On game day, Sammy Blais made his return to the St. Louis Blues lineup as they faced the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena. The Blues tweaked their lineup after a loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday, with Blais stepping in after Mackenzie MacEachern was assigned to Springfield. Joel Hofer was given a rare start as the Blues' goaltender. Early in the game, the Panthers went to the power play but were unable to capitalize despite several opportunities, including two shots that hit the post. The Panthers have only managed six power play goals in their 13 home games, tied for the fourth-least in the league. The Blues showcased their strong penalty-killing abilities, which rank fifth-best on the road in the league, successfully killing off the Panthers' power play. The game was held at Amerant Bank Arena with both teams looking for a quick start, but only five shots on goal were recorded combined with six minutes left in the first period, four of which were by Florida.
Both the #FlaPanthers and #stlBlues wanted to get off to a fast start tonight. 5 combined SOG with 6:00 left 1st. Florida has 4 of them.
It's scoring chances like that where you have to at least put the shot on net. MacEachern can't miss the net from there, uncontested, alone. At the very least, force a save. #stlblues
Florida credited with four PP shots. I don't recall four but there were two posts and a couple chances, including one good save by Hofer on Rodrigues darting through the middle to the net. #stlblues
The Blues have the 5th-best road penalty-kill in the league (85.7 percent) this season. After erasing Florida's power play on the Saad penalty, the Blues have allowed just 6G on 43 PPs. #stlblues
#STLBLues kill off the first #FlaPanthers power play of the day. Low-event man advantage there.
Two posts for the Panthers in the early going. #stlblues
#FlaPanthers to the power play 4:50 into the game. They have six PPGs in 13 home games, which is tied for the fourth-least in the league.
#stlblues and Florida are underway at Amerant Bank Arena.
Game on!! #TimeToHunt https://t.co/v5hhhvHdK6
The lineups for tonight’s game between the #FlaPanthers and #stlBlues — https://t.co/Zzj4rOempG
(12-21-23) Blues-Panthers Gameday Lineup -- #stlblues tweak lineup after loss against Tampa Tuesday; Blais returns after McGing assigned to Springfield; Hofer gets rare start: https://t.co/9ONwU6OsKn
Game Day: Sammy Blais returns to Blues lineup as they face road-weary Panthers https://t.co/5DukzVGPOY