St. Louis Blues Will Get Kevin Shattenkirk, Carl Gunnarsson Back on Saturday
The St. Louis Blues will get two players with strong reputations back in their lineup on Saturday evening against the Columbus Blue Jackets, as defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Carl Gunnarsson will return. Shattenkirk has missed the past 25 games while recovering from an abdominal injury that required surgery, while Gunnarsson had missed two games with an upper-body injury that he suffered last Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
More from St. Louis Sports
- St. Louisan Jayson Tatum Entering 2017 NBA Draft
- Arch Awards: Blues’ Playoff Victory Over Blackhawks Was the Best St. Louis Sports Moment of 2016
- 10 Wishes for a Better 2017 in St. Louis Sports
- Arch Awards: What Was the Best St. Louis Sports Storyline of 2016?
- Arch Awards: Who Was the MVP of St. Louis Sports in 2016?
Shattenkirk’s addition could potentially be very impactful for the Blues. The 26-year-old defenseman was having arguably the best season of any defenseman in the NHL prior to his injury, having collected eight goals and 32 assists with a plus-minus of plus-18 over 49 games. He made it to the All-Star game for the first time in his career and was making a major impact on the Blues, consistently playing at least 20 minutes a game while being one of the few defensemen to play on the power play.
However, abdominal injuries as serious as the one Shattenkirk suffered can often be devastating and require a long recovery period. Therefore, it may be presumptuous to assume that Shattenkirk will approach the level of play that he performed at earlier this season. It seems that the Blues are preparing for that possibility and playing it safe with him to start off, as Shattenkirk will be part of the third defensive pairing with Barret Jackman against the Blue Jackets.
More from Arch Authority
- St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
- John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
- St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
- St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
- St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A
Gunnarsson has struggled through an injury-plagued first season in St. Louis, missing 19 total games due to a hip injury, a concussion, and the recent upper-body injury that kept him out of the past two games. He has two goals and 10 assists with a plus-minus rating of plus-9 in 55 games this season.
Along with Petteri Lindbohm, who was assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL after Tuesday’s game, Robert Bortuzzo will come out of the lineup for Saturday’s game. Bortuzzo, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins at the trade deadline, had made a significant impact on the lineup as of late with his physical play and collected his first goal as a Blue against his former team on Tuesday.