The St. Louis Blues lost their best center, Paul Stastny, Thursday morning after it was revealed that he had been placed on injured reserve. The Blues stayed quiet about any specifics, other than he’s out with an upper body injury. Stastny is expected to at least miss a few weeks, but any longer could be detrimental to the Blues offense, which has finally found it’s groove.
Stastny has been a key part of the Blues offense in all aspects of the game. He has a total of 17 points in 34 games so far, but he’s helped out more than just on the scoreboard. Easily the best faceoff winner on the team, Stastny is the Blues go-to when they need to win an important draw. He’s also seen plenty of power play and penalty killing time, and has been strong in both fields.
The injury does give Wade Megan a chance to finally show off his ability in the NHL. The 26-year-old was drafted by the Florida Panthers in 2009, but has yet to play an NHL game. He’s recorded 24 points in 28 games so far in the AHL, earning him the call up to fill Stastny’s role. His decent point income has also placed him among the top 20 point leaders in the AHL currently. The top point leader is Kenneth Agostino, a teammate of Megan’s with the Chicago Wolves. Still, Megan earns the call up for his strong play in the defensive zone and his strength at center.
Megan is expected to center the third line, with Robby Fabbri and Dmitrij Jaskin as his wings. Patrik Berglund is getting moved up to Stastny’s spot at second line center, after an impressive past few outings.
Alex Pietrangelo is also returning to the lineup after missing one game due to the flu. He was filled in by Carl Gunnarsson, who is now sitting again.
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