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At the Rink blog

Blues place McDonald on IR; Steen day-to-day

Wednesday, 02.27.2013 / 12:58 PM

By NHL.com Staff -  / 2012-2013 At the Rink blog

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2012-2013 At the Rink blog
Blues place McDonald on IR; Steen day-to-day

Tuesday's full practice proved to be a costly one for the St. Louis Blues.

Days after placing rookie wing Vladimir Tarasenko on injured reserve with a concussion and facial laceration sustained during Wednesday's game at the Colorado Avalanche, two more Blues forwards were hurt during practice.

Wednesday, the team announced that wing Andy McDonald has been placed on injured reserve with a left knee injury. McDonald is listed as week-to-week, and wing Alex Steen is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

"One guy is day-to-day, so it's not a big deal," coach Ken Hitchcock said. "The other guy is week-to-week. It happens. We've got lots of guys coming in that are hungry, guys that have played in the NHL. So we shouldn't miss a beat."

Hitchock said he has not ruled out Steen for Thursday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Both injuries took place during the same drill Tuesday. Steen left practice first after his helmet was knocked off during a battle on the ice. Moments later, McDonald went down following a collision with wing Vladimir Sobotka. McDonald was helped off the ice and was unable to put any weight on his left leg.

McDonald has three goals and 11 points in 18 games this season; Steen leads the Blues with 16 points in 18 games. The Blues are likely hoping for a quick recovery from 35-year-old McDonald, who has been hampered by injuries throughout his career.

After concussion issues plagued McDonald's first few seasons in the NHL, he enjoyed a return to form in the 2009-10 season, scoring 24 goals in 79 games. After being limited to 58 games in 2010-11, McDonald enjoyed a strong start last season before sustaining the sixth concussion of his career. He ended up playing 25 regular-season games before returning for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

With both forwards out, St. Louis called up forward Andrew Murray on Tuesday from Peoria of the American Hockey League.

"He's a good NHL player," Hitchcock said. "He hunts. He's heavy on the puck. He's strong as heck on the boards. He's an NHL player who has played in the minors, but he can play."

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