Blues winger Paul Kariya, who has been cleared to play, was on the ice for today’s morning skate, but he is extremely doubtful for tonight’s Game 3 against Vancouver. It’s looking more and more like he’ll suit up for Tuesday’s Game 4.

Having said that, if the Blues are down 3-0 in the series, I don’t know how much sense it would make to put Kariya on the ice in that situation. If the series is 2-1, though, how pumped would the Blues be to get Kariya back for Game 4??

After practice, Kariya met with the media for about 15 minutes. Here is most of that conversation . . .

Q: Good to be back on the ice?

PK: “Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been with the team, so it was nice to skate with the guys.”

Q: How did it feel?

PK: “It felt really good. My legs feel good, hips feel fantastic.”

Q: Do you feel good enough to get back in the lineup?

PK: “We’ll see . . . Dr. (Marc) Philippon cleared me to come back to the team and practice with the team and resume my day-to-day activities. We’ll go from there.”

Q: How long have you been thinking that you could play again this year?

PK: “Probably after I had the first surgery (in January). It went really well. I had the second (surgery) at five weeks. At five weeks, I felt really good with the first surgery. I was pretty positive I’d be able to come back.”

Q: You never gave up on the season?

PK: “Oh no, never.”

Q: What’s the soonest you could see yourself playing?

PK: “We’ll see. Like I said, it’s my first day back with the team, so I’ll see how I feel and go from there.”

Q: What needs to happen for you to know that you’re ready to play in a game?

PK: “Well, I’ve been playing the game for a long time, so I think by now, I know the way my body needs to feel to perform and help the team win games. So, I think it will be an individual decison.”

Q: Do you feel like a new player with a new set of hips?

PK: “Yeah, my legs feel brand new. It’s been a long time coming, so it’s nice to have that resolved. I feel so much stronger and solid on my skates. I’m really happy about it.”

Q: Have you talk to other players who’ve had this surgery?

PK: “Oh yeah. When I was there for my first surgery, Marian (Gaborik) was there the same day. Who else was there? We had a lot of guys . . . Sergei Zubov . . . so there was a lot of hockey players there. It seems like a pretty common injury, especially for goaltenders.”

Q: Is there a temptation to come back too soon?

PK: “Obviously you want to get back as fast as possible and help the team. But after two hip surgeries, I’ve got to be smart, make sure I can perform at a level that I have to to help the team.”

Q: Are you encouraged for your future, in that, players have come back from this injury?

PK: “Especially look at the way Marian (Gaborik) played the last 12 games of the season. He was dynamite out there. We trained basically the whole time out there together. It’s very reassuring to know that it’s a positive thing and once you get fixed, you’re going to be fine.”

Q: Were you able to watch Games 1 and 2 on TV?

PK: “It’s been tough to watch the game, it’s been really tough. But obviously I’m keeping up with what’s going on, and I talk to the guys . . . moral is high. I thought we played a really good second game, hit some posts. Need a few bounces there to get going, but I’m really excited about tonight.”

Q: Do you find it harder to watch the postseason than watching the regular season when you were out?

PK: “If you’re missing games, you’re missing games, no matter when or where it happens. But certainly missing the playoffs means that much more.”

Q: As a goal-scorer, what do you think the Blues need to do to beat Roberto Luongo?

PK: “Well, a bounce off the post and in would help. But with any great goaltender, Roberto is obviously one of them, you’ve got to get shots in traffic and create screens and get some ugly goals. I think when you get a couple, the confidence starts to grow and things will start going our way.”

Q: Just to hear it from the horse’s mouth, are you going to play tonight?

PK: “Like I said, (Dr. Philippon) has cleared me to practice and we’ll see how I feel.”

Q: What did they actually do in the surgery?

PK: “Well, the labrum was torn, so they had to repair it. Then usually there’s some bone issues going on, so there’s excess bone growth both on the capsule and the femur and you’ve got to shave that down. That’s really where the recovery comes in, when you’re taking the bone away. Once the bone is removed, then the hip moves a lot better. You have a lot more strength and flexibility in the joint. It’s exciting . . . it felt like I had two new legs.”

Q: How long after surgery did you wait until beginning the rehab process?

PK: “I was on the bike 15 minutes after surgery. They have it down to a science there. That’s part of the protocal.”

Q: If you were on skates 15 minutes after surgery, why can’t you play tonight?

PK: (Laughing) “I was on a lot of Vicodin at that that time, too, so that might have had something to do with it. I don’t remember . . . no but a few pain medications help the first day, that’s for sure.”

Q: What was the rehab like?

PK: “Everyday, twice a day, for the first four weeks. After that, I took Sunday’s off. I would go six hours a day.”

Q: How long did you feel that you were hampered by the hip injury?

PK: “It’s been a long time. The first (hip) was probably seven or eight years. I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know what was going on. I remember after the 1999 or 2000 season, I was squatting heavy weight . . . at the bottom of the squat I felt a pop. At the time, I thought it was my high IT Band, lateral quad. But it was the labrum. So the bony issues take years. There’s no way of knowing when it started or two what degree it was hampering, but definitely the left (hip) was traced back to that.”

Q: If you were training for six hours a day, if you take a little nap this afternoon, you should be OK to play?

PK: “It’s a little lighter day now. It’s easier now. But it’s one thing to train off the ice and to do rehab, lift weights and ride the bike. It’s another thing to skate with the team and obviously play in the NHL, and in the NHL playoffs. There’s definitely going to be an adjustment there, but I feel like I’m in great shape. Training at altitudes helped . . . two miles above sea level . . . pretty tough at times, but coming back here, the wind feels good, legs feel good and I just have to get the timing back.”

Q: Keith Tkachuk said (jokingly) that you just looked ‘average’ at practice today?

PK: “That’s a compliment coming from Walt. Did he really say that? That’s actually the biggest compliment he’s given me in two years here.”

Q: He said you couldn’t keep up with No. 7 . . .

PK: “I never could.”

Q: Will you take warmups tonight?

PK: “I don’t know. We’ll see. Get some treatment and go.”

Q: Will you be lobbying Andy Murray to let you play?

PK: “I’ve always had a great relationship with Andy. I’m sure we’ll talk and go from there.”

Q: How do you blend back in after being gone for so long?

PK: “The team has played so well, I was wondering if I could ever get back in the lineup, the way they were playing down the stretch. But I’ve played in the league a long time and when you come back from missing time, you’ve obviously not going to play 20 minutes a game, but I think I can help the team, especially on the power play and especially offensively.”

Q: What kind of advice could you give the Blues’ young players like T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron in the playoffs?

PK: “They’ve been giving me advice. I don’t give those guys any advice, the way they’ve been playing. I think right now it’s important for the young guys to just go out there and play with enthusiasm. Play with the same type of motivation we’ve played with the last two months of the season. I think the young guys are going to be fantastic tonight.”

Q: What do you think about the young players after seeing them down the stretch and in the playoffs?

PK: “I think we’ve got the best young players in the league. You look at ‘Bergy’ and ‘Perron’ and ‘Osh’ and a pretty good player in Erik Johnson sitting out for the year. I’m really pleased and happy with the way our team is going to look now and certainly for years to come.”

JR