Oshie placed on IR

By Andrew Allsman| Posted: April 2, 2013| Contact  |

The Blues, who have been very active of late, made another roster move on Tuesday. However, instead of bringing in a new face, the Blues are subtracting one of their top forwards from their lineup due to injury. The team announced that forward T.J. Oshie has been place on the IR with a lower-body injury after being held out of the lineup on Monday night against the Minnesota Wild.

 Oshie, 26, suffered the injury when he blocked a shot in last Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings. Oshie did not travel with the team to Minnesota, but the team was hopeful he would be able to play in Thursday’s game against the Blackhawks. Oshie has been ruled out for that game, and no timetable has been given by the Blues on Oshie’s return.

Oshie is sixth on the team in scoring with 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists). The Blues play five of their next six games on the road, and Oshie will surely be missed from the lineup, however long he is out.

In addition to placing Oshie on the IR, the Blues also announced the call up of goaltender Jake Allen and of forward Adam Cracknell.

Allen, 22, has spent a good chunk of this season with the Blues due to injuries and inconsistencies between goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott. Halak, who has been bothered by a groin injury all season, appears to have re-aggravated the injury in Monday night’s contest with the Wild. Halak left the game early and was replaced by Elliott after falling to the ice in a considerable amount of pain. Halak was able to skate off the ice under his own power.

 With the Blues off on Tuesday, no official update was given on Halak’s injury but it is expected to sideline the netminder for a significant amount of time. With only 14 games remaining, it is possible Halak is out for the remainder of the season. An update on Halak’s status should be forthcoming from the Blues in the next few days.

Allen has played in 12 games with the Blues this season, posting an 8-3-0 record with a 2.45 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. Allen was largely responsible for pulling the Blues out of their funk earlier in the season. Head coach Ken Hitchcock said last week that it was Halak and Elliott’s ball and that they needed to run with it. With Halak sidelined, it is likely that Elliott will start the majority of the games as long as he can stay consistent.

Cracknell also made his way to the Blues from Peoria. Cracknell was with the Blues earlier in the season and played in eight games and recording two assists. The 27-year old winger is third on the Blues’ affiliate Peoria Rivermen in points (33). Hitchcock was pleased with Cracknell’s play earlier in the season, so he could see some playing time while Oshie recovers.

The Blues should have updates for both the Halak and Oshie injuries in the near future. The team is back in action on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks.