Stastny returns to Blues’ lineup in Game 5 – STLtoday.com

ST. PAUL, Minn. After a month out with an injury, Blues center Paul Stastny will be back on the ice for Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.

As he did in Friday's practice, Stastny will skate on the Blues' top line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko.

The Blues are making one other change to the lineup, too, inserting Jori Lehtera. He has been a healthy scratch the past three games.

So, Stastny and Lehtera will be in uniform for Game 5, making rookies Ivan Barbashev and Zach Sanford healthy scratches.

The additions come with the Blues holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals series.

There is some anxiety within the fanbase getting to this point with a 2-0 loss to the Wild in Game 4. But hypothetically, the Blues could have lost Game 1 to Minnesota and then reeled off three straight victories. The way it's played out in reality, they won the first three and lost the last one. But either way, they're still ahead 3-1.

Blues coach Mike Yeo understands the angst, but says his club remains in an enviable position regardless of the pattern of the win-loss record: W-W-W-L or L-W-W-W.

"It is part of the process," Yeo said. "Those are the shifts in momentum. That's what you have to deal with. You win a game and you have to guard against feeling too good about yourself and what's going on and when you lose a game you have to make sure you're guarded against not having the negative thoughts and going in worrying about the future outcomes.

"We have a job to do and we put ourselves in a good spot. We have a real good opportunity, one we should be real excited about. I'm excited about the game (Saturday). What a great situation and opportunity to go into a real tough building against a really tough team and lay it on the line against for a great cause. That's something we should be excited about."

The is some debate as to which team the Blues or Minnesota is facing the most pressure heading into Game 5 Saturday. Certainly it's a must-win game for the Wild, or else their season is over, but for the Blues, trying a second time to close out the series and on the road this time will be no easy chore.

"Weve got the loudest fans in the league, and theyre behind us, and theyre encouraging us," Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I dont know if a guy doesnt want to play in front of their home crowd rather than the road crowd. So were happy to be here. (But) were down three games yet. So no matter how you look at it, the pressures all on us."

But if the Wild can come up with a victory, there's no question which locker room you'll be able to find the biggest burden.

"We get that win, and all of a sudden theyre second guessing," Minnesota forward Charlie Coyle said. "Theyre still in the drivers seat, but theyre second guessing. The pressures on, and now theyre thinking, Were going back home, Game 6, if we lose this one, its Game 7 back in their barn, and they're starting to doubt themselves. Its such a mental thing here. Thats what you learn as it goes along. We just focus on (Saturday)."

The Blues are too.

"We want to give them our best shot yet," Blues forward Kyle Brodziak said. "We're not looking at it as home or away, we're just focused on how we're supposed to play. There's a reason why that team's won so many games in the year they're a good team. The way they're built, they're deep all the way through their lineup ... they make it difficult the way they play. We've talked about it. We feel that there's certain areas that we can get better at to maybe exploit some things. We're going to have to bring it to the table (Saturday)."

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Stastny returns to Blues' lineup in Game 5 - STLtoday.com