St. Louis Blues’ top center Robert Thomas returned on Tuesday after missing four weeks due to a broken ankle.
Thomas played a key role in the team’s top power-play unit, got an assist, and played over 23 minutes in the Blues’ 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
The Blues, who have lost six of their last seven games (1-5-1), will try to bounce back on Thursday when they face the San Jose Sharks at home.
“We need to work harder to get the puck back as a group, as a team, if we want to have it more and create more offense,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “That’s the No. 1 thing for our guys going into the game against San Jose.”
“We just have to be more committed to working harder, doing the right things to get the puck so we can go on the offense,” Bannister added.
Bannister put Thomas back together with Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich against the Wild in an effort to boost the offense at even strength.
“I felt good,” Thomas said. “My timing was a little bit off. I started getting more comfortable as the game went on.”
On October 10, Thomas and Kyrou each had two assists, and Joel Hofer made 25 saves to help the Blues win 5-4 in overtime against the Sharks in San Jose.
No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini scored a goal and had an assist in that game, marking a strong start to his NHL career. Celebrini plays on San Jose’s second line with Will Smith and veteran Barclay Goodrow.
“He’s done some really good things, and he obviously has an elite skill set,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said about the 18-year-old Celebrini. “He wants the puck, he demands the puck on the ice, so we had a feeling he’d lead us and himself in a certain way.”
San Jose has also been getting strong play from its top line of William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, and veteran Mikael Granlund. In the Sharks’ 5-2 loss to Dallas on Wednesday, Granlund scored and assisted on a goal, while Eklund added an assist.
“That line has been good, really good chemistry,” Warsofsky said. “You can see they know each other in the offensive zone. They are doing some really good things. Granlund has taken both of those guys under his wing and helped them become true professionals and take that next step.”
The Sharks are 1-2-2 in their last five games. They started Mackenzie Blackwood in goal on Wednesday, with Vitek Vanecek out due to an upper-body injury. Yaroslav Askarov came from the Sharks’ AHL team to serve as Blackwood’s backup on Wednesday.
Vanecek also made the trip, and Warsofsky was undecided on who will start in goal on Thursday against the Blues.
Blues forward Brayden Schenn and defenseman Justin Faulk did not practice on Wednesday. Bannister called it a “maintenance day” for both and expects them to play against the Sharks.
Defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph practiced again on Wednesday while recovering from a lower-body injury. Bannister was unsure if Joseph would return to the lineup on Thursday.
