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Another injury hits the Blues defense Friday

With Jaden Schwartz (right ankle), Alex Pietrangelo (lower body) and Jay Bouwmeester (undisclosed) all currently out with injuries, joining Zach Sanford (shoulder) and Robby Fabbri (knee), the Blues may have to enlist the M*A*S*H unit on ice .
St. Louis Blues defensemen Carl Gunnarsson (4)

ST. LOUIS -- It's been quite the week for injuries as far as the Blues are concerned.

Add defenseman Carl Gunnarsson to a list that grows, it seems, by the minute.

Gunnarsson left a short practice early on Friday after being hit around his right knee area, a wrist shot taken by fellow defenseman Jordan Schmaltz, during a special teams drill.

With Jaden Schwartz (right ankle), Alex Pietrangelo (lower body) and Jay Bouwmeester (undisclosed) all currently out with injuries, joining Zach Sanford (shoulder) and Robby Fabbri (knee), the Blues may have to enlist the M*A*S*H unit on ice.

"We'll see in the morning, we're hopeful," Blues coach Mike Yeo said of Gunnarsson's availability. "My gut says that he'll be ready to go, but obviously we don't know how he's going to feel tomorrow."

Dmitrij Jaskin, Kyle Brodziak and Robert Bortuzzo all missed practice because Yeo said all are "A little dinged up, so we'll go in the morning and hopeful that they'll be players for us."

Speaking of Pietrangelo though, the news is trending upwards that he could very well rejoin the lineup when he can come off injured reserve on Sunday in the second of back-to-back games against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Blues (21-10-2) host the Jets (18-9-5) at 6 p.m. Saturday (FS-MW, KMOX 1120-AM) before the rematch at MTS Centre on Sunday at 5 p.m.

"'Petro' obviously skated again today; he's getting closer," Yeo said. "That's a good sign and we're happy with the group that we've got going. I think our 'D' have been doing a good job. You look at last game and obviously there's a couple times where I think we could have done something differently, something better, but that goes for our entire group."

As for Bouwmeester, who the Blues thought would play on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks but was a late scratch, the Blues put the veteran defenseman on injured reserve retroactive to Sunday.

Yeo said on Thursday after a 3-1 loss to the Ducks that Bouwmeester would be held out of the games against the Jets and be re-evaluated next week.

"We thought he was going to be a player, but it didn't work out," Yeo said.

Recalling Blais from San Antonio for the fourth time this season is more indicative of perhaps an underlying injury to one of the Blues' forwards. Jaskin took a pop during the game Thursday.

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