By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- The Blues will get a boost on their blue line with the return of defenseman Joel Edmundson, who comes back into the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday after missing five weeks with a fractured right forearm.
The Blues (37-27-5) trail the Avalanche (37-24-8), who have points in eight straight games (5-0-3) by three points for the second wildcard in the Western Conference and the Dallas Stars by four points for the first wildcard.
Edmundson, who was injured Feb. 8 against these very same Avalanche blocking a shot by former teammate Nail Yakupov, will start on defense with Robert Bortuzzo.
"I feel good. Felt good this morning," Edmundson said. "Did some battle drills after everyone got off and I feel good enough to play, so I'll be in the lineup tonight.
"... Coming to the rink this morning I was 50-50 if I was going to play or not, but I got a good warmup in, had a good practice, and I decided I'll play tonight."
The Blues went 4-7-2 with Edmundson out of the lineup but have won two straight and scored 11 goals. But coach Mike Yeo welcome's Edmundson's return; he will replace Jordan Schmaltz.
"Very happy to have him back," Yeo said. "We all saw what he means to our team in the time he was out of the lineup. Obviously in terms of what he brings to the table, penalty killing, defensive play, physicality, also kind of a quiet, important part of our leadership group, it helps out a lot of the young guys on the team and a good presence inside of our locker room. So it's good to have him back."
Edmundson has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 56 games this season.
"I'm just excited to play hockey again," Edmundson said. "I've watched a lot of games over the past five weeks, watched our team struggle a bit so I want to get out there a bit and help them out."
Starting him on a pair with Bortuzzo could change as the game moves along, according to Yeo.
"First off, we didn't know if he was going to play this morning or not, so I think we'll see a few different things through the course of the game," Yeo said of Edmundson. "But I've also liked 'Dunner's game [Vince Dunn], been real happy with the way he's played. 'Eddy' and 'Bortz' have at different times played together and they've done a nice job, too. That's a 'D' pairing that I think a lot of people wouldn't want to be on the ice against.
"... Because of their size and their aggressiveness, they kill plays and again, when you have play-killers back there, it allows you to get back on the attack."
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Blues goalie Carter Hutton will not back up Jake Allen tonight; it will be Ville Husso, who was recalled again on Wednesday.
Hutton, who's been dealing with a neck issue stemming from the morning skate on March 8 against the San Jose Sharks, did not practice on Wednesday.
"I haven't gotten an update on his MRI results," Yeo said. "He had an MRI yesterday so we're waiting on that, hopefully nothing serious."
In the meantime, Allen is 2-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and .948 save percentage the past three starts. He will be making his fourth consecutive start for the first time since doing so Dec. 21-29.
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Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz has seven points (two goals, five assists) the past six games.
Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko has five points (two goals, three assists) the past six games.
The Blues have won four in a row against the Avalanche and won 13 of the past 15 against Colorado at Scottrade Center.
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The Blues' projected lineup
Jaden Schwartz-Brayden Schenn-Vladimir Tarasenko
Patrik Berglund-Kyle Brodziak-Alexander Steen
Dmitrij Jaskin-Vladimir Sobotka-Tage Thompson
Nikita Soshnikov-Ivan Barbashev-Chris Thorburn
Carl Gunnarsson-Alex Pietrangelo
Vince Dunn-Colton Parayko
Joel Edmundson-Robert Bortuzzo
Jake Allen will start in goal; Ville Husso will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Jordan Schmaltz and Oskar Sundqvist. Carter Hutton (neck) and Scottie Upshall (knee) are out. Robby Fabbri (knee) and Jay Bouwmeester (hip) are out for the season.
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The Avalanche's projected lineup:
Gabriel Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen
Sven Andrighetto-Tyson Jost-J.T. Compher
Matt Nieto-Carl Soderberg-Blake Comeau
Alexander Kerfoot-Dominic Toninato-Gabriel Bourque
Nikita Zadorov-Tyson Barrie
Patrik Nemeth-Samuel Girard
Duncan Siemens-David Warsofsky
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal; Spencer Martin will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Anton Lindholm, Mark Alt and Nail Yakupov. Mark Barberio (upper body), Andrew Hammond (concussion), Erik Johnson (upper body), Vladislav Kamenev (arm), Colin Wilson (concussion) and Jonathan Bernier (concussion) are all out.
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