The St. Louis Blues fell on Monday night to the Vegas Golden Knights. Unfortunately, they finished the game without one of their more valued players. Forward Oskar Sundqvist left the game with an apparent lower-body injury. Interim head coach Drew Bannister did not provide an immediate update on Sundqvist's status.
It is not known how severe the injury is at this time. However, members of the Blues roster have made one thing clear. Oskar Sundqvist is an important part of their team. If the veteran forward is out for an extended period of time, they will miss him in the lineup.
“Always tough. He's a (sic) heart and soul of this team, a warrior that brings it every single night,” defenseman Torey Krug said, via The Hockey News. “You know what you're going to get out of him. Any time you see a guy like that go down, you feel for him. I think guys in the room were hoping it was nothing going to be serious and we were just trying to push to get a win for him tonight.”
Heart and soul
Oskar Sundqvist is not the flashiest player on the ice. However, he is an incredibly hard worker who will pester the opposing team the entire game. Those are some of the more valuable players to teams. They provide a level of energy to the lineup and help open things up for those expected to produce most of the offense.
“He's a guy that brings everything every game for us,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said, via The Hockey News. “He does the dirty work, goes to the front of the net and may not get rewarded all the time. He's a solid team guy and hopefully he's OK and hopefully get him back here soon.”
Sundqvist has spent most of his career in St. Louis across two different stints. The veteran forward joined the Blues originally through a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2017 NHL Draft. He spent parts of five seasons with the Blues before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
After time with the Red Wings and Minnesota Wild, Sundqvist returned home. He signed a two-year contract with the Blues in NHL Free Agency last summer. This season, he has six goals and 21 assists in 70 games for St. Louis.
Next man up for Blues
If Oskar Sundqvist is out for an extended period of time, that will be a blow for St. Louis. However, the team has some options in their system to hold down the fort until his return. 2021 first-round pick Zach Dean is on the roster. In fact, he recently made his NHL debut. Perhaps the Blues keep him around and give him increased playing time.
Another potential option is Nikita Alexandrov. Alexandrov has not played in the NHL since February 28th against the Edmonton Oilers. However, he has skated in 19 games this year, recording one assist. In the AHL, though, the German forward has scored seven points in seven games so far this year.
Overall, replacing Oskar Sundqvist won't be easy. But they have players who can step into the role while he recovers. Hopefully, he isn't out too long, though. In any event, it'll certainly be interesting to see how St. Louis fares without a heart-and-soul type player in their lineup.
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