News for one of the St. Louis Blues’ seasoned defenseman.
The Blues announced on Thursday that Justin Faulk, who has a lower-body injury, is going to be placed on injured reserve.
The exact time of Faulk’s injury is unknown, but head coach Drew Bannister said earlier in the day that the 31-year-old is sidelined for a few weeks. The native of St. Paul hasn’t performed since January 23.
With yet another lower-body injury in early January, Faulk was sidelined for five games. The former Carolina Hurricane had not missed time due to an injury since the 2021–2022 season..
There are two notable defenseman on the Blues’ injury list: Faulk and Ryan. With a lower-body injury, Scott Perunovich is also sidelined for a few weeks. Since prior to the All-Star break, the former Hobey Baker Award winner has not been in the starting lineup.
Before being sidelined, Faulk had tallied two goals and had 17 assists in 40 contests. The fifth-year Blue was coming off a career-best 2022–23 campaign in which he scored 50 points in 82 games. Over the course of his 13-year career, Faulk has participated in 882 games, recording 289 assists and 126 goals, with 17 points in 38 playoff games.
Although Faulk has shown strong individual results since joining the St. Louis club in 2019, the group has not fared as well. The Blues lost in the first round of the playoffs in both 2020 and 2021, and then they were eliminated in the second round in 2022.
The Blues (26-21-2) will play their first game following the break on Saturday afternoon against the Buffalo Sabres, which is still a few days away. The team hasn’t played in eleven days.
With 11 points separating them from third-place Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis is fourth in the Central Division. As of right now, they are tied for the second Wild Card slot in the Western Conference with the Nashville Predators.
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