ST. LOUIS (AP) 鈥� forward Dylan Holloway returned to the lineup Thursday night against Utah in the team's first game since he was taken to the hospital after getting hit in the neck with a puck.
Holloway participated in the Blues鈥� morning skate at Enterprise Center and declared he felt good to return, and coach Drew Bannister put him in the starting lineup.
鈥淭alking to the doctor at the hospital, he said just no activity for 24 hours. But other than that, I鈥檓 fine,鈥� Holloway said at morning skate. 鈥淎ll my tests came back good. There鈥檚 no further damage 鈥� nothing. It was kind of the best news I could get, and I feel like I鈥檓 ready to go.
The 23-year-old from Calgary was hurt late in the first period of St. Louis鈥� 3-2 victory on Tuesday night when he was struck by a puck off the stick of Tampa Bay鈥檚 Nicholas Paul. Play was stopped with 1:11 left in the period, and referees sent the teams to the locker rooms early after Holloway was taken from the bench area on a stretcher.
鈥淚t was definitely kind of crazy. I felt pretty fortunate. I had a Iot of people reach out to see if I was OK,鈥� said Holloway, who signed with the Blues after appearing in the Stanley Cup final last season with Edmonton.
鈥淚 appreciate all the love and the support that I was getting. The team has been great, all the boys have been great, the coach has been great. I鈥檓 just thankful to have such a supportive group around me.鈥�
Holloway said he felt dizzy and nauseous at the hospital but has had no other ill effects other than a bruise at the base of his neck.
鈥淚 just want to go out there and kind of forget about it, put it in the past,鈥� Holloway said. 鈥淚 feel good and I鈥檓 just excited to get out there.鈥�
Bannister said Holloway rode an exercise bike Wednesday and then 鈥減ushed himself hard鈥� during the morning skate.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a worker. He has a high motor. The way we want to play, he dictates a lot of the play,鈥� Bannister said. 鈥淗e dictates a lot of the energy that happens on the bench and on the ice. He just works to get pucks back and he uses his speed. He does a lot of things really well and he鈥檚 fit in nicely.鈥�
鈥淲hether we鈥檝e put him at centre or put him at wing, he鈥檚 found a way to contribute to the team game and contribute on the scoreboard but also defensively.鈥�
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The Associated Press
