Make that four regular defensemen out of the lineup for the St. Louis Blues. On the TBS broadcast of Game 4 of the first round series against the Minnesota Wild, it was revealed that Marco Scandella would not return due to a lower-body injury.
Fortunately for the Blues, youngster Scott Perunovich was ready to go for Sunday's game after almost four months’ worth of inactivity, permitting them to dress seven defensemen. However, this now means the entirety of the Blues’ top three left defensemen, Scandella, Torey Krug and Nick Leddy are out of the lineup. Right-shot man Robert Bortuzzo is out of the lineup as well.
It’s an incredible turn of bad luck for the Blues, who trail in the series 2-1. Against a team like the Wild who can roll three lines, that many injuries on defense are almost a death sentence for the Blues.
They’ll need Perunovich, Calle Rosen and Niko Mikkola to step up in a big way, in addition to whatever goalie is in net, in order for the Blues to come back in the series and complete what at this point would be a very large upset.
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