It was the first group session for Krug, who has missed 11 games, and Bortuzzo, who has sat out five, due to lower-body injuries.

Also on the ice Thursday were recovering forwards Vladimir Tarasenko (hand) and Logan Brown (upper body) and defenseman Marco Scandella (hip). Another injured player, defenseman Scott Perunovich (shoulder) has been a practice regular recently. That leaves only captain Ryan O’Reilly (broken foot) unable to practice.

“Good to get some guys back into the group a little bit,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Certain guys can do more than others, but they’re all coming along, making progress. Some of them are getting close.”

Krug hasn’t played since the final minutes of the team’s 5-4 shootout loss in Las Vegas on Dec. 23. He had a pair of assists that night but was injured while blocking a shot late in OT.

“I had a feeling, but you really never know because you get hit all the time,” the 31-year-old defenseman said. “Sometimes you feel great the next day and sometimes you don’t. Just a little bit unlucky with the bounce.

“I was 30, 40 seconds from a nice Christmas break. ... Just really frustrating, too, because I was starting to feel like my old self and our team as a whole was doing the same thing.”

A key player for the Blues along the backline, Krug has played in 31 games this season and has five goals and 12 assists. Four of his goals and eight of his points have come on the power play.

Krug, who said he’s been skating for several days, is excited to take that next step.

“When you’re skating on your own and you jump out with the team, you feel like you have a little bit more energy and it’s one more step towards playing again,” he said. “I feel good. Better and quicker than I expected. I’m just excited about getting back out there. I don’t really know the timeline. Obviously, you try and push it every day, so I can get back and help the team.”

Krug said he’s working to get back into the lineup as soon as possible and that the training staff’s job is to make sure he’s going about it the right way.

“You’ve got to push,” he said. “We obviously have a great training staff here and good coaches to know when to pull you back. Every one of the guys that’s not playing right now is pushing to get back in the lineup as soon as possible. You definitely have to be smart; that’s why the trainers are there to pull on you when you’re not being smart.”

Krug appreciates the work that his teammates have done to keep the Blues in playoff contention and is hopeful the team can return to full strength soon.

“Every game for us feels like a must-win, and it’s a great approach to have,” Krug said. “If we can get through this and stay afloat, it’s a great mentality moving forward. I know that sounds kind of funny when you’re missing so many of your top guys, but hopefully, it strengthens the group.”

Jake Neighbours is on a hot streak. The 20-year-old rookie forward has two goals and two assists over his last five games. In addition, he had his first NHL fight in Monday’s 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.

Early in the second period, after Ottawa’s Parker Kelly took a run at the Blues’ Noel Acciari in the Ottawa zone, Neighbours stepped up to take on Kelly. And it was a decisive Neighbours’ victory.

“A kid like that, he comes in and helps out a teammate, it goes a long way with everybody,” said Berube, the Blues coach. “That’s character and team play. For a young kid to do that, he’s not known for that stuff, that’s not his thing, but he just does it because he knows it’s the right thing to do.”

Blues forward Robert Thomas was similarly impressed.

“That stuff doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s a big deal in the locker room when someone, especially a young guy, steps up for a teammate,” Thomas said. “Acciari got hit high, and Jake stepped up for a teammate. And he handled himself well. Kudos to him.”

Brayden Schenn added: “It’s good to see a young guy stick up for a teammate like that. It goes a long way in the locker room, and it’s a great way to earn respect around here.”