Blues' Nail Yakupov: Active for Saturday's game

Yakupov's inclusion in the active lineup Saturday was the result of his strong work during the last three practice sessions, according to Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, Tom Timmerman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. He replaced Jori Lehtera on the third line, registering one hit and a plus-1 rating in 9:09 of ice time in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Jets.

Analysis:

Yakupov, who'd been a healthy scratch for three straight games and eight of the previous 13, showed improvement during practice in the areas in which he was deemed lacking. He finally got a chance to re-enter the lineup when the coach benched the struggling Lehtera. Regarding Yakupov, Hitchcock noted "the things that are important for us are becoming very important for him." When asked to elaborate, the coach said the Russian forward was playing more within the structure of the team, showing better positioning and spacing.