At the Rink: Canucks at Blues

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues were looking to get two important pieces back in the lineup Monday against the Vancouver Canucks (8 p.m. ET; SNP, FS-MW).

They will have to settle for one.

Right wing T.J. Oshie, who sat out Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets with the stomach flu, will return against the Canucks in an important Western Conference game.

"It always [stinks] when you have to miss the game, especially with something that's just the flu," Oshie said. "It would seem something that you would be able to battle through, but I had a tough one there. I'm ready to go tonight. Had a couple good meetings here and ready to go.

"I haven't done anything. I just had my first full meal last night. I have to keep my feet underneath me tonight. I ate breakfast so I'm ready to go."

Oshie, who is fifth on the Blues in scoring with 56 points, will slide back in next to David Backes, but the duo will play Monday without left wing Alexander Steen, who sustained a lower-body injury in the first period against the Blue Jackets.

"He feels a lot better today," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said of Steen, who leads the Blues with 38 assists and is second in points (62) behind Vladimir Tarasenko (71). "He's day-to-day, moment-to-moment. We'll keep him out tonight and just see over the next 48 hours when he's ready to play again."

The Blues, who do not play again until Thursday, will slot 18-year veteran Olli Jokinen into the lineup.

Jokinen, acquired prior to the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs, will play left wing on the top line after playing on the fourth line his first three games with the Blues.

"I'm no different than any other guy," said Jokinen, who has 320 goals and 747 points in 1,226 NHL games. "Everybody wants to play. Once you get a chance, you try to do your best, try to play in the system, keep the game simple.

"We're a good team here. We believe that we're going to need every player here. If you're playing or you're not, you're still a big part of the team. You've got to stay ready and once you get a chance to play, you've got to fill the role they ask you."

The Blues (46-22-7) can clinch a Stanley Cup Playoff berth if they win in regulation or overtime, or if they win in a shootout and either the Calgary Flames or Los Angeles Kings lose in any fashion, or the Flames lose in any fashion or the Kings lose in regulation. The Blues cannot clinch if they lose in regulation.

The Canucks (43-27-5), who begin a four-game road trip, are in their own playoff battle. The Canucks (91 points) lead Calgary by two points and the Kings, who play at the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, by three.

Vancouver holds second place in the Pacific Division.

"This is a first. It's the first year where you see this many teams involved in the playoff race this late," Canucks center Henrik Sedin said. "You look at Chicago, if they would have lost last night, they would have been right there, too. I think it's exciting for us, for fans and for the League.

"I think everyone looks [at the standings]. You try to follow other teams' games. That's the fun part of it. For us, it's to win games. That's what it has been since a lot of weeks back. It seems like you win two games and you're in, and then you lose a couple, and you're out of it again. It's so tight. But it makes it fun. Every shift, you can go out there and make a difference not only that night but in the standings."

Here are the projected lineups:

CANUCKS

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows

Shawn Matthias - Nick Bonino - Radim Vrbata

Chris Higgins - Linden Vey - Derek Dorsett

Ronalds Kenins - Bo Horvat - Jannik Hansen

Alexander Edler - Christopher Tanev

Dan Hamhuis - Yannick Weber

Luca Sbisa - Kevin Bieksa

Eddie Lack

Jacob Markstrom

Scrahcted: Brandon McMillan, Ryan Stanton

Injured: Ryan Miller (knee), Brad Richardson (ankle), Zack Kassian (back)

BLUES

Olli Jokinen - David Backes - T.J. Oshie

Jaden Schwartz - Jori Lehtera - Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitrij Jaskin - Paul Stastny - Patrik Berglund

Steve Ott - Marcel Goc - Ryan Reaves

Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester - Zbynek Michalek

Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk

Brian Elliott

Jake Allen

Scratched: Chris Porter, Chris Butler, Robert Bortuzzo

Injured: Alexander Steen (lower body)

Status report: Richardson and Kassian did not accompany the Canucks to begin the road trip and coach Willie Desjardins was unsure if they will at any point or not. "I don't know that right now," Desjardins said. "That's too far away. They're not in tonight and won't be here tomorrow. We'll have to see what happens after that."

Who's hot: Pietrangelo has nine assists in his past 11 games. Backes has 13 points in his past 13 games. ... Daniel Sedin has nine points in six of his past seven games. Vrbata has 10 points in his past seven games.