Blues assign Derrick Pouliot to Rampage

ST. LOUIS — After making his return to the NHL and appearing in his first two games with the St. Louis Blues over the weekend, defenseman Derrick Pouliot is headed back to the minors.

The Blues assigned the 25-year-old Pouliot to their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, on Sunday morning after he saw action in back-to-back games against the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday and Saturday. With Robert Bortuzzo returning from a four-game suspension and Carl Gunnarsson likely to be recovered from an illness that kept him out over the weekend, the Blues will be back to their usual complement of seven defensemen for Monday’s game against the Blackhawks, so Pouliot — the eighth d-man on the roster — became vulnerable.

Pouliot, a veteran of 202 NHL games over six seasons, did not tally any points over his two games with the Blues. He took a tripping penalty at 9:59 in the second period against the Penguins and did not see the ice again after skating from the penalty box to the bench at 7:53 in the period.

Pouliot has been extremely productive over 20 games with the Rampage, leading all AHL defensemen with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).