"As the Blues returned from the All-Star break, the No. 1 question on the minds of most fans was the status of Andy McDonald and Alex Steen, who are both recovering from concussions.

McDonald and Steen were on the ice, and in fact McDonald shed his red "no-contact" jersey, but neither player sounded to be on the verge of rejoining the lineup. McDonald seemed optimistic about his improvement, but for anyone thinking he might play Friday against L.A., that was not the message.

He skated on the Blues' fifth line, along with Steen and Chris Porter."