Sanford getting closer to returning to lineup; Dunn good at resetting
according to Yeo; Butler here to help any way; Thompson out Tuesday
HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- The Blues are on the verge of adding another player to their roster for the final playoff push.
No, they didn't make a trade (yet, if they do anything at all leading up the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 26), but the Blues are on the cusp of adding young forward Zach Sanford to the lineup in the not-too-distant future.
Sanford, who dislocated his left shoulder the first day of training camp on Sept. 15 in a practice drill following a check by Dmitrij Jaskin, has been a skater now for weeks, and coach Mike Yeo said, "He's coming along. I would say he's obviously not in the lineup tomorrow (at Nashville) but we're going to have to put a plan together for the best way to get him back as quick as possible. His strength is there, his skating is there, conditioning-wise we're very pleased with where he's at."
Sanford has had no setbacks, and the final hurdle seems to be absorbing hits and receiving contact. Once he's able to do that in a regular basis with no issues, Sanford will add to likely the third line to help bolster a unit that has had its ups and downs (mostly downs).
"For him, it's just a comfort level of him feeling he's ready to go in and compete and play at his level," Yeo said. "... We're doing everything we can. Obviously we don't have a full team skate today but we're making sure we're putting him into some 1-on-1 situations, some battles along the boards, whatever the case is. That's obviously a way he can grow some confidence and feel that he's ready to get into the game, but ultimately, it's going to be games that are what he needs to do."
Sanford, 23, has played in 39 NHL games (13 for St. Louis) and has eight points (four goals, four assists).
* Big week ahead -- Although Yeo doesn't want to look past the next game, the Blues' next two games could go a long way in determining what they are going to be playing for heading down the stretch and what can/cannot be realistic.
So instead of looking at a matchup Friday at Dallas, a team that trails you by one point in the Central Division with a game in hand, the Blues (34-21-3) are looking up, and that's trying to win tonight and get closer to first place with a date against the Nashville Predators (33-12-9), who are four points ahead of the Blues but have four games in hand.
"You want to play a good game, that's got to be our mindset," said Yeo, whose team has lost twice to Nashville this season (2-0 and 2-1) on home ice. "They've obviously had success against us the last couple years. We know it's going to be a tough game, we know all the challenges we're going to face in that game, so we have to be ready for them."
After the game today (7 p.m.; FS-MW, KMOX 1120-AM), the Blues will get some much-needed rest and down time playing three games in 10 days while others catch up in games played. So that makes this week with two road Central Division games all that much more important.
"Every week is big right now from here on out," Yeo said. "It's hard to say that one game is bigger than the next. What it comes down to is you have to embrace the game you're playing and the opponent that you have and that's ultimately how you put yourself in the best position. For us right now, that's Nashville and that's a good challenge we have to make sure we're ready for."
The Blues have had little time to practice with their schedule, tied with Toronto for the most games played with 58, but with two days off after tonight, then a game, then three days off, a game, and two more days off, then another game, there is time to get some work in. It's been more so video sessions lately.
"I think every team right now wishes they had more practice time," Yeo said. "We're coming off four games in six days. I don't think that going out and practicing today is going to make us a better hockey team if we don't have the energy to play the game. Mistakes happen when you're tired, your execution drops when you're tired and obviously you don't have the speed and the work ethic to do the little things you have to do in the games. So we have to make sure we have energy and that's why we opted to stay off today.
"I think the players in a lot of ways like this time of year. When you come back to the rink, you reset, and you get ready for the next day. It's a competitive league, the games are so important, and these guys are competitors. They want to play hockey, they want to play games, and certainly we're getting our share of that right now."
* Dunn parks mistake, moves on -- It's no secret that rookies make mistakes, but what you do to rectify those mistakes and learning from them is the biggest challenge.
It was no different waking up Monday for Blues rookie d-man Vince Dunn, whose costly giveaway in the third period led to the go-ahead goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-1 victory.
In an attempt to make a cross-ice pass to partner Robert Bortuzzo, Dunn's pass was intercepted by Bryan Rust, who beat Jake Allen five-hole on the ensuing breakaway.
"I thought I could get it over to 'Borts,'" Dunn said. "I probably make that play nine times out of 10 and obviously it didn't work out there. The game happens fast. When you make mistakes like that, good teams are going to find a way to put it in the net."
Dunn said he never saw Rust in his line of vision. "I probably wouldn't have passed it if I saw him, right?"
Dunn, who has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 51 games, has that bounce-back ability, according to Yeo, and doesn't see why he can't bounce back from that mistake.
"I've seen a good reset button from him," Yeo said. "He's a competitive kid, he's developed really nicely this year. We have to be real pleased with the way he's come along in terms of him making himself an every day NHL player and an effective every day NHL player. He's developed a nice identity, I go into every game with a good sense of what I'm going to see from him and what his game is going to look like and that's real valuable for us.
"... He's been very good. He made a mistake in a game. That happens. Let's move on."
* Butler here to help -- St. Louis native Chris Butler, recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League on Friday to replace the injured Joel Edmundson (broken right forearm), has 388 games' worth of NHL experience playing for the Blues, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames.
But Butler, 31, has played in six NHL games the past three seasons, including none this season and just one last season (the regular season finale).
He's here as insurance and as the team's seventh d-man with Edmundson sidelined and to be reevaluated in six weeks.
Butler, who has 84 points (13 goals, 71 assists) in his career, is here for whatever role the Blues use him; he is fifth in scoring for the Rampage (eight goals, 15 assists in 47 games) and first among defensemen, ahead of Jordan Schmaltz by one point.
"It's always fun to be in the NHL," Butler said. "It's fun to be home. It probably means more now at my age than maybe it did when I was younger. You still get goosebumps, you still get excited when you get that call. It's an awesome group to be around, as you can tell.
"You see the puck go in a couple times (with San Antonio) and you get some lucky bounces and it builds your confidence, and that's huge. We've had some injuries, we've had some guys go up and down and it can get thin in a hurry when you have two teams pulling from your squad. Guys go up to Colorado, guys come here. All of the sudden, guys are forced into bigger roles. I've had a chance to play more of an offensive position and it's been fun."
* Updates -- As usual, Yeo wouldn't announce who would start in goal tomorrow.
Allen has played the past two games, including a 5-2 win at Winnipeg on Friday, and he's started three of the past six.
Carter Hutton, who used to be Pekka Rinne's backup in Nashville before he signed with the Blues prior to last season, could also get the nod.
Forward Tage Thompson, who Yeo said was dinged up and wasn't available to play Sunday, skated on Monday but isn't in line to play tonight.
"He wasn't available to play yesterday and given the little amount of work he did yesterday, I find it hard to believe he's a player for us tomorrow," Yeo said.
The Blues will also have to make a decision on center Oskar Sundqvist, who was assigned to the Rampage on a conditioning assignment.
His final day, which includes 14 days under such conditions, will be Wednesday and after that, the Blues must add him to the 23-man roster, a spot which Sundqvist still occupies despite being in San Antonio, or place him on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the Rampage without restrictions.
Sundqvist has six points (two goals, four assists) in six games for San Antonio.
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