Blues center Oskar Sundqvist skated on the fourth line on practice on Friday but still isn’t cleared to play yet, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. That said, the fact he skated in a regular role suggests he’s nearing a return from the torn ACL he suffered back in March which would be a nice addition to their bottom six. That said, there is another factor in when he can be activated; until Ville Husso can return which would allow current backup Joel Hofer to be sent to the minors, St. Louis doesn’t have the cap room to activate Sundqvist from LTIR.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Sharks winger Lane Pederson is expected to miss a week or two, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). He was injured on a hit from Winnipeg’s Logan Stanley on Thursday night. Pederson hasn’t recorded a point in 11 games so far this season while being used primarily on the fourth line. With San Jose getting seven players back from COVID protocol yesterday – resulting in seven AHL demotions – they’ll at least have enough healthy forwards on the roster to cover for Pederson’s expected absence.
- The Lightning will have blueliner Zach Bogosian back in the lineup tonight as he returns from a foot injury, notes Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link). His second stint with Tampa Bay got off to a rough start as he suffered the injury in the season-opener. Bogosian will take the place of Erik Cernak who is dealing with an upper-body issue.
Blues need to trade somebody stat. Somebody like Clifford and a 6th rounder, for a 7th rounder might get it done. They need the cap and the roster spot. Hate to give up on mikkola, but they were playing Rosen over him. With Rosen, walman and peronuvuch passing him, may be time to look for a trade. Or play him and trade bortuzzo or scandella who has been brutal recently