Sharks at Blues preview: Kyrou gets look on top line

Poor Ian Barbashev is the latest Blues player to find his way onto the injured reserve list. He’ll be out for at least six weeks with an ankle injury. This comes on the heels of him being placed on the top line with Mr. Overtime himself, David Perron, and captain Ryan O’Reilly. Barbashev’s play, as expected, improved before the injury.

Tonight, Jordan Kyrou will be on that line with Perron and O’Reilly. Kyrou has worked hard to become one of the Blues’ top offensive threats this season, and that line may be difficult for the Eric Karlsson-less Sharks to handle.

The Blues are cobbling together some pretty good play with Tyler Bozak, Robert Thomas, Jaden Schwartz, Colton Parayko, and now Barbashev out. Their offense has fizzled a bit at times - see their last game against Arizona - but Mike Hoffman, Brayden Schenn, and Perron’s heroics were enough to snag the team a full two points on Thursday night despite some lapses in defense.

So far this season the Blues are 2-0-1 against the Sharks, giving them an important five points in the race for the top of the West Division. It’s never too early to worry about banking points, and the Blues let a few slip by during their seven-game stretch with the Coyotes. Right now the Blues are atop the division with 22 points in 17 games played, but are third with a .647 points percentage. It’s nothing to sneeze at, but with Colorado and Vegas playing today at Lake Tahoe, the Blues can’t afford to let a point or two escape.