RALEIGH, N.C. â It turns out the long road back actually felt short for Blues defenseman Marco Scandella.
Scandella made his season debut on Tuesday night in Carolina, his first game since right hip surgery kept him out of the first four months of the season. It was also Scandellaâs 700th career NHL game.
âItâs a long road, just taking it one day at a time,â Scandella said. âIt feels like it crept up pretty quick. You kind of go through stages where first youâre not walking, then youâre moving around the gym, get back on the ice. It came pretty quick.â
Scandella was skating with the Blues for about six weeks, and joined about a dozen full practices before making his return. On Tuesday, he was paired with Robert Bortuzzo as the Blues dressed seven defensemen.
âIâm just ready to play hockey,â Scandella said. âGoing out there, Iâm going to compete. Iâm going to try to get into holes, going to try to create. But the most important thing for me tonight is to focus on defending hard, 1-on-1 battles.
âObviously, you donât want to do too much the first game or the first period. You just want to get in there, work hard and then the game is just going to come.â
Scandella described his feelings before his return as âa lot of anticipation, a little bit of excitement, a little nervous. Itâs kind of fun.â
His return now gives the Blues eight healthy defensemen on the NHL roster, in addition to Scott Perunovich with AHL affiliate Springfield. It could lead to more games in which Berube plays seven defensemen instead of the normal six.
Tuesday was the fifth time this season Berube dressed seven defensemen, as Tyler Tucker was a healthy scratch. Logan Brown was also a healthy scratch.
âIâve been feeling pretty good,â Scandella said. âI feel like we didnât want to push it too hard too early, so we took our time with it. I feel like the medical staff here did a fantastic job with me, the support of the guys in the locker room, too. Just keeping it loose, keeping it fun and getting our work in.â
Scandella also could serve as a trade piece for the Blues, if not by the deadline, potentially in the summer. He is under contract for one more season at a $3.275 million cap hit, and is one of the few Blues defensemen without trade protection.
When the Blues traded Ryan OâReilly and Noel Acciari to Toronto on Friday night, it set up the potential of two players that were traded for each other becoming teammates.
Matthew Highmore and Adam Gaudette were traded for each other in April 2021, Highmore to Vancouver and Gaudette to Chicago. Now, Highmore is on the Blues roster, recalled to the NHL to fill the void left by the departures of OâReilly and Acciari. Gaudette was part of the return from Toronto, and is now with AHL affiliate Springfield.
Highmore said heâs never met Gaudette but walked past him last year at Rogers Arena in Vancouver when Gaudette was playing for the Senators.
âIâve heard heâs a great guy, so excited to meet him when I get the chance,â Highmore said.
Highmoreâs recall to the NHL is the reward for an All-Star season at the AHL level. In 47 games with Springfield, he had 12 goals and 34 assists.
âI think Iâve just grown as a player,â Highmore said. âWhen you play a certain role up top (in the NHL), sometimes you lose a little bit of your creative ability. Iâve felt I lost a bit of that from the last three, four years of being up there.
âJust think Iâve built off of that in Springfield. The coaches have been great. Thatâs really the main thing, just well-rounding my game again instead of just being one-dimensional.â
⢠Forward Pavel Buchnevich did not meet the team in Carolina and did not play Tuesday night. He suffered a lower-body injury on Saturday during the loss to the Avalanche.
Asked if Buchnevich is an option to play vs. Vancouver on Thursday in St. Louis, Berube said âProbably, yeah.â
⢠A group of about 50 Blues fans were at the morning skate as part of a season-ticket holder event. The group cheered players when they went on the ice, and chanted âLetâs go Bluesâ as Berube addressed his team. Berube joked âthey probably didnât want to hear me anyhow.â
âItâs great,â Berube said. âThe fans, they love the Blues. Itâs great to see the support on the road from them. Got a little standing ovation for the boys.â