According to St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube, young forward Jake Neighbours is likely out for “a while” after leaving today’s game against the Ottawa Senators with an upper-body injury. The news is a harsh blow to Neighbours and the Blues, who were looking to see the young forward take a step down the stretch this season.
The exact nature or return timeline for Neighbours’ injury is unknown at this time. However, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Matthew DeFranks’ report that Neighbours was wearing a sling postgame suggests a shoulder or arm injury of some kind. After playing just 37 seconds, he left the game, and the Blues lost 7-2.
For Neighbours, this injury comes at a particularly unfortunate time. The 20-year-old left wing was hoping to see increased ice time down the stretch, as the Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko trades have left spots open in St. Louis’ top six. Neighbours lined up on the second line today alongside Brayden Schenn and Sammy Blais.
For the Blues, Neighbours’ injury adds to an already-depleted forward core. With Brandon Saad on injured reserve and Ivan Barbashev expected to be traded before the deadline, Neighbours was one of the few NHL-ready young players in the organization who could benefit from potential top-six ice time. Without Neighbours, the Blues will instead increase the roles of depth forwards such as Blais, Josh Leivo, Logan Brown, and Nathan Walker, most of whom have averaged under 10 minutes of ice time per game.
It figures to be a miserable ride to the finish line for the Blues, who have fallen beneath .500 and are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games.