Blues’ Robert Thomas to return against Oilers Nov. 3

The St. Louis Blues will be getting a big boost for their lineup on Monday when first-line center Robert Thomas is set to return to the lineup for a showdown against the Edmonton Oilers.

Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including NHL.com’s Lou Korac that Thomas told him he is good to go after Monday’s morning skate.

Thomas has been out of the lineup since October 25 when he suffered an upper-body injury during a 6-4 loss to Detroit. In his absence, Pius Suter has moved up in the lineup. The Swiss center has fared reasonably well in the role, putting up three points in four games, but the lack of a solid all-around star like Thomas has been readily apparent in the Blues’ play.

At the time of his injury, Thomas was in the midst of a three-game point streak in which he had racked up four assists. Thomas broke out in a major way last year, as he was the most productive player in the entire NHL down the home stretch of the regular season. After the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Thomas put up the most points of any player in the league with 40 in his last 26 games.

The Blues are off to a suboptimal start to the season, sitting in last place in the Central Division with a record of 3-7-2. The team has lost its last seven games in a row entering Monday’s game.

Provided that Thomas assumes his customary first-line role, he would likely skate alongside wingers Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Snuggerud on Monday as he and his linemates will be tasked with slowing down the line of either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl.

Like the Blues, the Oilers are yet to reach the level they would like to find in the early days of the season, as Edmonton is off to a 6-4-3 start as they look to reach the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive season.