It’s deja vu for St. Loo.
According to various reports, the Blues will make power forward Chris Stewart a healthy scratch for the second time this postseason -- and once again, he’ll be replaced by forward Matt D’Agostini.
“Sounds like D’Agostini is in for Stewy [Stewart],” tweeted Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Hitch said he’s like Stewart lately but Blues need Dags’ speed and help on PP.”
D’Agostini has played just once this postseason -- Game 2 against San Jose in Round 1 -- and only got 9:26 of ice time.
That said, this situation is pretty interesting given the familiar circumstances:
-- In St. Louis’ opening round series against San Jose, the Blues dropped Game 1 at home.
-- In St. Louis’ second round series against L.A., the Blues dropped Game 1 at home.
-- In Game 2 against the Sharks, Hitchcock took Stewart out of the lineup in favor of D’Agostini.
-- In Game 2 against the Kings, Hitchcock took Stewart out of the lineup in favor of D’Agostini.
It’s not surprising to see Hitchcock use this strategy again. His lineup changes against San Jose altered the course of the series, propelling St. Louis to four straight wins, including an emotional Game 2 victory that featured 130 total penalty minutes.