Blues bring Stastny back at center for Game 5 vs. Wild

Posted April 22, 2017 7:00 am

The Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny has returned to the first line to make his debut in Game 5 of the first-round playoff series against Minnesota, after missing the last 14 games because of an upper-body injury.

The Blues scratched rookie Ivan Barbashev to make room in the lineup Saturday against the Wild. The 11-year veteran Stastny, who had 18 goals and 22 assists in 66 games during the regular season, was injured on March 21.

Center Jori Lehtera also was back in action for the Blues after being a healthy scratch the last three games, replacing rookie Zach Sanford.

The Wild brought back Erik Haula, who missed Game 4 because of an undisclosed injury. He centered the fourth line, with Joel Eriksson Ek scratched.

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More AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

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