Blues Notebook: As always, Bortuzzo ready when called upon | St. Louis Blues
He had three hits in that game and a team-high four hits in Monday’s 4-1 victory.
Now, with Vince Dunn out with an upper-body injury, Bortuzzo may be in the lineup for a while, just in time for the Blues’ final push for a playoff berth.
“Good to get back in,” he said. “This is a fun time of the year, the home stretch here gearing up for playoffs. The higher it gets in the games here, the more exciting to play in. It’s exciting to get back in there and bring our brand of hockey to the group.”
No Parayko
Speaking of 11 forwards and seven defensemen, Berube said after Wednesday’s morning skate that his plan was to use the same alignment against the Minnesota Wild. Assuming, that is, that Colton Parayko was healthy enough to play Wednesday.
Parayko took part in the morning skate and “looked good” according to Berube. But Berube also said he’d wait to see how Parayko, who has an upper-body injury, felt later in the day. Well, Parayko did not come out for pregame warmups and was scratched, along with Dunn, and healthy scratches Kyle Clifford, MacKenzie MacEachern and Steven Santini.
Without Parayko, Berube went back to a traditional lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen. That meant forward Zach Sanford, a healthy scratch the past two games (against Colorado), was back in the lineup.