ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Blues will face the Colorado Avalanche on Monday in a battle for the central division lead.
Colorado has 45 points this season, trailing the Blues by one. With a lot of hockey left in the season, the Blues understand how important each game is regardless of when it’s played. The race in the central division is always tight and unwavering.
It seems every time something positive happens to this team, something negative follows. The carousel of injuries continues as Blues forward Ivan Barbashev will now miss time due to an injury he suffered during Saturday’s game.
The details on the injury haven’t been shared, and it’s hard to pin point the exact moment the injury happened.
When everything was falling apart, Barbashev was the glue that held the team together.
Commonly on the fourth line, Barbashev was moved up and down the lineup amidst endless injuries. No matter where he was placed, he was effective. Now, the Blues will have to makeup for his ice time, and more importantly, his minutes on the penalty kill.
Zach Sanford will return to the lineup in Barbashev’s place. Luckily for Sanford, he was on a hotter streak than usual at the time he suffered his injury.
He’ll play on a line with Ryan O’Reilly, which should be an easy transition for the two given their history together that began last season. Sanford said playing with O’Reilly gives him a sense of comfort and support.
But perhaps the bigger challenge will be finding ways to shut down Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche’s top line.
MacKinnon alone has 50 points and can skate like the wind. Blues head coach Craig Berube has made it clear the Blues must slow down the pace of game early and control the puck past the blue line if they want to win the game.
But there’s another importance to this game.
Blues forward Robert Thomas will be playing in his 100th NHL career game. During that time span he’s tallied 49 points, consisting of 13 goals and 36 assists. Not bad for a 20 year old.
You know the saying, “Age is just a number?” That comes into play here. Despite a brief stint of rookie mistakes when he first took the ice, and a slower pace after returning from his wrist surgery, Thomas now plays like a 30-year-old veteran.
On Saturday he registered three assists in the Blues victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. And the assists weren’t just a simple pass in front of the net.
He grinded in the crease, around the net, and on the boards to spin off defensemen and find the small gap towards the net.
Thomas was given more of an opportunity to play as a true centerman this season, which is what he was used to playing originally. It’s seemed to pay off.