By all indications Monday, Paul Kariya will NOT be on the ice when the Blues and Canucks meet for Game 4 Tuesday at Scottrade Center.

Exhibit 1: Kariya skated for about 1 1/2 hours Monday, longer than any Blues’ player for the second straight day.

He said afterwards: “I felt good. Legs feel good, hands need some work, but it was a positive step . . . This is the second day. Usually when you step up your program, it’s the second day that you have to watch out. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow, get a good skate and go from there. I think it’s a question of whether I can help the team win a game or not.”

Kariya hit the nail on the head . . . Monday was “a step.” That Kariya has been on the ice so long both Sunday and Monday leaves the impression that he’s working on his conditioning and testing himself, not preparing to play a game.

Exhibit 2: Kariya skated with the Blues defensemen Monday, not with the forwards, during drills. In essence, Kariya was on the ice for the workout, not to get in sync with a prospective line for Tuesday’s game.

Of playing defense Monday, Kariya said: “It was great . . . just get some more skating . . . backwards, forwards, get some agility work. The hips open up when you’re pivoting like that.”

Side note: After practice, Blues coach Andy Murray and Kariya joked about him playing defense.

“I saw him playing defense and he was mishandling pucks and I said, ‘Geez, you don’t get much for $6 million anymore,” Murray said.

Kariya fired back: “I was joking around (saying) ‘You can play 20 years in the league playing defense.’”

Exhibit 3: Kariya dropped this bomb Monday . . .

“I’m not cleared to play,” Kariya said.

Kariya said on Sunday that he was cleared to play, but evidently he meant in practice only. Kariya now says that he has to be cleared by Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed the hip surgeries, before he plays in a game.

“There has to be communication with Dr. Philippon and that hasn’t been done yet,” Kariya said. “There’s a difference between bumping in practice and bumping in a game.”

Will Kariya have a discussion with Philippon on Tuesday before the game?

“Yes,” Kariya said.

So when the Blues meet the Canucks tonight, Kariya could be on the ice. But on Monday, it seemed VERY doubtful. I asked Kariya if the Blues being down 3-0 in the series, as opposed to 2-1, would have anything to do with the decision on Tuesday.

“No,” he said. “As an athlete, when you’re ready to play, regardless of the score or the series, you want to get out there and help your team win games. Funnier things have happened (than the Blues getting back in the series against Vancouver). In January, if you would have looked at where this team was, I’m sure everybody was counting us out and not giving us a shot. We made the playoffs and got into the 6th spot. We just have to play one game at a time. 

“It’s hard no matter what the series is at. Certainly at 3-0, watching the game yesterday and seeing those 5-on-3s, that was the difference in the game. I think in that situation, I could help the team a lot. But I’ve got to be smart and make sure it’s ready to go.”

JR