from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic,

Well, your club began the game with 19 players — one fewer than a regular NHL lineup — due to salary-cap restrictions. You were facing the Florida Panthers, one of the top teams in the league standings. That team outshot you 20-5 in the first period, but your rock-solid starting goaltender kept you in the game. That goalie left because of an injury in the third period and was replaced by a journeyman netminder who hadn’t played in the NHL since March 2020. You lost a defenseman, too, and finished the game with just 17 players. But somehow you won the drama-filled game, 4-3, in overtime.

That game.

“Well, you know guys battled, and I’m proud of them,” said Berube, finally relenting a bit. “They worked and came through.”

By nature, NHL coaches are somewhat stoic, and Berube typically fits that description. But this did not look like someone who had witnessed what 16,372 at Enterprise Center had just watched — one of the grittiest performances turned in by the Blues in many years.

No, this looked and sounded like someone whose team entered the night without seven players, either injured or on the COVID-19 protocol list, and learned that he could be without one or two more.

After the Blues lost Robert Thomas to what sources have told The Athletic is a hip injury, Berube announced that goalie Ville Husso left with a lower-body injury and defenseman Jake Walman with an upper-body injury.

The injury to Husso appeared serious, and if he’s headed to the injury list, the Blues would be without starter Jordan Binnington (COVID-19) and his backup when they face Detroit on Thursday.

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Catch the game highlights below.