Faulk likely to be shut down through All-Star break

St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk missed his third straight game with what is assumed to be the recurring lower-body injury the defenseman sustained on Dec. 29.

Faulk, who last played against the Calgary Flames last Tuesday, was injured towards the tail end of a 2-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche, missed five games before returning Jan. 13 against the Boston Bruins. He played five games before being shut down again when Blues interim coach Drew Bannister said they would manage his injury better.

If Faulk is to miss Tuesday's pre-break finale against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Enterprise Center, it would be 18 days between games and the chance to rest up while also getting some work in to be ready to go for the first game potentially after the break against the Buffalo Sabres.

"I think that's a good observation. I think where we were traveling yesterday and not being able to skate, he wouldn't be available for us [Sunday]," Bannister said. "Again, it's day-to-day, but the best thing moving forward for him is just to give him the extra time to rest and we get into the All-Star break. By the time we come out of that, he should be 100 percent ready to play."