ST. LOUIS — There were three St. Louis Blues goalies at practice on Tuesday, but injured Jaroslav Halak wasn't on the ice for long.
Out since Feb. 1 with a groin injury that he aggravated again Monday night before the Kings game, Halak practiced briefly before returning to the dressing room.
"He took some action today," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He got a lots of shots early, but not really a full practice."
The Blues recalled rookie goaltender Jake Allen from Peoria again Tuesday after returning him to their minor league team on Sunday when Halak was activated from injured reserve.
"We had an MRI today and (Halak's) not ready to go right now, so we brought Jake Allen up," Hitchcock said. "Jaro's kind of day-to-day, but I don't think he wants to play with any risk of long-term injury so we'll just carry him until he feels really good."
Hitchcock did not divulge his starter for Wednesday's game at Detroit, but Allen could get the call over the struggling Brian Elliott.
Elliott has been in net for most of the Blues' current five-game winless skid. Now 3-5-1, his goals-against average has risen to 3.57 while his save percentage has plummeted to .849.
Elliott has allowed 28 goals in nine games after leading the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage last season.
Allen, 22, played for just over 30 minutes in one Blues game this season. He was 12-16-2 at minor-league Peoria with a 2.94 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.
"Before he came up to back up, he was playing the best hockey he's ever played in his life so we can't discount that," said Hitchcock, who plans to talk to goalies coach Corey Hirsch as well as his netminders before making the decision. "Brian struggled; sometimes a mental break for Brian might work, too."
The Blues also travel to Calgary on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday.
Halak was expected to start Monday's game, but re-injured the groin during warmups.
"He felt a twinge and didn't feel comfortable with it, didn't want to go," Hitchcock said. "His fear is that the injury's going to get extended where he's out for weeks instead of days. He felt fine at practice today, but again it was on a measured, monitored basis."
Hitchcock said Halak and the Blues want to make sure he is healthy before clearing him for full-time duty.
"It's a hard position to play if you're thinking about that all the time," Hitchcock said. "Once it leaves his mind I think he'll be good to go. It might be (Wednesday), but we don't know so we're gong to have to carry three (goalies) through the trip probably.
"I think he just has to go through a full practice or two being pain-free. I don't think he's in a position where we can evaluate him until he's a participant for a 60-minute full practice."
Contact reporter Norm Sanders at 239-2454, nsanders@bnd.com or on Twitter @NormSanders
