With an injury to Blues forward Jamie Langenbrunner, Vladimir Sobotka will get bumped back to the team's top line tonight, and the move comes with his former club, the Boston Bruins, in town.
Just as in the past, the move isn't long-term. Sobotka has just three goals and 17 points on the season. But for the Blues, who are entering the danger zone regarding injuries among their forwards, Sobotka can help them in a pinch.
"He's a good fit for us, just like he was in Boston," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He was a versatile guy in Boston, moved him up and down the lineup. Here he plays center, left wing, we use him on special teams. He's one of those guys that's an underrated player, kind of a glue-guy for the hockey club. He fits the way we play. You're trying to build a work ethic and you're trying to build an edge to your game and he's a tough little guy."
Sobotka has just one goal in his last 30 games, but he's a plus-13 and ranks fourth on the Blues with 110 hits.
"I think I've got some skills," Sobotka said. "I think I can pass, but sometimes you see games you have to work hard and help out our d-men, so I think it's more my role to play defensive hockey. But when I've got a chance, I'll try to make a play."
Hitchcock would like to see improvement in one area of Sobotka's offensive game. He has 76 shots on goal this season and 40 missed shots.
"We'd like him to hit the net a little bit more," Hitchcock said. "He's wearing out the glass in some of the buildings. But if we can get him hitting the net a little bit more, he'll be alright."
Even so, that's not why Sobotka will be playing on a line with David Backes and T.J. Oshie tonight.
"It's a good fit for us because he takes a lot of the left-side face-offs for David, so they start with the puck more," Hitchcock said. "Another thing, he's a smart player. He knows how to manage the game properly. He's good on the forecheck."
In other words, he's a Hitchcock-type player. Asked what that meant to him, Sobotka said: "What is that?"
It's a player who puts work ahead of everything else.
"Oh yeah," Sobotka said. "We've always been told that we have to put our work ethic before our skill set. That's our goal, and if we do that, we're going to be able to win games."
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TONIGHT'S LINEUP
Forwards
Vladimir Sobotka-David Backes-T.J. Oshie
Andy McDonald-Patrik Berglund-David Perron
Chris Porter-Jason Arnott-Chris Stewart
B.J. Crombeen-Scott Nichol-Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Barret Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk
Carlo Colaiacovo-Alex Pietrangelo
Kris Russell-Roman Polak
Goalie
Brian Elliott
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HUSKINS HITS WALL
Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo will be back in the lineup tonight after missing three games. He sat the first one with a wrist injury, but was a healthy scratch the last two as Hitchcock stuck with Kent Huskins.
This morning, Hitchcock said that Huskins, who missed nearly four months with a fractured ankle, grew fatigued in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Chicago. He played 13:50 and was a minus-1.
"I think the one thing we didn't read was the impact of missing so many games for 'Husky,'" Hitchcock said. "He was good and then he hit the wall. So this is the way to regroup and get the energy back and get him going for this weekend."
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TALK WITH SHANAHAN
The Blues met with Brendan Shanahan, the NHL's VP of Player Safety and Hockey Operations, on Tuesday morning at the team's practice facility. According to players, the hour-long meeting focused on re-enforcing which types of hits are illegal and which ones will earn a suspension from Sheriff Shanny.
"It’s one of those things where it’s good to try and clarify any questions that guys have," Blues captain David Backes said. "Hopefully if there’s any hesitancy, that that’s erased. We know that down the stretch run and into the playoffs, we know what the rules are so that if we’re overstepping our boundary, we can expect the consequences to come..."
Asked if he inquired the one-game suspension recently handed to Minnesota's Warren Peters for cross-checking him in the head, Backes said: "That incident was not talked about ... Those are things in the past. If we dwell on them, they’re going to linger and be factors for longer than they should be."
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CLUTTERBUCK DENIES ALLEGATION
Minnesota's Cal Clutterbuck told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that he denies Andy McDonald's assertion that he said during last Saturday's game, "I hope you get another concussion."
The comment was reported by Andy Strickland on TrueHockey.com, and McDonald, who missed 51 games with a concussion, later confirmed it to the Post-Dispatch.
"I don’t expect players to ease up on me but to make comments like that shows no respect," McDonald said in the blog.
Clutterbuck has two teammates, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Guillaume Latendresse, who are out with concussions.
"It's a false accusation," Clutterbuck told Wild beatwriter Mike Russo in his blog.
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ODDS & ENDS
- The Blues will honor Keith Tkachuk before tonight's game. Tkachuk was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December.
- The Blues have been scouting Washington Capitals' games recently and could have interest in defenseman Roman Hamrlik. Hamrik is finishing up the first season of a two-year, $7 million contract with the Capitals. Hamrlik is a left-handed shooting d-man who has two goals, 10 points and a plus-1 rating in 55 games this season.
- Brian Elliott will make his fourth straight start tonight, matching his longest string of the season. He went 3-1 in four starts between Oct. 21-28.
