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Oshie’s missed five straight, yet ‘nowhere near’ coming back

St Louis Blues v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - MARCH 08: T.J. Oshie #74 of the St. Louis Blues warms up prior to facing the Colorado Avalanche at Pepsi Center on March 8, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. The Blues defeated the Avalanche 2-1. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Doug Pensinger

The concussion issues plaguing St. Louis’ T.J. Oshie don’t seem to be improving.

Oshie, who missed his fifth game in a row on Thursday night -- a 4-3 win over New Jersey -- is reportedly “nowhere near” a return to action, per the Post-Dispatch:

“Osh showed up today [Thursday] — and left,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “He came for a visit, so that’s a good sign. He’s out, he’s walking around, there’s a sighting ... but he’s nowhere near getting close to playing.”

The Blues have said little otherwise regarding Oshie’s status since revealing his concussion Oct. 30, two days after he was injured in Dallas. It happened in the second period when Stars forward Patrick Eaves pushed Oshie into the goal crease, causing him to hit the left side of his face on the right post.

Oshie lay on the ice momentarily before making his way to the Blues’ bench, where after being observed by a team trainer he returned to the game. He finished with a season-high 21 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time, and the next day was diagnosed with a concussion. Asked whether proper protocol was followed, a Blues official said the team was satisfied with the trainer’s procedure and that Oshie showed no signs of suffering a head injury.

Despite losing Oshie, the Blues have played remarkably well of late -- they’ve won seven straight and currently sit atop the Central Division with a 9-3-1 record. That said, it’s obvious St. Louis wants to get Oshie back in the lineup as quickly as possible; he’s coming off a tremendous 2013-14 campaign in which he scored a career-high 21 goals and 60 points, and became an instant celebrity following his shootout heroics for the U.S. at the Olympics.