St. Louis top center blocked shot Oct. 22 against Winnipeg Jets four weeks to the day, will be in middle of top line

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues get a big shot in the arm when top-line center Robert Thomas returns on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild, exactly four weeks to the day after fracturing his right ankle.

Thomas, who has six points (one goal, five assists) in seven games this season, blocked a shot by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk in a 3-2 loss; he has missed the past 12 games.

"It's obviously frustrating being out, but I invested a lot in myself and pretty happy with the result and getting back so soon," Thomas said. "Excited to be back in the lineup and looking forward to getting in the trenches with the guys."

Thomas was originally supposed to be reevaluated in a 4-6 week timeframe but returned to the ice last week and accompanied the Blues (8-10-1) on their recent three-game road trip. It was evident then a return was nearing.

"Since we went on the road, I think it was going to be a day to day thing at that point," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "We saw a lot of good progress with him on the ice and how he was feeling. Yesterday, he came in and had a great skate, talked to the doctors and he feels comfortable and the doctors are comfortable with it and he's ready to go.

"... He's put in a lot of work to get to this point. It doesn't look like he's missed a beat. He's in great shape. Obviously you want to wait a week, 10 days, two weeks to do some work in Toronto with his doctors there and I think that really sped up the process. When I think we initially talked about it, it was 4-6 weeks. I think that says a lot about the player and the work that he's put in, the willingness to get back and want to be back in the lineup for us."

There was no set game that anyone picked out, but once things went well on the trip to Buffalo, Boston and Carolina, this week at the very earliest was a real possibility.

"Just a day by day approach," Thomas said. "I started to feel better the last couple of days skating. It got to a point where (it was) comfortable for everyone that I was ready to. Pretty much last week or so I wasn't planning on the road trip, but just wanted to be around the guys and take it day by day. That's pretty much it."

Just adding Thomas to the lineup alters the course of how things shake out up top.

"It's huge. Brings so much to your lineup," Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. "A top 15 center, I believe, in the league that can play against anybody, good on face-offs, obviously creates a lot of offense for us. I think it's going to bring some good energy to everybody else. He's really excited. Obviously it does big things for us having him back.

"You add your top center back into your lineup, it creates so much depth. It puts everybody in a better position to succeed. Having a guy that can go out there and eat big matchups and play against best players and do a job against them and counter it with offense is real big and real important."

Thomas, who was second in the NHL in face-off percentage (62.6 percent) when he departed the lineup, returns to center a line with Pavel Buchnevich and Jordan Kyrou.

"Just watching last couple games, I think those two have been playing really well," Thomas said. "They've been creating turnovers, they've been getting lots of chances. ... Just speed, being all over the puck, supporting each other, being confident and making plays. That's part of our game when we're at our best. That's something that I'm hoping to bring tonight."

"They've had a lot of success together," Bannister said. "Obviously we want to be creating a little bit more offense, or creating our opportunities and being able to finish on them. I think that it's something that he's going to be comfortable with. And 'Buchy' too to get those guys going. I think it's just a good opportunity for them to get going here."