St. Louis Blues Place Carl Gunnarsson on IR, Activate Jay Bouwmeester
The St. Louis Blues have activated defenseman Jay Bouwmeester from injured reserve, while placing defenseman Carl Gunnarsson on the list in order to create room on the 23-man active roster for Bouwmeester.
Bouwmeester will return to the lineup tonight after missing the past eight games due to a groin injury. Prior to the ailment, the 31-year-old had held the longest consecutive games played streak of any major professional athlete in America. His return should be highly beneficial for the Blues, as he is part of the team’s top defensive pairing along with Alex Pietrangelo and is capable of making significant contributions on the blueline. Through 20 games this year, Bouwmeester has one goal and one assist with a plus-minus rating of plus-1.
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In addition to Bouwmeester returning to the lineup, forward Alex Steen, who has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury, and David Backes, who suffered facial lacerations in Tuesday’s victory, will be in the lineup on Thursday night against the New York Islanders.
Gunnarsson suffered what is believed to be a concussion after being checked into the boards by the Islanders’ Anders Lee on Saturday. He has yet to return to the ice for practice and his estimated date of return is unknown. By placing him on IR, the Blues preserve room to be able to keep 21-year-old defenseman Petteri Lindbohm, who has dressed for the past three games, on the roster. He’ll miss his second straight game on Thursday night, and with his addition to injured reserve he will also definitely miss Saturday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.