This is what I know:

- Paul Kariya skated this morning, but he isn’t expected to play tonight.

- David Perron was the only player not to skate this morning, but he is expected to play tonight.

- Dan Hinote has an undisclosed injury and was questionable for tonight’s game, but he did skate this morning with the team.

- According to Dave Eminien’s story in the Peoria Journal-Star, Yan Stastny has been recalled by the club under emergency rules. Stastny was at the rink this morning, although he did NOT practice with the Blues.

What should we make of this?

- The Blues will NOT rush Kariya if he’s not ready to play tonight, and right now, it appears that he won’t play.

- If Perron and Hinote had to miss tonight’s game, you would probably see Cam Janssen and Stastny play in their place. The fact that Stastny was called up under emergency conditions should be enough to tell us that Kariya is unlikely to play.

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I was at Scottrade Center this morning for practice and had one observation: The words “Stanley Cup Playoffs” painted on both ends of the ice looks terrific. After three years of missing the playoffs, seeing that on the ice tonight will be a real treat for the fans, especially those who were in the building the past couple of years watching bad hockey.

“How about seeing Paul Kariya skate on the that ice that says ‘Stanley Cup Playoffs,” someone sitting next to me at practice noted.

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I wrote a blog earlier today with comments from Paul Kariya regarding his return. Here’s Andy Murray’s thoughts on Kariya’s availability . . .

On having Kariya back at practice: ”I haven’t talked to him yet. I thought he looked pretty good on the ice there. It’s nice to see him back on the ice.”

On whether he’s interested in playing Kariya tonight: “Paul Kariya? I would think so.”

On how Kariya looked at practice: “I thought he looked like Paul Kariya . . . skating, shooting, doing the things that he does.”

On whether Kariya would be a spark: “If Paul comes in, that means we have to take a player out. Our group has been pretty darn good for quite a while. But you are talking about Paul Kariya. I would say he’s fresh (laughter). No fatigue or anything like that. He should be able to bring some energy. His skill level is pretty good. We’d have to think about it.”

On any lineup changes outside of Kariya: “I’ve considered lots. That’s part of being a coach. I had the coaches in this morning at 7 (a.m.). We reviewed the lineup and talked about different scenarios. You always talk about ‘Is there anything we can do? Can we do this?’ It’s like being a kids with your hockey cards, moving them around. We talked about it.”

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Unless Hinote and Perron can’t play, I don’t see the Blues inserting Janssen into the lineup.

“We’re pretty tough as it is,” Murray said. “To me, it is about grit and playing hard and so on . . . and Cam is that kind of player. But we’ve got other guys that provide that element as well. Cam has been great in practice, he’s been great in the room, he keeps the guys going, he keeps them loose. He’s an inspiration. He won some hockey games for this year with his physicality. He’s a guy that should we need him to play, he can step in their and get the job done.”

JR