Defenseman, injured in second period with that is believed to be right knee injury, would be big blow to St. Louis blue line
ST. LOUIS -- When Philip Broberg went down clutching his right leg along the boards Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, there was a hushed silence among the 18,096 on hand at Enterprise Center.
In just 12 short games, the St. Louis Blues defenseman has shown his value to this fan base of someone who could develop into someone special.
That's why when the 23-year-old limped down the tunnel at the 7:02 mark of the second period of a 4-2 win against the Leafs after Toronto forward Mitch Marner fell on Broberg's leg, it's left a fan base already scampering with the loss of Robert Thomas (up to six weeks with a fractured right ankle) wondering the severity of Broberg's injury.
The Blues haven't made no official announcement as of late Sunday night, but it's believed to be a right knee injury. And depending on the severity, how big of a loss would Broberg be to the Blues' blue line?
Well, considering Broberg was first among Blues defensemen with nine points (two goals, seven assists) and is tied with fellow blueliner Ryan Suter at plus-6 averaging 19:34 per game, it's going to be a tall ask.
"He skates really well, takes advantage of opportunities, finds the right time to jump in," Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said of Broberg. "Just the way that he plays, he plays hard. Tough to play against and reads the play really well. Fun to watch, lots to learn from. It's been fun.
"You never want to see guys go down, but it's a fast sport. Things happen fast obviously just like 'Broby,' it happened so quick that it could happen to anyone at any time. Hopefully he's OK. We'll see here in the next couple days."
Broberg, who signed a two-year, $9.16 million offer sheet Aug. 13 that was not matched by the Edmonton Oilers one week later, was skating on arguably the Blues' most consistent defensive pair with Justin Faulk. He's bee everything advertised from a skating ability to remaining cool and calm under pressure.
If they are without Broberg for any length of time, it's hard to imagine finding a replacement within the organization.
"Obviously that's tough. He's been unbelievable for us this year," Blues forward Jordan Kyrou said. "Obviously sucks to see a guy go down like that, especially with all the injuries we have right now. Guys just got to step up and we've got to battle through it.
"He's awesome, he's a great guy. On the ice, he's fast, strong, skilled, smart. He's great. He's been unbelievable for us."
Imagine what Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer are thinking right about now at the thought of losing Broberg.
"He's been battling so hard for us and taking hits," Binnington said. "He's a warrior though. I know he'll be back as best as he can. It was good to see guys really step up and pick each other up through a tough play.
"He's got a number of points and just a great stick in the d-zone. Some power play time, so he's a key, he's a key part of it. Hopefully he's alright."
The Blues have already been dealing with one injury to their blue line with Nick Leddy, who's missed eight games with a lower-body injury; once back, he would be the ideal candidate to go back into a top four role should Broberg miss time. He would join Faulk, Parayko and Ryan Suter. P.O. Joseph, Matthew Kessel and Scott Perunovich make up the back of the blue line.
But until Leddy returns, which of the bottom three would be a candidate to move up? Who's going to be called up should the Blues need another defenseman?
They'll all be questions coaches and management will have to answer.
"Obviously you feel for the player," Bannister said. "You don't want to see players get injured at any time, but it's part of the game.
"...We've had a lot of injuries and that's just part of the game. Every team goes through it. We seem to be going through a few that are ... they just seem to be coming all at once right now.
"We're being tested, and that's fine. We have a resilient bunch in there. We're going to push through it regardless of if it is one (game) or one day, two weeks, two months. We're going to find ways to push through it."
The Blues had to play roughly just over half the game without Broberg, with Parayko (27:58), Suter (26:29) and Faulk (24:13) leading the way. But Joseph (15:18) also increased his minutes. Kessel finished at 11:52.
"Guys stepped up," Binnington said after tying Jake Allen for the second-most wins in Blues history among goalies (148). "P.O. Joe and 'Kess' had to play some more minutes and so did the other guys too and it was tough. I think even the forwards helping the defense out in the d-zone especially. We're going to have to rise above. We lost 'Tommer' and hopefully 'Broby's not too bad. We're going to have to keep rising above."
