MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Alexey Toropchenko can smile today. That’s because the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] forward will be in the lineup on Monday against the Nashville Predators [http://thn.com/nashville]. “Oh yes,” Toropchenko said about playing Monday. “Yes, 100 percent. I’m ready 100 percent.” But when December started, it wasn’t so good for the fifth-year forward. Consider it a lesson learned. Toropchenko was back on the ice Sunday and declared himself good to go after missing seven games due to “scalding leg burns to his legs from a home accident,” which is what the team announced. The 26-year-old wouldn’t disclose exactly what happened to him at his home, only saying it was a, “bad home accident. It’s all my fault, that’s what I’m going to say. I was really frustrated as soon as it happened because it’s not hockey-related. “For me, it’s not acceptable to have the accidents like that and put the team in that spot and not able to play and not be able to help the team win. Next time, I’ll be careful with everything. Sh-t happens, but it’s all my fault. Hope it will be first and last one.” Toropchenko was supposed to be the first of five injured Blues (Jordan Kyrou, Jimmy Snuggerud, Nathan Walker and Nick Bjugstad) to return after a rash of injuries struck the forward group at the beginning of December until Dylan Holloway went down with a lower-body injury in practice on Sunday [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/blues-forward-dylan-holloway-injured-in-practice]. But Toropchenko was a full participant on Sunday and was skating on a line with Oskar Sundqvist and Matt Luff. “Now feel great, happy to be back,” Toropchenko said. “I’m glad it’s over and pretty much just excited. “This was like my fifth (full) skate, like full gear, third practice with the full gear. First one with the team and I tried to skate like three days before (by myself) and that’s it.” For Toropchenko, it was all about the recovery process, which couldn’t have been comfortable considering the situation. “It was first, first couple like five to six days was tough, just using the bandages and all that stuff, putting the cream on, just trying to avoid touching and rubbing, but it healed pretty fast actually,” he said. “It’s good. Fast healer. “That’s what I was trying not to do, rub it, nothing like that. Just let it heal. That’s it.” The Blues (12-14-7) could use the big Russian’s presence back in the lineup. “If he checks all the boxes and there’s no soreness tomorrow, he’ll be a player tomorrow night,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. Brayden Schenn: 'It’s literally a freak play where I’m not trying to hurt Connor Bedard with 0.8 seconds left.' [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/9dadd06a-7dbb-463a-97e0-10ef57077ef6.jpeg] Brayden Schenn: 'It’s literally a freak play where I’m not trying to hurt Connor Bedard with 0.8 seconds left.' St. Louis Blues captain reached out to Blackhawks rising star, who reached back to veteran regarding Bedard's upper-body injury in final second of Friday's 3-2 Blues win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/brayden-schenn-it-s-literally-a-freak-play-where-i-m-not-trying-to-hurt-connor-bedard-with-0-8-seconds-left] Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f8ee98da-b18a-498c-8e8f-958936a90d97.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
