Derek Roy will be back in the Blues’ lineup tonight (versus Minnesota) after missing two games with a shoulder injury, and he’ll be centering a third line -- with gritty veterans Steve Ott and Brenden Morrow -- for which coach Ken Hitchcock has high hopes.
“The line that we’re playing together with Roy on it has played three times together before, and all three games they’ve played really well together,” Hitchcock said, per NHL.com. “It’s three veteran guys that know how to read off each other. Obviously Ott takes a lot of the faceoffs and ends up down low in our zone.”
Roy, Morrow, and Ott are all pending unrestricted free agents who may or may not be back with the Blues next season. The first two signed one-year deals in the offseason; Ott was acquired in a deadline trade with Buffalo, along with pending-UFA goalie Ryan Miller.
“I want to see [the line] play consistently well before we evaluate whether we’re going to stay with it or not,” added Hitchcock. “I’m not 100-percent sure yet.”
The Blues are gearing up for one of the most important playoff runs in franchise history. St. Louis has never won a Stanley Cup, but there’s a strong sense that could change this spring, despite a very tough Western Conference.