Steen has spent most of the season on the Blues’ third line and had played on a line centered by Tyler Bozak in 15 of his previous 16 games.

“It’s always tough sitting out,” Steen said. “I used the time as well as I could to get myself back to a place where I could play.”

During Steen’s down time, the Blues lost four of six games and coach Mike Yeo was fired.

With Steen in the lineup, Sammy Blais was a healthy scratch, the first game he has missed since being recalled from San Antonio on Nov. 15. Nikita Soshnikov also was a healthy scratch; he has appeared in only five of 13 games, averaging just 7 minutes, 10 seconds of ice time, since being activated from injured reserve at the beginning of November.

Defenseman Carl Gunnarsson (upper body) was an injury scratch, missing his sixth consecutive game.

ONE-TIME OFFER

With his home province of Ontario, Canada, right next door, Thomas had some friends and relatives on hand for the Detroit game. Included in the travel party were his parents, brother, a couple of former teammates and some former trainers from his days in junior hockey.

So who sprang for the tickets?