ST. LOUIS – Zack Bolduc simply has to embrace the moment.
The St. Louis Blues forward, a healthy scratch the past two games, will step back into the lineup on Saturday when the Blues (23-22-4) host the Dallas Stars (30-17-4) at 6 p.m. (FDSNMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
The moment to embrace: the chance not only to get back into the lineup but coach Jim Montgomery will put the soon-to-be 22-year-old in a top six role with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.
Bolduc will replace Nathan Walker in the lineup.
“It’s a great opportunity for me to play with these guys,” Bolduc said. “They’re just two smart players that can pass you the puck whenever on the ice so you’ve got to be ready. … I have a great opportunity tonight to play with ‘Tommer’ and ‘Buchy’ and I’ve just got to be ready to play. I’ve got to skate and play fast. Playing with two great playmakers. I’ve got to be ready to shoot every time I’m on the ice.”
Bolduc, who has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 39 games this season, has been a scratch in three of the past five games after he has a three-game assist streak, but he has had the penchant of taking the ill-advised penalty at times, and when he plays, he starts games off with a vengeance but tends to tail off, something the coaches want to see him move away from.
“Continue to take these practice opportunities to get better, and when he’s up there to be watching, especially the players without the puck,” Montgomery said of his message to Bolduc. “The players that execute our systems really well without the puck because once he gets that with his offensive upside … he’s got a lot of determination in him. He wants to win 1-on-1 battles, he’s physical and when you combine that kind of will with the skill he has, you have a player that’s going to be really good. He starts games really aggressively and we’ve talked about to him about it, ‘Your mindset can’t change.’ It kind of dissipates and that’s a young player to be confident in this league. It’s not easy.”
There’s no question that Bolduc has had to bide his time and be patient, even when things aren’t going exactly as he wants in the early stages of his career; he has just one goal his past 16 games played and the Blues need him to be the sniper he can be.
“I’m trying to learn my game, I’m trying to improve my game every time I’m playing,” Bolduc said. “Even in practices, I’m trying to learn, try to look at the other guys. I think that’s how you get better.
“It’s all about playing well game after game. We’re in a playoff race right now. Every game is important for us. You’ve just got to be ready every game and try your best to help the team.”
Thomas and Buchnevich have had their ups and downs of late, so perhaps injecting someone that can shoot will spice up that line.
“A little more speed, I want a shooter with those two, and it’s a great opportunity for him and a great opportunity for that line to create more offense for us,” Montgomery said.
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Radek Faksa will officially play his first game against his former team for the first time.
The fourth-line center, who spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Stars after being drafted No. 13 overall in the 2012 NHL Draft, played in Dallas in the preseason but missed the Blues’ 2-1 overtime loss there Dec. 14 due to a lower-body injury.
“I spent a long time in Dallas,” Faksa said. “It’s already 50 games into the season. And especially it’s at home, so it won’t be that weird if we played in Dallas. For sure, it’ll be easy because we play preseason already. I’m trying not to think about it too much. It’s like another game for me.
“They have good leaders, lots of good guys through the whole lineup. It’s all the skills. They keep within the system, they know what to do. They’ve been together for so long, they’ve had some success.”
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The Stars are coming off a 4-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday and will be playing the second of back-to-back games.
But as customary, when these two teams play, the games are usually tight and low-scoring.
“They don’t give up a lot,” Montgomery said. “I think they’re sixth in the league in chances for and sixth in the league in chances against. That’s why they have the record they have. We feel that 5-on-5 we’ve drastically improved in some areas, but the consistency of how we do it game in, game out is not where the Dallas Stars game is and that’s something we’re looking to attain here in the last two and a half months.”
The Blues, coming off a 4-2 loss against Vegas Thursday, will need to bring a better version of their game.
“For sure have a good start, have a better start than against Vegas,” Faksa said. “After they have back-to-back, we have to jump hard on them, go to the net hard. We have to be better on the special teams.”
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Zack Bolduc
Brandon Saad-Oskar Sundqvist-Jake Neighbours
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Mathieu Joseph
Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko
Ryan Suter-Philip Broberg
Tyler Tucker-Justin Faulk
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Scott Perunovich, Nathan Walker and Alexandre Texier. Nick Leddy (lower body) is out. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
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Stars Projected Lineup:
Jason Robertson-Wyatt Johnston-Evgenii Dadonov
Jamie Benn-Matt Duchene-Mavrik Bourque
Sam Steel-Roope Hintz-Logan Stankoven
Matej Blumel-Oskar Back-Colin Blackwell
Esa Lindell-Miro Heiskanen
Thomas Harley-Ilya Lyubushkin
Lian Bichsel-Mathew Dumba
Casey DeSmith is projected to start in goal; Jake Oettinger would be the backup.
Healthy scratches could include Nils Lundkvist and Brendan Smith. Mason Marchment (face) and Tyler Seguin (hip) are out.
