Robert Thomas was absent from the St. Louis Blues practice on Wednesday, following Washington Capitals' Pierre-Luc Dubois' tackle.
Following a resounding 3-0 win over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, the St. Louis Blues took the ice for practice, doing so without Robert Thomas.
The Blues' leading scorer has missed time on multiple occasions this season due to injuries, but the cause of his recent ailment was glaringly obvious.
In the third period, Thomas was going to receive a penalty for interference on Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois, as Thomas tried to set a pick to free up space for the Blues' puck carrier. While setting the illegal screen, Dubois elected to wrap his arms around Thomas and tackle him to the ice.
Dubois was assessed a five-minute penalty for intent to injure. Dubois was removed from the game and is automatically suspended pending review by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Thomas finished the contest with just 14:08 of ice time.
There was plenty of animosity between the two teams on Tuesday night. In the second period, rookies Ryan Leonard and Otto Stenberg dropped the gloves in a spirited fight before Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud were given roughing penalties alongside Capitals’ winger Tom Wilson.
Currently, it’s unknown what Thomas is dealing with, but after yesterday's game, coach Jim Montgomery said Thomas is healthy. Today, Montgomery said his absence was due to maintenance and added that Thomas should play tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks.
Although Dalibor Dvorsky was moved to the top line with Dylan Holloway and Snuggerud, and Jonathan Drouin centered the third line.
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