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Blues center Paul Stastny (shoulder) expected to return this week

St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny will travel with the team for its games Monday and Tuesday and could return this week from a shoulder injury. Stastny injured his shoulder last month and has missed the team's last six games.
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St. Louis Blues center Paul Stastny will travel with the team for its games Monday and Tuesday and could return this week from a shoulder injury, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Stastny injured his shoulder last month and has missed the team's last six games. He had a goal and four points in four games before he was hurt.

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock believes Stastny’s return is close, via Rutherford.

“He’s going to make the trip with us and we’ll see from there,” Hitchcock said. “You know, he’s pretty much acting and behaving as a player right now. I would say the date is really up to him now—it’s what he decides.

“We’re hopeful that it’s sooner than later, but I can’t give you a defined date right now. It’s when he’s comfortable with everything that he’s going to give us the green light, so I don’t think he’s that far away.”

• Rangers' Ryan McDonagh out 3-4 weeks with separated shoulder

Stastny practiced Sunday and will go on the road with the team when it visits the New York Rangers on Monday and the New Jersey Devils Tuesday. If he doesn’t play in those two games, he could return when the Blues return home for games Thursday and Saturday with the Devils and Nashville Predators.

Stastny is in his first season with the Blues after signing a four-year, $28 million free agent deal in July. He played his first eight seasons with the Colorado Avalanche.

The Blues have started the season 6-3-1 and are tied for third in the Central Division.

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