The Blues will be getting center Kyle Brodziak back in their lineup earlier than expected. The team announced that they’ve activated him off of injured reserve two weeks ahead of schedule. Brodziak suffered a foot injury three weeks ago and was expected to be out until the end of the month but he recovered quicker than expected. The 32 year old has ten points (4-6-10) in 47 games with St. Louis this season. To make room for him on the roster, the team assigned center Wade Megan back to Chicago of the AHL.
Still with the Blues, center Paul Stastny is expected to travel with the team to Buffalo in advance of their games against the Sabres tomorrow, notes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He remains day-to-day for the time being with a lower body injury. If Stastny is ready to return, another player will have to be sent back to the AHL to make room for him.
Other injury updates from around the league:
- Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner is day-to-day as a result of a shoulder injury sustained on Wednesday in Columbus, notes Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. However, he hasn’t been ruled out of the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Senators. Marner is tied for first overall in rookie scoring (with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine) this season with 48 points (15-33-48) in 56 games. Still with Toronto, winger Nikita Soshnikov is nearing a return from his upper body injury and could be in the lineup against Ottawa.
- Columbus left winger Scott Hartnell will miss his second straight game tonight with a lower body injury, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The injury was originally sustained on Monday night against the Rangers. That means that right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand will get at least one more game after being recalled on an emergency basis on Tuesday. Hartnell has spent a lot of time on the fourth line for the Blue Jackets this season but has been rather productive in that role, picking up 30 points (13-17-30) in 55 games.
- The Penguins continue to get tough news from the infirmary. After it was noted earlier today that Olli Maatta will miss six weeks as he recovers from hand surgery, the team announced via Twitter that blueliner Justin Schultz is dealing with a concussion and is in concussion protocol. There’s no timetable for his return to the lineup. Schultz is having a career year in his first season with Pittsburgh with 39 points (9-30-39) in 56 games. That point total ranks sixth overall among NHL defenders.
- Ducks netminder Jonathan Bernier is dealing with an illness, reports Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group (Twitter link). However, the team is hopeful that he will still be able to serve as the backup tonight to John Gibson as Anaheim takes on Florida.