The St. Louis Blues could be without one of their best players for an undisclosed period after Pavel Buchnevich was on the receiving end of a massive hit from Seattle Kraken defenseman Jamie Oleksiak on Saturday night.

The Russian left the game shortly after with an upper-body injury and did not return. The 28-year-old played just seven shifts and 5:27 of ice time before exiting the contest. The Blues would go on to win 2-1 in a shootout, on the back of a second excellent game from goaltender Jordan Binnington.

“He's one of our best players and he's great all around,” linemate Jordan Kyrou said. “It sucks to see him get hurt, but guys got to step up and they did that tonight.”

Oleksiak did not receive a penalty on the play.

Buchnevich has been a staple on the Blues' first line since being traded from the New York Rangers three seasons ago. He had an excellent campaign in 2022-23, scoring 26 goals and 67 points in just 63 games; it was his second straight year scoring at over a point-per-game clip.

After the game, head coach Craig Berube admitted he did not know the severity of the injury, but he would not rule out a concussion for the big-bodied forward.

Any time that Pavel Buchnevich is forced to miss would be a huge blow to a St. Louis team looking to return to the postseason after a rare miss in 2023. The Blues return to action on the road against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, as they look to remain undefeated in regulation.