The St. Louis Blues have placed winger Mathieu Joseph on the injured reserve upon activating center Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad will return to the Blues’ lineup [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/game-day/nick-bjugstad-returns-to-blues-lineup-as-robert-thomas-goes-out] for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins [http://thn.com/boston] on Dec. 9. He’ll center a line with Pavel Buchnevich and Jonatan Berggren on his wings. Joseph shifted to the IR after missing practice yesterday, after it was discovered that he has an elbow infection. Blues coach Jim Montgomery stated yesterday that he is day-to-day, but Joseph has already missed three games. If the Blues placed Joseph on the IR retroactive to the date of the injury, it could change the date on which he is allowed to return. If not, Joseph will remain on the IR for seven days. The 28-year-old has played 35 games this season, scoring two goals and 10 points in a bottom-six role. He’s averaging 12:49 of ice time while throwing 74 hits, blocking 25 shots, and notching 28 shots on net. Standing 6-foot-1, 187 pounds, Joseph is a speed threat and physical threat for the Blues that they’ll miss if he is out for an extended period of time. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/25e5d1fc-e235-45d6-9d0b-d4b9cd710ec1.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.
