The Blues might have seen the last of defenseman Justin Faulk this season.
Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said Faulk was week to week with an upper-body injury suffered in a fight with San Jose’s Luke Kunin on Saturday afternoon. That would put him out through the final four games of the regular season, which culminates Wednesday, April 17 in Dallas.
Faulk already missed Sunday’s game in Anaheim and did not skate during Blues practice on Tuesday morning.
“We want to be cautious with his injury,†Bannister said. “Even if this was two months ago, it would still be week to week with him with what it is. With a week left right now, pending how we play and how other teams play around us, that could be extended (with playoffs). There is a possibility that he could be back in the lineup with our season being extended. But we’ll see how that plays out.â€
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This is the third separate absence of the season for Faulk, who missed five games from Dec. 30 to Jan. 11 with a lower-body injury and 12 games from Jan. 24 to Feb. 24 with a lower-body injury.
If he doesn’t return this season, Faulk would finish with 22 games missed due to injury. Since arriving in ºüÀêÊÓƵ in 2019, Faulk missed a total of eight games in the four seasons prior to this one.
“Certainly, we missed him when he was out that length of time with his ankle injury,†Bannister said. “We’ll miss him again here down the stretch.â€
Bannister also said forward Jake Neighbours would miss Wednesday’s game against Chicago with an upper-body injury. Neighbours was hurt on a hit by Kunin where he appeared to hit the back of his head on the top of the boards in front of the Blues bench. After the hit, Faulk fought Kunin and got hurt himself.
Wednesday will be Neighbours’ second missed game since the hit. Bannister labeled him as “day to day.â€
“As of today, he’s feeling normal,†Bannister said. “Obviously, yes, we’re going to be cautious, and we’ll go through the protocols of getting him back on the ice here, working out, getting back on the ice and then getting him in skates with us.â€
Neighbours is tied for the team lead with 27 goals this season. Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich also have 27, while Brandon Saad has 26 and Robert Thomas has 24.
With Neighbours and Faulk out of the lineup, it gave an opportunity for Kevin Hayes and Torey Krug to reenter the lineup Sunday in Anaheim after they were scratched in San Jose. Bannister said Krug would have gone back into the lineup against the Ducks regardless of Faulk’s injury.
“The way it played out, there could have been other guys sitting out the night after,†Bannister said. “The injuries, we wanted to give our younger guys an opportunity. Somebody has to sit out. Kruger would have sat out that night, somebody else could have sat out the next night. With the injury to Faulk, he comes back in. He would have been back in the next night anyways.â€
Holding on to hope
Although the Blues could be eliminated from playoff contention this week, they are clinging to the distant chance that they could sneak into the postseason with the last wild-card spot.
“We have to play to win our hockey games and hope that some other teams stumble down the road here,†Bannister said. “We can’t factor into that; we’ve just got to take care of our hockey games and win games, especially at home. I think our fans deserve that, and we want to make sure we take pride in our hockey game when we come here Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.â€
Entering Tuesday, Nashville needed just one point against Winnipeg to clinch a playoff spot, and Los Angeles needed a win in any fashion against the Ducks to do the same. Vegas is at Edmonton on Wednesday night.
The Blues are five points behind the Golden Knights, and Vegas has one game in hand on ºüÀêÊÓƵ. MoneyPuck lists the Blues’ playoff chances at 0.2%, while HockeyViz has them at 0.6%.