Defeating the Colorado Avalanche tonight was already going to be a challenge for the series-trailing St. Louis Blues. Now, they will officially have to do so with a very depleted blueline.

Made apparent by their absence during today's morning skate and then reiterated by Craig Berube's comments, both Justin Faulk and Robert Bortuzzo will be sidelined for tonight's contest after suffering questionable/dirty hits during Wednesday's game.

Faulk and Bortuzzo are both out for Game 3, per Berube.

Berube says Faulk is feeling OK and there's "a chance" that both could return at some point in the series. #stlblues

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) May 21, 2021

Yes, this was the likely outcome, especially after St. Louis recalled Tyler Tucker from Utica. Still, it does not make the task of clawing back into this series any easier. The Blues will likely ice a defensive unit of Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, Marco Scandella, Niko Mikkola, Steven Santini, and Mitch Reinke. Vince Dunn, who reportedly stayed out on the ice late after practice, is not expected to play.

Between Mikkola, Santini, and Reinke, the three players have accrued 35 games this season. Reinke, unfortunately, has only season one NHL game in his whole career. That was back in 2017-18.

In any professional sport, teams must embody the "next man up" mentality. This might be a little too much for the Blues to overcome this time.

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