Blues forward D.J. King has returned from his conditioning stint in Peoria and says he’s ready to play. King won’t be in the lineup tonight against Minnesota, but there’s a chance he could suit up against Dallas on Saturday.

“I can’t wait to get out there . . . it’s been a long time,” King said.

King injured his shoulder in his first game last year and missed the rest of the season. He dislocated his thumb in training camp this year and missed a couple of weeks. When King was ready to play, the Blues sent him to Peoria on a two-week conditioning stint. He played five games.

“It was good . . . it was a long time since I played in a  game,” King said. “As it went on, I feel like I got better and better. My role is pretty simple, so I just stayed up and down the wall. Gradually I worked on handling the puck a little more and doing cycles . . . I felt alright.”

King had one fight with Peoria against Triston Grant of the Milwaukee Admirals. Take a look . . .

“It was good,” King said. “That part, I wasn’t too worried about because, like I said before, once you get into a fight, it’s just instinct. That was good conditioning. You can work out all you want, but you can’t really train for a fight.”

Now he’s ready to get back into the Blues’ lineup.

“Yeah, for sure,” King said. “I’m just going to keep coming to the rink everyday, work hard and wait for my chance to get in there. It’s been a long time . . . I’m just eager to play.”

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Tonight’s lines:

(EDIT: I corrected the lines at game time. Murray switched them back to what they were in practice yesterday).

Andy McDonald-David Backes-T.J. Oshie

Paul Kariya-Patrik Berglund-Brad Boyes

David Perron-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen

Brad Winchester-Keith Tkachuk-Cam Janssen 

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Toward the end of the team’s morning skate today, Blues coach Andy Murray pulled a group of players off to the side.

I don’t know if I accounted for everybody in the group, but I wrote down David Backes, Tyson Strachan, Roman Polak, Brad Winchester, B.J. Crombeen, Cam Janssen, Patrik Berglund and Keith Tkachuk.

Why those players? After the skate, Murray said: “We didn’t show any team clips (from the 5-1 loss in Pittsburgh). We did show some individual things. I had a discussion with a group of players after practice today that have to be a lot stronger.”

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If you haven’t read today’s story on Brad Boyes in the Post-Dispatch, take a look at the fine article written by wordsmith Dan O’Neill.

O’Neill mentions in the article that Boyes has played in every game possible with the Blues . . . 190 straight going into tonight.

Dating to his days with Boston, Boyes has played in 334 consecutive games, or four consecutive seasons. When I mentioned that to Boyes this morning, he said that the streak goes back even further if you count his minor-league days. Boyes says he hasn’t missed a game in about seven years.

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Chris Mason will start in net tonight for the Blues. Let’s hope the team gets Mason some protection tonight. The team’s plan appears to start Ty Conklin against Dallas on Saturday night.

I got some emails hoping that Conklin would start tonight and Mason Saturday. Well, last week against Anaheim, Murray went by the numbers when he decided to start Conklin, who had a better career record against the Ducks than Mason. The move paid off, as Conklin had a 26-save shutout vs. Anaheim in a 5-0 romp.

Let’s look at the numbers tonight . . .

Mason vs. Minnesota in his career: 3-3-2, 3.57 goals-against average

Conklin vs. Minnesota in his career: 1-4-2, 2.20 GAA

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No change in the d-pairings tonight:

Darryl Sydor-Erik Johnson

Mike Weaver-Roman Polak

Carlo Colaiacovo-Tyson Strachan

Note:

- Barret Jackman did not skate with the team this morning.

- Alex Pietrangelo will be a healthy scratch for the seventh time in eight games.

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According to the NHL, the Blues have a record of 1-2 at “home” this year. But the one victory came in Sweden, where the Blues were listed as the “home” team for one of the games.

This season, the Blues have lost both of their games at Scottrade Center - to Atlanta and Los Angeles. Other than the Blues, only Toronto has yet to win a home game in the NHL this season.

If you want to go back to last season, the Blues haven’t won in their last four games at Scottrade Center. They were 0-2 against Vancouver at home in the playoffs.

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If you want the Minnesota perspective for tonight’s game, check out the blog of my friend Mike Russo from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. How much does this guy like covering hockey? Well, Russo moved from Florida to Minnesota a few years ago, so that he could cover a team in a real hockey market.

Here’s Russo’s Rants

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Watch the 5-on-5 play tonight . . .

The Blues have scored 13 5-on-5 goals and allowed 10. The Wild have scored just seven and allowed 23.

JR