Blues Lines Against Islanders Aren't Pretty, Which Isn't A Bad Thing

The Blues probable lines tonight, from Lou Korac:

Alexander Steen - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko

Scottie Upshall - David Backes - Troy Brouwer

Dmitrij Jaskin - Scott Gomez - Ty Rattie

Steve Ott - Kyle Brodziak - Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson - Colton Parayko

Joel Edmundson - Robert Bortuzzo

Aside from the top line, your initial reaction of "oh, God" is expected. However, these are heavy lines with probably the exception of the third. Dmitrij Jaskin and Ty Rattie could benefit from Scott Gomez's unselfish tendencies and veteran presence. That second line of Upshall-Backes-Brouwer should be pretty strong on the puck, though scoring chances remain to be seen. The fourth line is... the fourth line, which is good because this means that Steve Ott is in his appropriate place. They may be able to limit the scoring chances of the Islanders. The game's outcome won't be 6-3 like the last time the Isles were in St. Louis, but it could easily still be a win.

This may not be bad.

Or this may just be rationalization of a line-up that folks will have to get used to for the foreseeable future.