A new week is upon us. For the St. Louis Blues, their five-game road trip wraps up this week. The team remains in New York, but instead of playing on Long Island, the Blue Note is heading to the Big Apple to take on the New York Rangers.
Blues vs. Rangers Preview
The Blues and Rangers are playing for the first time this season. Last year, the Blues swept the season series with the Rangers. Both games were played within a month of each other: the first in St. Louis in late November, the second in New York in the middle of December. Interestingly, the schedule aligns the same way this season, with the only difference being that New York comes first and St. Louis second.
The Rangers lead the all-time series 84-52-16-1.
Time: 7:00 P.M. Eastern Time
TV: FanDuel Sports Midwest, MSG Sportsnet 2
Blues’ Recent Game
The Blues are 7-9-6 with 20 points. They were victorious in their last game, defeating the New York Islanders 2-1, with 30 saves from Jordan Binnington. The Islanders put 14 shots on net in the third period, but Binnington stood tall. His biggest save came in the final minute, making a glove save on a shot attempt from the faceoff circle by Bo Horvat.
Related: Blues’ Standouts of the Week: Binnington, Faulk, and Hofer
With the win, the Blues are now 1-0-2 on their road trip. In the process, they have earned four of a possible six points.
Projected Lineup (Subject to Change)
Justin Faulk left Saturday’s game late with a lower-body injury. He had to be helped off the ice, putting little weight on his right foot. However, there is speculation that his right skate blade became loose during the play in which he fell, suggesting that it was the cause of his not using his right foot when leaving the ice.
As of now, Faulk’s status for Monday is unknown. Before Saturday’s game, the Blues called up Logan Mailloux from the American Hockey League. Should Faulk not be able to play, it can be assumed Mailloux will join the lineup.
- Jake Neighbours – Robert Thomas – Jimmy Snuggerud
- Brayden Schenn – Dalibor Dvorsky – Pavel Buchnevich
- Dylan Holloway – Pius Suter – Jordan Kyrou
- Alexey Toropchenko – Nick Bjugstad – Nathan Walker
- Philip Broberg – Colton Parayko
- Cam Fowler – Justin Faulk/Logan Mailloux
- Tyler Tucker – Matthew Kessel
- Jordan Binnington
Team Leaders
Thomas and Kyrou are tied for the team lead in points with 13. There is now a four-way tie for the team lead in goals, with Kyrou, Faulk, Suter, and Neighbours each with six goals. Thomas continues to lead the team in assists with 10, while Tucker continues to lead in penalty minutes with 32. Hunter Skinner, re-assigned to the AHL, still leads the Blues in plus/minus with a plus-1 rating. Of players currently on the roster, Oskar Sundqvist and Walker lead with an even rating of zero.
Between the pipes, Binnington continues to lead in wins with five, goals-against average (GAA) with a 3.13, and save percentage (SV%) at .880.
Rangers’ Recent Game
The Rangers are 10-11-2 on the season with 22 points. Their last game came on Saturday as they wrapped up a three-game road trip. The team went 0-3-0 on the trip, losing the final match 3-2 to the Utah Mammoth. The Rangers led 2-1 midway through the second period, but the Mammoth would score two unanswered to claim the two points.
The Rangers now return home for a matchup with the Blues before heading back on the road for two games.
Projected Lineup (Subject to Change)
- Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafreniere
- Will Cuylle – Mika Zibanejad – Jonny Brodzinski
- Conor Sheary – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
- Adam Edstrom – Sam Carrick – Juuso Parssinen
- Vladislav Gavrikov – Adam Fox
- Carson Soucy – Braden Schneider
- Matthew Robertson – Scott Morrow
- Igor Shesterkin
Team Leaders
Panarin leads the Rangers in points with 20. Zibanejad is the team leader in goals with seven. Fox leads the team in assists with 16, and is just one of two Rangers with ten or more assists. Carrick leads the team in penalty minutes with 19. Lastly, Soucy leads in plus/minus with a plus-5 rating.
Related: Top 3 All-Time Rangers Goalies
In goal, Shesterkin leads with seven wins. However, veteran goaltender and two-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick leads the team in GAA at 1.69, while posting a team-best .944 SV%.
Blues’ Storyline to Watch
For the Blues, Buchnevich has had a far less-than-desirable start to the 2025-26 season. He has yet to score an even-strength goal and looks nothing like the 30-goal scorer he used to be.
However, he has looked better in the last two games. He is playing on a new line alongside Schenn and Dvorsky. He has used his body to make plays and seems to be skating better than he had been. On Saturday, he recorded an assist on Schenn’s goal.
The Blues certainly want to see more out of the former 30-goal scorer. He does not have to score 30 to be effective, but he needs to be better than he has been. This string of positive momentum may translate to some better days ahead for the forward.
Rangers’ Storyline to Watch
The Rangers don’t take a lot of penalties. In fact, they have the 11th fewest in the league so far. However, when they do, the opponent takes advantage of the man advantage. The Rangers currently rank 22nd on the penalty kill at 78.5%.
The percentage is likely inflated because the team is taking fewer penalties. However, momentum in a game can change based on how special teams perform. Furthermore, the Rangers will face the league’s ninth-best power-play unit. If the Rangers go to the box, who wins the battle between the special teams?
