St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway made his return to the lineup Thursday night against Utah, playing in the team’s first game since he was taken to the hospital after getting hit in the neck by a puck.
Holloway took part in the Blues’ morning skate at Enterprise Center and said he felt good to return. Head coach Drew Bannister decided to put him in the starting lineup.
“Talking to the doctor at the hospital, he said just no activity for 24 hours. But other than that, I’m fine,” Holloway said after the morning skate. “All my tests came back good. There’s no further damage—nothing. It was kind of the best news I could get, and I feel like I’m ready to go.”
Holloway played 17:51 in the 4-2 loss to Utah, which was slightly more ice time than his usual. He recorded one shot and blocked two shots.
“He was out this morning on the ice and pushed himself, and he seemed to feel good going into the game, and he was cleared by the doctors,” Bannister said after the game. “He wanted to play, and we wanted to have him out on the ice for us.”
Holloway got injured late in the first period during St. Louis’ 3-2 win on Tuesday when a puck off Tampa Bay’s Nicholas Paul hit him in the neck. The play was stopped with 1:11 left in the period, and referees sent the teams to their locker rooms early after Holloway was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
“It was definitely kind of crazy. I felt pretty fortunate. I had a lot of people reach out to see if I was OK,” said Holloway, who joined the Blues after playing in the Stanley Cup final last season with Edmonton.
“I appreciate all the love and the support that I was getting. The team has been great, all the boys have been great, the coach has been great. I’m just thankful to have such a supportive group around me.”
Holloway mentioned that he felt dizzy and nauseous at the hospital, but other than a bruise at the base of his neck, he had no other symptoms.
“I just want to go out there and kind of forget about it, put it in the past,” Holloway said. “I feel good and I’m just excited to get out there.”
Bannister said that Holloway rode an exercise bike on Wednesday and “pushed himself hard” during the morning skate.
“He’s a worker. He has a high motor. The way we want to play, he dictates a lot of the play,” Bannister said. “He dictates a lot of the energy that happens on the bench and on the ice. He just works to get pucks back and he uses his speed. He does a lot of things really well and he’s fit in nicely.”
“Whether we’ve put him at center or at wing, he’s found a way to contribute to the team game and contribute on the scoreboard but also defensively.”
