The St. Louis Blues have placed forward Jori Lehtera on injured reserve after suffering an upper-body injury during the Blues’ 3-2 win over the Rangers on Oct. 15th.
Lehtera, 28, is currently in his third season with the Blues. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound forward has accumulated 78 points, including 23 goals and 55 assists, in 157 career regular season games.
Jaden Schwartz will be in the lineup tonight vs the Edmonton Oilers at 8 p.m.
Schwartz sustained a left elbow injury in practice on Sept. 30 and was originally expected to miss four weeks, but he practiced fully with the team on Monday and Wednesday – more than a week ahead of schedule.
“It feels good, so the plan is for me to play tonight,” Schwartz said. “I got a couple practices in and I feel good, and we were looking at this date all along. No setbacks, so I’m obviously really, really excited to join the group again.”
Schwartz has 12 career points (6 goals, 6 assists) in 12 games against the Edmonton Oilers.
“He’s an important player,” Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock said after Monday’s practice. “Even at 80 percent last year he was a good player. Close to 100 percent, he’s going to be a real help for us. He’s exactly what we need. We saw it at practice today, his ability on the rush and his tempo, his compete level is very impressive. When he’s back and he’s ready to go, it’s going to be a big help.”
Schwartz had eight goals and 14 assists in 33 regular season games last season, but missed 49 games with an ankle injury sustained in an early-season practice. In last year’s playoffs, he was one of the Blues’ most consistent performers, finishing third on the club with 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).
The Blues will also get forward Kyle Brodziak back in the lineup after he missed Tuesday’s game in Vancouver with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson (upper-body) could return Saturday in Calgary, while Jori Lehtera (upper-body) has been placed on injured reserve.
