ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis Blues 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’ morning skate at Enterprise Center and declared he felt good to return, and coach Drew Bannister put him in the starting lineup.
“Talking to the doctor at the hospital, he said just no activity for 24 hours. But other than that, I’m fine,” Holloway said at morning skate. “All my tests came back good. There’s no further damage — nothing. It was kind of the best news I could get, and I feel like I’m ready to go.
Holloway was hurt late in the first period of St. Louis’ 3-2 victory on Tuesday night when he was struck by a puck off the stick of Tampa Bay’s 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.
“It was definitely kind of crazy. I felt pretty fortunate. I had a Iot of people reach out to see if I was OK,” said Holloway, who signed with the Blues after appearing in the Stanley Cup final last season with Edmonton.
“I 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’m just thankful to have such a supportive group around me.”
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.
“I just want to go out there and kind of forget about it, put it in the past,” Holloway said. “I feel good and I’m just excited to get out there.”
Bannister said Holloway rode an exercise bike Wednesday and then “pushed himself hard” during the morning skate.
“He’s a worker. He has a high motor. The way we want to play, he dictates a lot of the play,” Bannister said. “He 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’s fit in nicely.”
“Whether we’ve put him at center or put him at wing, he’s found a way to contribute to the team game and contribute on the scoreboard but also defensively.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
St. Louis Blues' Dylan Holloway (81) with teammates prior to an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
St. Louis Blues' Dylan Holloway (81) skates warmups before an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Connor Hamilton)
New York at (3-13) at Philadelphia (13-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m., EST, CBS
BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 3 1/2
Against the spread: New York 4-11-1; Philadelphia 10-6
Series record: Eagles lead 91-86-2
Last meeting: Saquon Barkley rushed for 176 yards to lead Philadelphia to a 28-3 victory in New York on Oct. 20.
Last week: Giants defeated the Colts 45-33. Eagles routed the Cowboys 41-7.
Giants offense: overall (29), rush (22), pass (27), scoring (31).
Giants defense: overall (24), rush (31), pass (10), scoring (23).
Eagles offense: overall (6), rush (1), pass (30), scoring (7).
Eagles defense: overall (1), rush (10), pass (1), scoring (T-6).
Turnover differential: Giants: minus-7; Eagles: plus-10.
Wide receiver Malik Nabers. The No. 6 overall pick has 104 catches for 1,140 yards and 6 touchdowns and is four receptions shy of topping Steve Smith’s franchise mark of 107 catches in a season, set in 2009.
QB Tanner McKee. The third-string quarterback could start with Jalen Hurts and backup Kenny Pickett sidelined by injuries. McKee threw two touchdown passes and put the finishing touches on a rout against Dallas.
If Barkley played, it would have been New York’s rushing defense vs. Barkley. The Giants are second from the bottom in the NFL by allowing an average of 141.6 rushing yards per game. In Barkley’s place, the Giants rushing defense will be contending with Kenneth Gainwell.
Giants: Defensive lineman Armon Watts (knee) was injured in the first half against the Colts last week and didn’t return. He underwent surgery and won’t play on Sunday, coach Brian Daboll said on Wednesday. C John Michael Schmitz (ankle) and LB Micah McFadden (neck) did not play against Indianapolis. Neither practiced on Wednesday. RT Evan Neal (rib/hip) also didn’t practice on Wednesday.
Eagles: QB Jalen Hurts (concussion) did not play last week and missed the final three quarters against Washington the week before after getting injured early against the Commanders. The Eagles held a walkthrough on Wednesday rather than a full practice, but Hurts would not have participated had it been a full practice. Either way, he likely will not play this week to heal up for the playoffs. TE Dallas Goedert (knee), out since Dec. 1 and LB Nakobe Dean (abdominal), who missed last week’s game against Dallas, would have been full participants on Wednesday if the Eagles held a full practice rather than a walkthrough. Many starters either didn’t participate on Wednesday because of rest and several others were limited participants.
The Eagles are NFC East champions for the second time in three seasons. The Giants finished last in the division for the second time in the past four. New York lost the inside track for the top pick in the draft by beating the Colts last week.
Giants QB Drew Lock passed for 309 yards and four touchdowns without an interception and ran for a 5-yard score in the win over the Colts that snapped a 10-game losing streak. … The victory over Indianapolis kept the Giants from becoming the first team to go 0-9 at home, but also knocked them out of control of the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft. … New York had six plays of 30 or more yards against Indianapolis. … Ihmir Smith-Marsette returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score last Sunday. … WR Malik Nabers has 104 catches for 1,140 yards and 6 touchdowns and is four receptions shy of topping Steve Smith’s franchise mark of 107 catches in a season, set in 2009. ... Philadelphia is locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and will host either Washington or Green Bay on January 11, 12 or 13 in a wild-card game. If Washington loses Sunday to Dallas and Green Bay beats Chicago, the Commanders are headed to Philadelphia. If the Commanders win, the Packers are the No. 7 seed and play the Eagles. … Philadelphia needs 35 points to eclipse the club record of 477, set in 2022. … Brown joined Mike Quick (1983–85) as Eagles receivers to reach 1,000-plus receiving yards in three straight seasons last week. Brown stands at 1,079 yards and has surpassed 1,000 in each of the past three seasons. … Zack Baun has a career-high 150 tackles, which ranks third in the NFL. … C.J. Gardner-Johnson has four interceptions in the past four games.
For those still playing in fantasy leagues, Nabers could have another big game to close out his stellar rookie season.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
New York Giants quarterback Drew Lock (2) gets past Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speed (45) to score a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee (16) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVonta Smith during the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
