Predators vs Blues Mid-Day Update: Seth Jones to Play With Mattias Ekholm?
The updates ahead of tonight's regular season opener between the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues begin with a note about birthday boy Seth Jones, who turns 19 while making his NHL debut this evening:
The lines are kind of jumbled so it's hard to get a read on them. But it looks like Seth Jones will be paired with Ekholm tonight
— JoshuaCooper (@JoshuaCooper) October 3, 2013
I like that pairing a lot for the third pair, leaving us to guess how the rest will shake out. Josi/Weber up top, followed by Bartley/Klein with Ellis sitting out, perhaps?
Over in St. Louis, it sounds like the Blues will sport a familiar look:
Our pairings? Same old same old, and frankly, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Blues are starting the season with the defensive pairings that they had during the latter half of the year, and if you want proof that Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold helped calm things down and solidify the left side, just look at how much Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk's play improved. That kind of shift is worth a pretty penny, and both Leopold and Bouwmeester got that this off season. Obviously, so did Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk.
Game Time & Viewing Information
7:30 p.m. Central
Per the Preds: Fox Sports Tennessee (Dish: 446/HD: 9516; Direct TV: 644/HD: 644-1 ; Comcast Nashville 1675; Comcast Chattanooga/Cleveland/Knoxville 401; Comcast Memphis 830; Charter Nashville 33/810; AT&T Nashville 724/1724)
Radio: 102.5 The Game
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