The Blues open their season Thursday night at Enterprise Center in St. Louis looking to build on the momentum of the second half of last year.
After a rough start last season, the Blues fired Drew Bannister as head coach. Under Jim Montgomery, the team posted a winning record the rest of the way and made the playoffs. Starting his first full season leading the Blues, Montgomery said the team is ready.
"I thought camp was a success and the fact that we thought we worked really hard, we got a lot accomplished, we got all areas covered," Montgomery said. "And then how hard camp was — we thought we pushed them hard. "
The Blues still have work to do, as they did not perform well during power plays or penalty kills. The team is widely expected to make the playoffs again, though it plays in the highly competitive Central Division. The Blues lost in the first round of the playoffs last season to the Winnipeg Jets.
"I think there's some excitement, said general manager Doug Armstrong. "I think that we're a balanced group. It was a hard preseason. I liked our practices."
This is also the start of the final season under Armstrong, who will pass the role to former player and "GM-in-waiting" Alexander Steen.
Fans tuning in to the new simulcast on 101 ESPN Radio and Fan-Duel Sports TV Network will not hear the voice of longtime Blues broadcaster John Kelly, whose role was eliminated in the new format.
Chris Kerber with the play-by-play and Joe Vitale with color commentary will now serve both radio and television audiences.
In-person festivities begin at 3 p.m. Thursday with a pregame celebration and rally at Union Station. Puck drop against the Minnesota Wild is at 7 p.m.
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