St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen and forward David Backes will miss the rest of the regular season with lower-body injuries, the team announced Monday.
Allen left Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche at the end of the first period and did not return.
“Obviously, the sense of urgency with playoffs around the corner is there,” head coach Ken Hitchcock said before the Blues played Arizona. “But believe me, if they were able to play, they’d be playing.”
Allen has gone 26-15-0 this season for the Blues with a 2.35 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
Backes logged 16:54 against the Avalanche while scoring once and adding an assist.
“It’s not what we had hoped for,” Hitchcock said. “It just seems to be what our season’s been about, and we’ve got to step up.”
St. Louis (47-23-9) is second in the Central Division and has three games left on its regular-season schedule.
With files from the Associated Press.
