St-Louis Blues Injuries Continue to Mount

St-Louis Blues Injuries Cause Large Hurdle to Climb

Continuing to mount, St-Louis Blues injuries have become a theme in 2015-16.

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They began the season with F Patrik Berglund on the IR (recently returned – 5gp). Seven games into the season, Jaden Schwartz suffered a long-term injury. Paul Stastny missed a little over a month between the end of October and most of November. Steve Ott went down for three months after 21 games, which prompted a PTO signing of Martin Havlat. It seemed they were getting healthier as the New Year passed – until the latest flurry of St-Louis Blues injuries.

Paul Stastsny is deemed day-to-day, and could play against New Jersey on Tuesday. Four players are being listed as week-to-week, three of which are significant to the Blues success. Goaltender Jake Allen, and defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Carl Gunnarsson headline the key injuries. Forward Magnus Paajarvi is also week-to-week after playing 32 games for St-Louis in 2015-16.

"via NHL.com,The Blues recalled forwards Ty Rattie and defenseman Chris Butler from Chicago of the American Hockey League on Monday under emergency conditions. Goaltender Jordan Binnington was recalled from Chicago on Saturday."

Three players capable of playing at the NHL level, the Blues are able to flex their depth muscle in hopes of filling significant voids.

Chris Butler, 29, is a former 3rd round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres back in 2005. He has 384 games of NHL experience with Buffalo, Calgary, and St-Louis.

Ty Rattie, 22, is a former 2nd round draft pick in 2011. Highly regarded as a first round talent heading into his draft year, Rattie saw his stock dip in his draft season. After being drafted, he produced back-to-back 100 plus (121,110) point seasons with WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He’s since in his third year of pro hockey, showing consistent improvement.

Sep 22, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (30) makes a save against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the third period at Scottrade Center. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Jordan Binnington, 22, was taken in the 3rd round at the 2011 draft from OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. His first year of pro hockey was spent with Kalamazoo of the ECHL in 2013-14. He graduated to Blues AHL affiliate Chicago in 2014-15, playing 45 games, going 25-15-4 with a 2.35 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage. In 17 games in 2015-16, Binnington is 8-6-2 with a 2.57 GAA and .910 save percentage with AHL Chicago.

All three call-ups provide stability most NHL teams could only hope for when faced in similar situations. Although, it doesn’t matter how much depth a team has when they lose core pieces.

Look at Montreal for example. Mike Condon played well for an extended period, but he could never replace Carey Price‘s consistency.

Without Jake Allen, Jaden Schwartz, Steve Ott, Carl Gunnarsson, Jay Bouwmeester, and Magnus Paajarvi, the Blues are destined to struggle after what’s been an extremely successful season given their circumstances.

At this point, best case scenario might be a .500 hockey team until key pieces return. With Minnesota nipping at their heels, just three points back, and several other teams vying for a wild-card spot, the Blues could quickly find themselves on the outside looking in down the stretch. If St-Louis wants to stay competitive in the Central Division moving forward, they’ll need Brian Elliott to be just as good as Jake Allen was in the first half. They’ll also need Vladimir Tarasenko to continue his tear in NHL scoring, while hoping defenseman Colton Parayko doesn’t hit the rookie wall after a long, grueling 82-game season.

Next: Joel Quenneville Signs 3-Year Extension with Blackhawks

What do you think hockey fans? Can the St-Louis Blues keep their head above water in the most competitive division in the NHL? If the over/under were set at .500 winning percentage while key pieces are out week-to-week, which is the safe bet? Aside from the Blues top players, which secondary pieces need to step up for St-Louis to continue racking up wins?