Blues dealt another huge blow, Steen out long-term

This just in, the St. Louis Blues have announced that forward Alex Steen will miss AT LEAST four weeks with an ankle sprain.

Check it out:

Steen injured himself in last night’s contest against the Edmonton Oilers and did not return. Here’s the play in question:

Obviously this is awful news for a team that’s already missing sniper Vladimir Tarasenko from it’s lineup. Ouch. Oh… and they also traded potential top six fill in guy Robby Fabbri just last night. Double ouch.

Read below for the full press release announcement of Steen’s injury courtesy of the Blues’ official website:

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced Thursday the team has placed forward Alexander Steen on injured reserve with a high left-ankle sprain.

Steen has returned to St. Louis and will be re-evaluated in four weeks.

Steen, 35, has appeared in 17 games with the Blues this season, tallying five assists. The 6-foot, 211-pound forward is currently in his 12th season with the Blues after being acquired via trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 24, 2008.

Overall, Steen has totaled 610 points (238 goals, 372 assists) in 980 career regular-season games, as well as 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 87 career postseason games.

Despite the injury troubles, the Blues are off to a red hot start this season, going 11-3-3 through their first 17 games to sit atop the NHL's Central Division. It remains to be seen how the team will fill the huge holes left by Steen's and Tarasenko's absences, but expect sophomore Robert Thomas to get a HUGE increase in playing time.