkirk (abdomen)
Status report: Berglund will replace Goc in the lineup. LIndbohm will be a healthy scratch with Michalek's return. Jokinen is still day-to-day and will not play Sunday against the Dallas Stars but could return on Tuesday. ... If Dubnyk starts, it will be his 27th straight start for the Wild since being acquired from the Coyotes and 28th overall. However, Dubnyk is 0-7-0 with a 4.72 goals-against average and .843 save percentage against St. Louis.
Who's hot: Parise has two goals and five assists the past five games. Vanek has a three-game point streak (three goals, one assist). Pominville has five points in five games (three goals, two assists). ... Elliott is 6-0-0 against the Wild with a 1.76 GAA and .915 save percentage. Oshie has 16 points in 19 games against the Wild. Tarasenko, Schwartz and Lehtera have combined for 17 points the past five games.
From: http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2014021026
PS: Didn't know if WPS was making a GDT, and he normally has his up early, so went ahead and made one.
