It will mark Allen's first start since April 3 of last season - a 35-save effort against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. He last played 24 minutes, 28 seconds in relief of Jordan Binnington in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

OTTAWA - Jake Allen will make his first start of the regular season on Thursday night in Ottawa (6:30 p.m. CT, FSMW, 101 ESPN).

"He hasn't played yet, so it's a good time for him," Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said. "He's worked hard, he's had a good camp and we want to play him. He's going to play a lot of games for us.

Thursday's game will be Allen's 13th consecutive road start dating back to last season. In his last 12 starts, Allen posted a 2.21 goals-against average, a .927 save-percentage and two shutouts.

With a win, Allen would tie Curtis Joseph for second on the Blues' all-time wins list for goaltenders (137).

In addition, Robert Bortuzzo will return to the lineup Thursday, replacing Carl Gunnarsson. During the morning skate in Ottawa, Bortuzzo skated on a pairing with Vince Dunn, while Justin Faulk moved up to the top pair with Alex Pietrangelo.

Video: Allen gets start in Ottawa

PROJECTED LINEUP

Forwards

Schwartz - Schenn - Tarasenko

Blais - O'Reilly - Perron

Sanford - Bozak - Fabbri

Barbashev - Sundqvist - Steen

Defense

Faulk - Pietrangelo

Bouwmeester - Parayko

Dunn - Bortuzzo

Goalie

Allen