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Brian Elliott out four weeks as Blues' injuries pile up further

Josh Cooper

St. Louis Blues goaltender Brian Elliott has been placed on long-term injured reserve and will be reevaluated in the next four weeks, the team announced Tuesday.

The news comes after Elliott exited Monday’s 6-3 loss against the San Jose Sharks with a lower-body injury. The goaltender went down to try to make a save, before Sharks forward Logan Couture pushed the puck past Elliott at 12:59 of the first period.

Elliott left the game and didn’t return. Jake Allen – the second part of their goaltending tandem – returned Sunday from injured reserve. He had been out since Jan. 8 with a lower body injury.

This is the second big injury-related blow to the Blues in the last several days. On Sunday, the team announced winger Alex Steen, their second-leading scorer, would miss the next four weeks with an upper-body injury.

On Feb. 8, the team announced defenseman Alex Pietrangelo would miss three weeks with a knee injury.

As of Feb. 22, the Blues ranked seventh in the NHL with a total of 220 man-games lost. They’ve already dealt with injuries to top players like Jaden Schwartz, Patrik Berglund, Paul Stastny and Kevin Shattenkirk.

Elliott has a 2.14 goal-against average and .929 save percentage in 34 games played this season. Allen has a 2.18 goal-against average and .923 save percentage, also in 34 games. The Blues are tied for fourth in team save percentage this season at .921.

The loss to the Sharks came after the Blues had won five straight games. St. Louis currently has 79 points, just two back of the Chicago Blackhawks for first place in the Central Division, and top seed in the Western Conference.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!