Afternoon briefing

Good afternoon from the Scottrade Center, where the Bruins kick off a five-game road trip with an early (6 p.m. EST) match against the Blues.

Some tidbits from the game notes:

* The Bruins have added Aaron Ward (ankle) and Petteri Nokelainen (upper body) to injured reserve, giving the club 21 players on the active roster. Ward and Nokelainen are on standard IR, while Marco Sturm (knee) and Andrew Ference (leg) are on long-term IR. With Ward and Nokelainen hitting IR, the Bruins could call up reinforcements for Tuesday's game against New Jersey. Johnny Boychuk and Martins Karsums are candidates for recall.

* Former Bruin Brad Boyes leads the Blues with 16 goals. Boyes also has the club's worst plus-minus (minus-18), trailing only Carolina's Rod Brind'Amour in the league. Boyes is a minus-2 at the Scottrade Center, but a league-worst minus-16 on the road. While plus-minus isn't the best metric in gauging a player's performance, it seems telling that Boyes is considerably worse on the road, where opposing coaches have the last change.

* St. Louis is without Eric Brewer (back), Erik Johnson (knee), D.J. King (shoulder), Paul Kariya (lower body), Andy McDonald (leg), Jay McKee (finger), and T.J. Oshie (lower body).

* Tim Peel and Don Koharski will be the referees. Lonnie Camerson and Derek Nansen will be the linesmen.