So much for being a game-time decision.

Robert Thomas is "good to go" for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, the St. Louis Blues forward told reporters, including NHL.com's Dan Rosen, following the team's morning skate Sunday.

Blues head coach Craig Berube later confirmed Thomas will play in the potential Cup-clinching contest Sunday night. Berube labeled Thomas a game-time call when asked about the forward's status Saturday.

St. Louis will be without forward Ivan Barbashev, who was suspended one game for a hit to the head of Marcus Johansson in Game 5.

Thomas hasn't played since Game 1 of the Cup Final due to an undisclosed injury.

He practiced on the Blues' third line Saturday in addition to taking part in Sunday's optional session.

Thomas has collected one goal and five assists in 20 playoff games this spring.

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Robert Thomas' availability for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final will be determined shortly before puck drop.

The St. Louis Blues forward will be a game-time decision for Sunday's contest, head coach Craig Berube told reporters, including NHL.com's Lou Korac, on Saturday.

Thomas practiced Saturday on a line with Patrick Maroon and Tyler Bozak but didn't work with the power-play groups.

The 19-year-old has been out with an undisclosed injury since Game 1 of the series.

Thomas has provided a goal and five assists in 20 playoff games this spring.

Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen missed practice Saturday but Berube said both players took maintenance days. Tarasenko's wife gave birth on Friday.

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Doug Armstrong doesn't believe Ivan Barbashev's one-game ban was warranted.

The St. Louis Blues general manager made his feelings known after the fourth-line forward was suspended for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final following a hit to the head of Boston Bruins forward Marcus Johansson in Game 5.

“We feel that the suspension to Ivan is excessive for the play on the ice,” Armstrong told Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “Regardless, we need to prepare for a quality Boston team on Sunday."

The GM did acknowledge that the referees don't have it easy.

“The NHL on- and off-ice officials have a difficult job and we respect their integrity," he said.

Barbashev caught Johansson up high early in the first period Thursday. Johansson remained in the game, which the Blues ultimately won to move within one win of capturing the Cup.

Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday night in St. Louis.

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Jack Hughes understands that he and Kaapo Kakko will likely be seeing a lot more of one another once their NHL careers begin.

"I think it'll be really competitive for a lot of years," the presumptive first overall pick told the assembled media, including TSN, before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final in St. Louis on Monday.

Hughes has long been expected to be selected by the New Jersey Devils at the draft later this month. He was the top-ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting's final rankings.

Kakko, who was Central Scouting's No. 1-ranked international skater at season's end, is expected to be chosen second by the New York Rangers, although neither pick is a certainty.

"Whether it's the Devils or the Rangers, we're going to be linked to each other for a long time with us going to places so close to each other and maybe a little bit of a rivalry between the Devils and Rangers, so I think it'll be a lot of fun for years to come," Hughes said.

The Devils and Rangers both play in the Metropolitan Division. The 2019-20 schedule hasn't yet been released, but the clubs will face off either four or five times during the regular season.

Hughes and Kakko have already battled on the international stage with the United States and Finland, respectively.

Kakko scored the late winner to defeat Hughes and the U.S. for the gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship last winter. He also outperformed Hughes at the World Championship in May, leading Finland to gold in that tournament with six goals and seven points in 10 games.

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Erik Karlsson is on the mend.

The superstar defenseman underwent surgery on May 31 to address a groin injury he suffered during the 2018-19 campaign with the San Jose Sharks, the club announced Wednesday.

Karlsson has started his rehabilitation and is expected to recover in time to suit up for the beginning of next season.

The 29-year-old was limited to 53 regular-season games this past year and was noticeably laboring toward the end of the Sharks' playoff run.

Karlsson logged fewer than 11 minutes of ice time in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final against the St. Louis Blues and did not play in Game 6, the contest in which the Blues eliminated the Sharks.

He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

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The ECHL championship has gone to the dogs.

With a 4-3 victory over the Toledo Walleye in Game 6 on Tuesday night, the Newfoundland Growlers captured the Kelly Cup in their very first season.

Newfoundland's Giorgio Estephan scored two goals over less than three minutes in the second period and added an assist early in the frame.

His second marker held up as the winner.

The Growlers, who joined the league in 2018-19 as an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, became the first team to claim the ECHL title in its first campaign since the Greensboro Monarchs in 1990.

Newfoundland forward Zach O'Brien was named playoff MVP after leading all postseason scorers with 16 goals and 29 points.

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Zdeno Chara suffered a significant injury during Monday night's loss to the St. Louis Blues in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Boston Bruins captain broke his jaw, a source familiar with the situation told The Athletic's Jeremy Rutherford on Tuesday.

Chara left the game after Blues forward Brayden Schenn took a shot that deflected off the defenseman's stick and up into his face in the second period.

The 42-year-old blue-liner returned to the bench for the third period, but he didn't play another shift.

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Brad Marchand believes the Boston Bruins were fortunate to take a 2-1 series lead over the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final.

"We got lucky (Saturday night)," the Bruins forward told reporters, including The Athletic's Steve Buckley, postgame after the Bruins dismantled the Blues 7-2. "We'll take that one. Hopefully, we're good next game."

The Bruins broke through for four goals on four man-advantage opportunities in Game 3 but did so while managing just four total shots on goal across those powerplays.

"Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn't," Marchand continued. "We knew we could be better. That's just one of those nights where things just start to bounce your way.

"You can't expect that to happen every night. We still have areas we can clean up. It's nice that the power play came together. We were good on special teams, but gotta follow it up next game."

St. Louis outshot Boston 29-24 in the contest, though that can be attributed in part to the Bruins establishing a four-goal lead early in the second period.

"They came at us pretty hard in the second and third, and we didn't have a ton of pushback, so we can be better than that when we have the lead," Marchand said. "We can be better than we were at the tail end of the game."

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night in St. Louis.

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Jordan Binnington owned up to his lackluster performance following a 7-2 defeat at the hands of the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

"I've got to be better," the St. Louis Blues goaltender told the assembled media, including FOX Sports Midwest, postgame Saturday after being pulled for the first time in his NHL career.

"I've got to do a better job of giving the team a chance to win," he continued. "(The Bruins) got three goals in the first (period and) that's never good. It is what it is. They're a good hockey team. We've got to get back to our game and stay focused."

Binnington gave up five goals on 19 shots and was replaced by Jake Allen after Torey Krug scored to give Boston a 5-1 lead midway through the second period.

The rookie hadn't been removed due to performance from any of his 33 regular-season games nor his 21 previous playoff contests this spring.

Binnington is 6-2 with a .935 save percentage in games following a loss in this postseason, according to NHL.com's Dan Rosen. The 25-year-old Calder Trophy finalist is 13-9 with a .909 save percentage in these playoffs.

The Blues will host Game 4 against the Bruins on Monday night. Boston leads the series 2-1.

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Torey Krug had a game for the history books Saturday night.

The Boston Bruins defenseman scored a goal and added three assists in a 7-2 thumping of the St. Louis Blues in Game 3, establishing a franchise record for points in a Stanley Cup Final game.

Krug and teammate Patrice Bergeron both matched the previous record of three prior to Krug's fourth point of the night.

Milan Lucic collected two goals and an assist for the Bruins in Game 1 of the Cup Final in 2013.

Krug set up Bergeron's goal that opened the scoring in the first period, collected another primary assist on David Pastrnak's marker early in the second, scored the goal that chased Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington later in the frame, and fed Marcus Johansson for a one-timer that made it 7-2 late in the third.

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