The St. Louis Blues continue to lose key players to injury with the announcement that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has been placed on injured reserve and will be re-evaluated in three weeks.
The worry part of Pietrangelo’s injury is that the team hasn’t said that he’ll return in three weeks, but that he will be re-evaluated. That can sometimes be a signal for a potential surgery or longer term absence.
However, despite the way they’ve worded the injury, coach Ken Hitchcock doesn’t appear to think this will be a long-term thing. “This isn’t forever. It’s not a three-month injury. If we have the right attitude, we think we can handle this,” he told the media Monday.
Pietrangelo was injured in Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild when he was on the receiving end of a hit from Charlie Coyle. As Pietrangelo was clearing the defensive zone, Coyle laid a hit where their knees collided, sending the St. Louis defender to the ice and then out of the game.
This injury comes just as the team was looking to be at their healthiest all season, with Jaden Schwartz on the brink of returning, Jake Allen making progress and Steve Ott coming up on the end of his initial timeline for recovery.
Through 55 games this season, the 26-year-old has three goals and 20 assists, along with an average ice time of 26:40.
Watch the hit from Coyle below.
Hitchcock: "We’ve done hell of a job in dealing with injuries to significant players. This is another one that we’ll adjust and keep going."
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 8, 2016
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Dustin Nelson is the News Editor for The Hockey Writers. He’s a contributor to Hockey Prospectus, Hockey Wilderness, and writes a column for Rotowire. He’s also written for Gone Puck Wild, Wild Xtra, InDigest, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Tiny Mix Tapes, Prefix Magazine & other publications. Have a tip? Email him at dlukenelson[at]gmail[dot]com.
