St. Louis Blues Take Time To Rest And Heal
The St. Louis Blues are finally back home in the STL after a 6-game road trip.
It seems as if years have gone by since their last home game. Maybe I’m over exaggerating, but the Blues haven’t played at home since the season-opening win against the Edmonton Oilers at the beginning of the month.
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The St. Louis Blues returned from Montreal following their loss to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre in the early morning hours on Wednesday. The players received their typical day off following this sort of travel on Wednesday but also received Thursday off. Ken Hitchcock made Thursday’s off-ice practice optional, according to STL Today.
Hitch told STL Today the players shouldn’t get too used to this schedule.
"I think we just felt like it’s the only time in the next two months we’re able to do this. So we wanted to take advantage of the little break in the schedule we got. We’ll make up for it in practice (Friday) because we’re going to have to have a little bit of competition in practice tomorrow to get our combative energy back again. We’ll do that (Friday). It’s really two skates we’ve got because we’ve got the pregame skate on Saturday. We’ve got lots of time to get ready for."
The New York Islanders (4-1-1) come into the Scottrade Center with their impressive record, and a familiar goaltender to Blues fans in Jaroslav Halak. The Isles have only played 2 away games to date and will have their hands full with a Blues team that has been able to rest up, as well as get some crucial healing time for players such as Robby Fabbri and Kevin Shattenkirk.
Fabbri and Shattenkirk are expected to be available to play on Saturday against New York.
STL Today’s Tom Timmermann reported both Shattenkirk and Fabbri were on the ice Thursday adding fuel to the speculation fire of their inevitable return to the lineup.
Oct 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues center Robby Fabbri (15) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the third period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Hitch is expected to shuffle the lines once again to fit those two back into the lineup, as well as cover for the injured Paul Stastny.
Stastny represents a fairly large hole in the center of the 1st line, as well as power play unit, with his absence. Unfortunately for Blues fans, it appears a Paul Stastny injury is turning into an annual event in the first month of the season.
Last year, Stastny fell victim to the injury bug with a shoulder injury. This year, after 5 games and 5 points, the American has a broken foot which will sideline him for at least 5 weeks, most likely more.
The St. Louis Blues are a better team with Stastny in the lineup, but a healthy Stastny makes them elite. He showed through his brief 5 games on the 1st line how effective a player he can be distributing the puck, as well as burying it in the back of the net.
In other news, Patrik Berglund has also gotten back on the ice, as STL Today reported. He underwent shoulder surgery in August. Hitch told STL Today of Berglund’s progress saying, “I’m no medical doctor, but he looks good. He’s skating hard, he’s shooting pucks, it’s a good sign. He’s got a ways to go yet, but it’s nice to see him back on the ice and be able to participate with some of the guys on these skates. He’s been really bored. He’s been at home by himself for most of the time. He was pretty excited to be around people yesterday.”
Until the two Blues centers return, Jori Lehtera and David Backes have been handling the top lines just fine. The Blues take on the Islanders Saturday night in St. Louis.