ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas returns to the lineup for a contest against the Minnesota Wild after missing 12 games with a broken right ankle.
“It’s obviously frustrating being outside,” Thomas said. “I invested a lot in myself and am very happy with the result and the speedy return. I’m excited to be back in the squad and looking forward to being in the trenches with the boys.”
Thomas broke his ankle on October 22 while blocking a shot against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Blues originally reported that Thomas would be out for at least six weeks at the time of his injury. Thomas accompanied the team on its recent three-game road trip after skating with the team on November 13th.
“I’ve been feeling better the last few days of skating,” Thomas said. “It got to a point where I was sure I was ready to go. For pretty much the last week or so, I didn’t have a road trip planned, but I wanted to be with the guys and experience it day by day.”
Blues coach Drew Bannister said Thomas has put in a lot of work to get back into the lineup.
“It doesn’t look like he missed a beat. He’s in great shape,” Bannister said. “He would travel away for a week, 10 days, two weeks to work with his doctors there in Toronto and I think that really sped up the process.”
Thomas had six points (one goal, five assists) in seven games before getting injured.
St. Louis has a record of 4-7-1 in 12 games without the 2024 NHL All Star in the lineup.
“Being the guy you know you can be, that's pretty much it,” Thomas said of his expectations upon returning to the lineup. “You can’t get too complicated and too fancy early on. You have to get back into the rhythm of the game. It's hard being outside for so long. Today was my first real training with the boys, so it will take a while. It will be important to keep it simple early on.”