The Blues didn’t just beat Chicago 1-0 on Thursday night. They may have also drawn a sharp line through a handful of roster battles that are headed into the final preseason game.
Saturday’s finale in Chicago is expected to look much more like a real regular-season lineup, with both power-play units on display and a broader mix of NHL regulars finally getting rolled into the same game. That should give everyone a cleaner picture of what the 2026-27 roster might look like as a whole. But for the players sitting on the edge, Thursday may have been the last real chance to make a case.
St. Louis looked far more like itself against the Blackhawks than it did in the two previous losses to Dallas.
The Blues controlled the game, outshooting Chicago 36-17, and got the only goal from Calle Rosen at 3:39 of the third period. Connor McMichael and Pavel Buchnevich picked up the assists.
Jordan Binnington handled the rest with 17 saves for the shutout, and Drew Bannister called his performance "exceptional," noting that some of the stops came away from where the bench could even see them.
That matters because the biggest question marks now sit at the margins of the roster.
On the blue line, Adam Jiricek kept making his case. The young defenseman skated next to Rosen in the third preseason game, played 17:04, fired four shots on net, and took a high-sticking minor.
Afterward, Montgomery kept circling back to the same thing: Jiricek’s deception and the way he releases his wrist shot. He said the defenseman plays the game "like an artist working a canvas," and when asked whether he had seen a young defenseman create and attack space that way, he pointed to Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes.
That’s lofty company, even if the comparison was about style more than career track. And it leaves Jiricek in a real fight for the seventh defenseman spot if Tyler Tucker’s injury keeps him out to start the season.
Rosen has the edge of veteran NHL experience and, of course, scored the game’s only goal. Jiricek, though, is the one Montgomery described as a player who can swing a shift on his own.
Up front, the bottom six still looks crowded and unsettled. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki got another extended look and even saw time on the Blues’ late 6-on-5.
He finished with six shots on goal, three hits, and 15:18 of ice time. Nathan Walker added two shots, five hits, and a blocked shot in 13:08, while Dylan Peterson also helped himself with work on the forecheck.
Finley may have pushed himself into the conversation at center, too. He won six of eight faceoffs and is now part of the discussion for the fourth-line center role.
Zach Dean got the headline center assignment between Buchnevich and McMichael, but he went two-for-seven on draws. That battle is tight enough that the waiver-eligible Dean could be facing a tough call in the next few days.
The power play, though, still needs work. Montgomery said both units had trouble entering the zone cleanly, even if the in-zone execution improved. Saturday’s game will be the dress rehearsal, and it will finally show what the veterans can do inside the new system.
So while the final preseason game is still ahead, Thursday’s result already carried real weight. The players who make the roster from here will do so because of what they showed against Chicago, not because they’re being handed one more look. The Blues only scored once, but they played like the team the staff wants to see - and the competition inside the room appears to be doing exactly what management wanted.
In Other News...
Blues Opening Night Cuts Set Up An Early Roster Debate
Opening night roster decisions always reveal as much about a teams priorities as they do about its depth, and the Blues made theirs with a clear eye toward the forward group. As training camp turned toward the regular season, the club kept Zach Dean and Dillon Dube for the two extra forward spots on the 2026-27 opening-night roster, a choice that gives St. Louis a little more speed and flexibility as it tries to settle the bottom of the lineup.
The moves also created immediate questions around some familiar names. Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Jack Finley were placed on waivers, while goalie Georgii Romanov was waived to be assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, and defenseman Adam Jiricek was among the players sent to Springfield as part of the cuts. It is the sort of early-season trimming that can reshape the conversation around depth roles fast, especially when veterans and prospects are both left in limbo. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Suddenly Have A Real Shot At A Needed Young Defenseman
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Carolinas stance on Nikishins contract situation has already made this one feel different from a normal trade rumor, and that matters for the Blues because it can shape both the price and the type of deal that eventually gets done. Reports now point to the Hurricanes exploring trade options, possibly through a multi-team arrangement, and Nikishins own preferences could end up steering where the conversation goes next. [Read more 🡒]
Blues Fans Have A New Dylan Larkin Problem To Worry About
Dylan Larkins name has quickly become one to track around the Central Division, and not in a way Blues fans are likely to enjoy. Reports from the 32 Thoughts podcast and other media outlets say the Detroit captain has updated his list of teams he would accept a trade to, and it now includes the Wild, Avalanche and Stars, along with teams such as the Lightning and Golden Knights.
For St. Louis, the relevance is obvious. Any move that puts Larkin in the division would shift the competitive landscape in a hurry, especially if one of the Blues closest rivals is the destination. For now, its all speculation, but it is the kind that can linger because it changes the way the rest of the Central has to think about what comes next. [Read more 🡒]