Dube Missed Practice Friday With a Neck Injury. The Blues Play Columbus on Saturday.

Dillon Dube is doubtful for Saturday's game against Columbus after missing practice Friday with a neck injury. That's the whole transaction — one missed practice, one doubtful tag — but the timing makes it harder to absorb than it would be in October for most teams.

Toropchenko is already six weeks out with the shoulder he hurt in Dallas. I noted after the Chicago loss that the forward group was running on borrowed time, and that was before Dube's name entered the injury conversation. Dube was one of the forwards who won a roster spot in camp, a depth piece the Blues signed this offseason specifically to add bodies behind the top lines. Losing him for even a game or two means the options behind Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich get thin in a hurry.

The Blues host Columbus having dropped three straight. The forward depth was already being tested. Now they may be without two of the players management added this summer to prevent exactly this kind of squeeze.