St. Louis Blues forward Robby Fabbri is now three games removed from double ACL surgery, and he is showing why the Blues took him so high in the 2014 draft.
Most of the St. Louis Blues struggles this season was not a result of poor offensive play, although they are only middle of the pack regarding goals per game, the Blues still have shown offensive firepower on the powerplay to help their overall offensive game.
Fabbri scored his first NHL goal since December 2016 in a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night. It is not only his offensive game that has impressed the Blues and its fans so far but also the willingness to go into corners and take hits to make a play.
In three games so far this year, Fabrri has one goal and one assist and is averaging 12:28 minutes per game. He has created countless scoring opportunities for his linemates even playing limited minutes for St. Louis.
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The Blues were cautious with Fabbri (and rightfully so) during his first two games after coming back from injury.
In his first game back against the Vegas Golden Knights, Fabbri started the game on the fourth line with Oskar Sundqvist and Robert Thomas.
The young forward instantly made an impact on his first shift. He chased down a puck into the corner, then Fabbri poked the puck to Thomas who was following him behind the net then he fed Sundqvist in front for a goal early in the game against Vegas.
The unique combination of speed, skill, and for a small guy, strength, is something that the Blues desperately needed in their lineup. Vladimir Tarasenko is strong and skilled but is not nearly as fast as Fabbri. This is not to imply by any means that Fabbri is a better hockey player than Tarasenko, it is only to say that Fabbri possesses the speed that no one on the Blues has.
It is only a matter of time before the Blues start to give Fabbri more meaningful minutes on one of the Blues top lines. Although he may be back soon, the injury to Brayden Schenn has led the way for some flexibility to the lineup.
Ideally, I would like to see Fabbri playing with Ryan O’Reilly and Tarasenko. O’Reilly has already shown just how dynamic he can be with skilled wingers alongside him, and with one of the best scorers in the world in Tarasenko, I think a line of Fabbri-O’Reilly-Tarasenko could be a force in the NHL for years to come.
The good news is, Fabbri is back. The great news its, Fabbri is playing like a bonafide start for the St. Louis Blues. He is still in his early 20s and is under team control for another five-plus year.