Leddy returns after missing 49 games; Tucker out, doubtful for Thursday; Joseph is sick, doubtful for game
ST. LOUIS – Nick Leddy will make his long-waited return for the St. Louis Blues, who open a six-game homestand that will continue post 4 Nations Face-Off when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (7 p.m.; HULU, ESPN+, ESPN 101.1-FM).
The defenseman has missed the past 49 games with what was termed a lower-body injury that sources say have stemmed from a nerve issue that has also affected his upper body.
It’s an injury that when first disclosed publicly, stemmed from training camp that was initially termed day to day. And after several attempts at practicing multiple days and feeling like he was close to coming back, there were multiple setbacks where the injury would be re-aggravated.
That all changed this past weekend.
“On the road trip, Leddy told us that after he practiced on Saturday that he felt Edmonton night be a real good target and he'd be ready,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said Tuesday. “Yesterday he skated again and declared himself that he felt that he was ready.
“We saw him battle in the last couple of practices. We saw him in 1-on-1 battles and he was handling that and his feet allow him to defend at such a high level. Against Edmonton, it's going to be good because they have the top line that everybody knows about but they have the other two lines and they have players like RNH [Ryan Nugent-Hopkins] and players that can make a lot of plays and you need depth on your D-core to handle this team tonight.”
Leddy will be paired with Ryan Suter against the Oilers and play on his offside.
With Leddy's return to the lineup, the Blues' defensive unit Tuesday includes six players with a total of 5,309 games of NHL experience, with Suter leading the way at 1,497. Leddy (1,015) and Cam Fowler (1,014) each is also over 1,000 games, with Justin Faulk (951) not far behind.
"As a coach, it's very comforting because all of them have played so much because they are good," Montgomery said, "and they've handled so many situations. All of them have been top-pairing defensemen, all of them have been in situations where they've had to be shutdown pairings and majority of them have also been relied upon to run the No. 1 power play, four of them.
"It's a situation where they all have been through so many different scenarios and they're all team-first guys, so it's going to be exciting to have that kind of veteran leadership back there and the depth and the intelligence and the savvy, poise to go against what is clearly, and if you're looking at the analytics, a team 5-on-5 that is pretty dominant, the most dominant team when you look at chances-for and chances given up."
Leddy will replace Tyler Tucker, who has an upper-body injury and is out tonight and doubtful for Thursday, Montgomery said.
Tucker was injured early in the third period of a 2-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club when he crashed into the end boards, favoring his right shoulder; he briefly took the ice Tuesday morning but left quickly.
“’Tucks’ is not going to be a player today,” Montgomery said. “He’s day to day and I would say that more than likely doubtful for Thursday.”
Other changes to the lineup include Alexandre Texier moving up from the fourth line to play with Brayden Schenn and Dylan Holloway. That’s because Mathieu Joseph is sick and is doubtful for tonight.
“We’re not ruling him out because we’ll see if he’s able to play later tonight,” Montgomery said of Joseph.
It means Nathan Walker would re-enter the lineup and get back on the ‘WTF’ line with Radek Faksa and Alexey Toropchenko; he was a healthy scratch Sunday.
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Blues Projected Lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Dylan Holloway-Brayden Schenn-Alexandre Texier
Jake Neighbours-Oskar Sundqvist-Zack Bolduc
Alexey Toropchenko-Radek Faksa-Nathan Walker
Cam Fowler-Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg-Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter-Nick Leddy
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
The healthy scratch includes Nathan Walker. Tyler Tucker (upper body) is out. Mathieu Joseph (illness) is doubtful. Torey Krug (ankle) is out for the season.
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Oilers Projected Lineup:
Leon Draisaitl-Connor McDavid-Corey Perry
Viktor Arvidsson-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins-Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin-Adam Henrique-Connor Brown
Jeff Skinner-Mattias Janmark-Kasperi Kapanen
Darnell Nurse-Evan Bouchard
Mattias Ekholm-John Klingberg
Brett Kulak-Ty Emberson
Stuart Skinner will start in goal; Calvin Pickard will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Noah Philp and Troy Stecher. The Oilers have no injuries.
