Brouwer or Walker expected to make 2019 Blues debut tonight; Allen in net

Jake Allen will be in net and one of two forwards will make his season NHL debut when the St. Louis Blues visit the Predators in Nashville on Monday night.

According to a projected lineup released by the Blues on Monday afternoon, one of the wings on Jacob de la Rose’s fourth line will be either Troy Brouwer or Nathan Walker. Mackenzie MacEachern will play on the opposite wing.

Brouwer isn’t on the Blues’ active roster at the moment, but he’ll be added to it as soon as he gets his work visa. If that doesn’t happen by game time, Walker will make the 13th appearance of his NHL career, but his first with the Blues since being signed as a free agent in July and being recalled from San Antonio of the AHL on Sunday.

Brouwer, 34, was signed to a one-year, two-way deal last week following a professional tryout. He played for the Blues in 2015-16 and has tallied 362 points (181 goals, 181 assists) in 838 regular-season NHL games in his career.

Walker, 25, ranks third among all AHL forwards with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in 20 games with the Rampage this season.

Allen will make his sixth start of the season and his first since the Blues suffered a 3-2 overtime loss to Columbus on Nov. 15.

Carl Gunnarsson returns to the lineup following the four-game suspension of defenseman Robert Bortuzzo for a cross-check on Predators forward Viktor Arvidsson in the Blues’ 4-2 loss Saturday.

The projected lineup for Monday night’s second half of a home-and-home set with the Predators:

Forwards

Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Tyler Bozak

Ivan Barbashev – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron

Zach Sanford – Robert Thomas – Oskar Sundqvist

Mackenzie MacEachern – Jacob de la Rose – Troy Brouwer/Nathan Walker

Defensemen

Carl Gunnarsson – Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parayko

Vince Dunn – Justin Faulk

Goalie

Jake Allen