While the New York Islanders might be the unluckiest team in the NHL, the St. Louis Blues haven’t been far behind them. Both teams have been slapped around by injuries and aborted waiver claims alike.
The difference is that the Blues actually have an outside shot at making the playoffs, something that will be improved by the return of valuable center Andy McDonald. He is expected to make his return to the lineup after suffering from concussion issues for exactly two months. He actually suffered the injury from an unlucky hit against the team he’s playing against tonight, as he was caught awkwardly by Edmonton Oilers forward Shawn Horcoff on December 4th.
McDonald missed 24 games so far this season, almost half of the Blues’ 2010-11 campaign. In the 25 games he managed to play, he has been a solid guy in the faceoff circle and scored nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.
The Blues pivot says he doesn’t just want to ease in to the contests, as St. Louis needs every win it can get right now. We’ll see if that works out, because there’s no question that some players have struggled when trying to return from post-concussion syndrome.