Jamie Langenbrunner will open the season on the top line alongside David Backes and Andy McDonald. It was thought when training camp opened that Langenbrunner would play with Jason Arnott, a teammate with New Jersey and Dallas for many years, and Alex Steen. But the Blues liked him him Backes and it has worked out thus far. "We knew that we were going to take a look at that right away," coach Davis Payne said. "You think that something is going to look good all summer long, and all of the sudden guys get on the ice, and they're reading each other and communicating and things happen. We like what we see with those guys now. We'll continue to monitor it, and if it's continuing to get results, then perfect. ... If not, we've got lots of combinations that we can go to." Look for Matt D'Agostini to take over the role alongside Arnott and Steen on the third line.