It’s been a long week for T.J. Oshie. Contained to his bed after having his appendix removed last weekend, Oshie has been limited to video games and movies while he recovers.

“And with all the rain, the satellite has been going out,” Oshie moaned.

But Friday was much better, as Oshie skated for the first time since the surgery. As far as workouts go, this one was fairly intense. Oshie sat on the Blues’ bench, and when trainer Ray Barile said “Go,” Oshie hopped over boards, skated a hard lap around the ice and returned to the bench. After getting a look at Oshie’s incisions following practice, I began cringing as I remembered the things he was doing in practice. But Oshie said it wasn’t that bad.

“It feels a lot better than laying in bed, that’s for sure,” he said. “I didn’t really feel (the effects of the surgery). Obviously I know it’s there, and I’m aware of it, but it didn’t hold me back at all.”

This positive step doesn’t mean that Oshie will be in the lineup Saturday against Florida. Oshie said that next Thursday’s game against Calgary is possible, but at this point, he’s guessing.

“I don’t know what I’m doing tomorrow,” Oshie said. ”I don’t know if I’m practicing with the team or what. I hope so, but we’ll see.”

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Also on the ice today were Barret Jackman, Alex Steen and Eric Brewer.

Jackman, who has a high-ankle sprain, is starting to skate more and more, but there’s no concrete timetable on his return. When I jokingly told him that he looked slow on the ice today, he replied: ”Just like the rest of my career, so . . .”

Seriously, Jackman was moving around pretty good. “I’m feeling better each day,” he said. “I’m just trying to do a little more hockey-related drills . . . stops, starts, pivots. It’s feeling better every day. I think we’ll see again how it feels in the morning, if there’s any swelling or soreness. I don’t anticipate any . . . the last couple of days, it felt really good in the gym and on the ice, too.”

As far as a target date for a return, Jackman said: “It’s too soon. Knowing the (history of high-ankle sprains) on our team, most of the guys felt great for a week and then maybe they tweak it in a practice, or just walking around. I’m just going day to day, and where it gets to the point when it feels good for a few days in a row, then I’ll get back in the lineup.”

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Brewer made his surprise return Thursday night and played 17:51, which was probably more than anyone expected. After the game, he was asked if he was to be considered an “every night” player now that he’s back.

“I don’t think we have back-to-back games for a while,” Brewer said. “I think we play Saturday (against Florida), and then we don’t play again for four or five days (Thursday against Calgary). Those are good things right now for me personally. Even though it’s painful for (people to hear), I’m just going to play a game, see how it goes and just work with that.”

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The Blues put seven defensemen in the lineup Thursday for a couple of reasons. No. 1, Blues coach Andy Murray didn’t know what to expect from Brewer, and No. 2, Darryl Sydor was sensing the flu.

Sydor felt good once the game got going and was feeling much better today.

Murray said today that he didn’t know if the team would use seven defensemen again Saturday against Florida.

“Not sure yet,” Murray said. “We (double-shifted) some (forwards), and it didn’t create problems for us, so there’s the potential of playing seven defensemen tomorrow.”

With only 11 forwards dressed Thursday, defenseman Tyson Strachan took five shifts at forward, playing just 3:25.

Forward Brad Winchester was a healthy scratch. The night before in Carolina, Winchester played only 4:14 against the Hurricanes.

Of scratching Winchester Thursday, Murray said: “It was a matter of playing seven (defensemen), but the bottom line is . . . he came out, so that means he must be able to play better. I didn’t take other guys out. He needs to play better. There’s a discussion group right now, and he’s been in that group for a while. He didn’t get out of it, and it ultimately cost him a game.”

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Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo still has the flu and will not play Saturday against Florida. After saying that Colaiacovo missed Wednesday’s game in Carolina with the an upper-body injury, Blues President John Davidson said Friday that wasn’t the case. “It’s the flu,” Davidson said.

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Davidson was asked Thursday about the defensive decisions the team will have once Jackman and Colaiacovo return to the lineup.

“Right now, we’re in a position where if we get ‘Brew’ going . . . and then we’ve got to get ‘Jacks’ going . . . and then we have to see who else is healthy,” he said. “But that time, there could be two or three more injuries - touch wood there’s not - but you just don’t know. So we can’t sit here and essentially say, ‘This is what we’re planning on this date when we get all eight of them going, or nine, or whatever we’re going to have.’ It’s more about, ‘Let’s see who we have at that particular time and try and make the appropriate decisions.”

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Did anybody see the October 26th edition of The Hockey News?

The Hockey News asked three players from every NHL team these three questions . . .

1. Who will win the Stanley Cup?

2. Who will be this season’s breakout team?

3. Who will finish last overall in the NHL this season?

Here are the results:

1. Stanley Cup: Pittsburgh (23.8 percent)

2. Breakout team: Blues (35.8 percent)

“They’ve got a lot of depth,” an anonymous goalie in the Central Division told The Hockey News. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of them yet.”

3. Last overall: NY Islanderes (32.9 percent)

JR