Patrik Berglund played with a dislocated shoulder

The playoffs are over for the Blues which means all of the details about injuries start leaking out. David Backes was playing with a broken toe. If that sounds painful, there’s the report that Patrik Berglund was playing with a dislocated shoulder.

Doug Armstrong confirms Patrik Berglund played with a dislocated shoulder #stlblues

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) April 29, 2014

Berglund suffered the injury earlier this month in a loss against the Dallas Stars. At the time it sounded like Berglund would miss the season finale (he did) as well as the entirety of the playoffs unless the Blues made a deep run. Berglund ended up suiting up for four of the six games against the Blackhawks.

You could look at this story and add one more argument to the “hockey players are the toughest” case, but you could also be more cynical. Why was Berglund out there? Reports suggest it takes roughly three weeks to heal from this injury, so why run him out there – especially when he’s been slumping – when other options are healthy and ready to go? In Game 6 Adam Cracknell was scratched. Why not bench the hurt and struggling Berglund?

Berglund finished with zero points and a (-7) in his four games against Chicago. Give credit to him for going out there and skating, but the Blues were foolish to let an injured, slumping player take time away from guys who could contribute.