MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — The St. Louis Blues had a surprise entrant on the ice for practice Wednesday at Centene Community Ice Center, and it was a welcomed addition.
Top-line center Robert Thomas stepped onto the ice 22 days after fracturing his right ankle Oct. 22 against the Winnipeg Jets when he blocked a shot by Jets defenseman Neal Pionk early in the third period of a 3-2 loss.
Thomas, who has a goal and five assists in seven games, was in a no-contact powder blue jersey but nonetheless, participated in the entire skate for the first time with teammates; he was originally diagnosed to be reevaluated in 4-6 weeks.
“That was great to see him on the ice,” Blues coach Drew Bannister said. “I think he was excited. He wants to be with the team. He wants to get on the ice and I think the guys were excited to see him, maybe a little bit surprised too that he was out on the ice with us. I thought he looked good. Obviously there’s no timeline with his injury, but it was good to see him out on the ice with us.”
The Blues are 3-6-0, including a pair of three-game losing streaks, without their No. 1 center, averaging just 2.3 goals per game, including 15 goals at 5-on-5 (tied for 21st in the NHL) since Thomas departed the lineup.
“He’s a key player for us,” Blues center Radek Faksa said of Thomas. “‘Broby’ [Philip Broberg] got hurt. We can’t talk about stuff like that. It’s hockey, it happens. It is what it is and we have to win even without those guys. We have to learn how to win without our best players as well.”
“We can sit here and say Robby’s a big part of the team, of course he is,” Bannister said. “But the forward group there, we’ve had success with them and I believe in this group. We can’t wait for ‘Tommer’ to come back. We have to start winning games now with the guys we have in our lineup. I know the guys believe in that group and when we play to our potential and the way we need to play, we have success. Adding ‘Tommer’ to that when we’re playing well, we’re a heck of a hockey team, but we’ve just got to make sure that before he comes, we’ve got to take care of our own business.”
Thomas will accompany the Blues (7-9-0) on its upcoming road trip, beginning Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres (6:30 p.m.; HULU, ESPN+, ESPN 101.1-FM).
“I think he’s going to come on the trip with us,” Bannister said. “He wants to be around the team. He’s been away for a little bit rehabbing his injury and I think he wants to be with the team, which is great to see.”
