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Pius Suter, St. Louis Blues (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images)

Blues’ Injuries Hindering Their Lineup Options

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Anthony Testaguzza | Last updated Jan 21, 2026 1:05 PM ET

As we near the end of January, the St. Louis Blues are still struggling to find their rhythm this season, and their countless injuries have not helped. With four players either on injured reserve (IR) or listed as out, and the team near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the chances of a playoff push like last season are slim.

Robert Thomas, a Key Loss

Robert Thomas has been a key part of the lineup for three seasons, and the Blues announced on Jan. 15 that he has been placed on IR with a lower-body injury. Thomas was not at practice before the Blues’ 3-2 shootout win over the Tampa Lightning on Jan. 16, and before that, he missed their 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. His last game was against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 10.

Not only is Thomas a big part of the team’s first line, but his absence also forces the coaching staff to improvise on the power play, a huge loss considering he leads the team in power-play points (9) this season.

According to Money Puck, Thomas has generated 2.49 points per 60 minutes and a 52.3 percent faceoff percentage. The Blues will be without a key player for faceoffs, which will make life difficult for their already-struggling offense. He is expected to be re-evaluated next week.

Blues Need Joseph and Suter

The Blues’ middle lines have been particularly hard hit, with Pius Suter, Mathieu Joseph, and Oskar Sundqvist missing due to injuries. On Dec. 27, against the Nashville Predators, Suter suffered a right-ankle injury. Then, on Jan. 12, Joseph was ruled day-to-day with an elbow infection, but he has yet to return. More recently, Sundqvist suffered a cut above his Achilles tendon on Jan. 18 against the Edmonton Oilers.

Suter, who has 14 points in 37 games, was playing in the middle lines, including playing alongside Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou on the second line for 26 games. Together they scored four goals, allowed three, and created 50 scoring chances. Without Suter, they scored six goals, allowed 11, and had 26 scoring chances in 31 games.

Joseph and Sundqvist haven’t provided much offense, but they are crucial defensively. Playing together through 26 games, they’ve helped keep the Blues’ on-ice save percentage (SV%) at .912, which is good considering the Blues have been riding an .886 SV%.

Blues Playing the Waiting Game

According to Blues insider Jeremy Rutherford, head coach Jim Montgomery said on Monday that he was temporarily “going to take over the power play,” since it ranks 26th in the NHL with a 16.3 percent success rate, and the mounting injuries have only made matters worse. The main difficulty will be finding a replacement capable of filling Thomas’s role on the first line and first power-play unit.

Dalibor Dvorsky, Robby Fabbri, and Jonatan Berggren are relatively good options to help the Blues’ second and third lines while Joseph, Suter, and Sundqvist are out. Fabbri is also a versatile fourth-line option, if changes are needed.

The good news is that Suter is due for a re-evaluation soon, and so is Thomas, so we can expect some news, hopefully, by next week. As for Sundqvist, there has been no update or timeline for his return, and time is something the Blues don’t have, sitting seven points out of the second wild-card spot, if they were hoping to return to the playoffs this season.