Always coy about his lineup, St. Louis coach Mike Yeo wouldn't confirm whether Paul Stastny could make his long-awaited return Saturday. The only thing Yeo would say was that Stastny had "another good day'' of practice Friday in St. Louis, heightening speculation that the team's top center would play in Game 5 of the Blues' first-round playoff series against the Wild.
Stastny, who has been out since March 21 because of a foot injury, practiced on the Blues' top line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz. At Ridder Arena, another injured player—Wild forward Erik Haula — also hustled through a full-speed practice session Friday. Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said Haula, who missed Wednesday's Game 4 because of an undisclosed injury, "looks like he's ready to play'' in Saturday's game at Xcel Energy Center.
Despite Yeo's hedging, the Wild is fully prepared for Stastny to re-enter the lineup. Boudreau said the center's experience, power-play ability and skill in the faceoff circle will make the Blues stronger. Yeo doesn't disagree, but he cautioned that Stastny's return would not be a magic bullet for a team looking to close out the series on the road.
"Getting a player back is always nice,'' said Yeo, whose team holds a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series. "It helps to stabilize things. It gives us more options. But at the same time, it's not like getting a player back is the answer and it's going to make things better for us.
"We've lost players, and it's sharpened our focus. [Other players] have understood they need to bear down and do their jobs and do the little things. We have to make sure we continue to have that mind-set, and then, if we add a player like [Stastny], we become a better team.''
Haula said he felt good after Friday's practice and was excited to get back into the lineup. He added it was excruciating to be a spectator for Game 4.
"I was barely able to watch the game, I was so nervous,'' Haula said. "The guys did a great job. I was very relieved and happy after the game, knowing I might be able to play Saturday and be a part of it.''
Beyond the first goal
The Wild and Blues, both boasting strong defenses, anticipated a low-scoring series. That has made scoring the first goal especially critical, but the teams cautioned Friday that what happens next is equally important.
Players and coaches said whether their team is leading by one or trailing by one, it must have the discipline to avoid satisfaction or panic. The real key, they added, is to stay with the plan, whatever the situation.
"It doesn't matter if we get that first goal or not, we have to stick to our game,'' Wild forward Charlie Coyle said. "We can't change anything. Sometimes you feel like you have to — if things aren't working and you're not scoring but you're doing the right things.''
Though the Blues have scored first in three of the four games, Yeo still saw lapses when they got the first goal. Since he became head coach on Feb. 1, the Blues are 22-3-1 when scoring first. The Wild has a 36-8-5 record when netting the first goal.
"If we score first, we have to continue to play,'' Yeo said. "We've had times we've scored first, and then we backed off a little bit. And obviously, that leads to momentum for [the Wild]. We know we have to play a 60-minute, great-effort game [Saturday].''
Etc.
• Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk and his Blues counterpart, Jake Allen, are ranked among the top three in goals-against average during the playoffs. Allen is second with a 1.17 GAA, and Dubnyk is third at 1.42. Allen also is second in save percentage (.966), while Dubnyk is fourth (.943).
• The Wild will host a pregame party Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the parking lot across from Xcel Energy Center on West 7th St. Former NHL players Steve Payne, Brad Maxwell, Pete LoPresti and Jeff Nielsen will sign autographs from 12:30-1:30.
