Hockey Guy is glad to be back after a nice break. A few days away from the depressing Blues injury news was badly needed.

Of course Eric Brewer isn’t making much progress in his recovery from back surgery.Why wouldn’t he?

Of course Andy McDonald needed more time to recover from his broken leg. Did you expect anything different?

That is the way it has gone for this franchise this season. Coach Andy Murray continues to do amazing work, as evidenced by the team’s 3-0-1 push before the All-Star break.

Once again, though, he was left lamenting his team’s lack of intensity after suffering an agonizing loss at home. The Blues held tough against the Senators until late.

But they needed to control the play at home against a struggling opponent. (Columbus, you may have noticed, blanked Ottawa the next night.)

The Blues’ challenges only get greater with the explosive Flyers in town next.

CANUCKLEHEADS!

Vancouver expected a Stanley Cup run after wooing Mats Sundin. What that city saw instead was a total team collapse.

What went wrong?

“It’s a little bit like playing golf,” Vigneault told reporters Thursday. “If you’re hooking the ball with your driver every time you take it out, maybe on the second nine, if you want to score, you’ve got to take out the three-wood.”

The peerless Puck Daddy blog took a longer look at this situation.

You will be shocked — shocked! — to learn that Pavol Demitra hasn’t been much help. Who could have guessed injuries and listless play would mar his season?

AROUND THE RINKS: If the Leafs wanted to trade defenseman Tomas Kaberle as part of a big makeover, that opportunity has passed. He suffered a broken hand and will miss the next month . . . Leafs GM Brian Burke still has several players in play, including Nik Antropov — who is growing weary of all the trade speculation . . . We want to thank Peter Forsberg for ending his latest comeback bid, thus eliminating weeks of speculation about where he might relocate. Give it up, Foppa, and get on with your life . . . Good to see old friend Brendan Shanahan making a mark with the Devils. He is strengthening his Hall of Fame bid by playing on still another winning team . . . For the moment, the Vincent Lecavalier trade speculation cooled. But a couple more 6-1 losses could change all that . . . Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby estimates that he is playing at 80 percent speed due to his nagging knee injury . . . Forward Josh Soares, a pleasant surprise at Peoria this season, declined a two-way AHL contract offer from the Rivermen. He is keeping his options open to Europe and other AHL teams while playing at Alaska of the ECHL . . . Our Town’s Ben Bishop won his first start after the AHL All-Star break, beating Iowa 4-3 in a shootout. Jonathan Filewich, picked up from the Penguins, had another stron offensive game.