In a move to get him more playing time, Jake Neighbours is on his way back to Springfield for the second time this season after the St. Louis Blues assigned him to their AHL affiliate on Friday.

Coach Craig Berube said Friday he did not know whether the Blues would recall someone from Springfield to replace Neighbours.

"It's not that he came up and played badly or anything; it's just maybe not the best situation right now," Berube said. "We need him to go play and be involved and a lot of times (in) our games right now, it's hard to keep him involved."

Neighbours, who opened the season with St. Louis, has played 13 games over two stints with the Blues and seven in one stretch with the Thunderbirds. He has one NHL goal and five AHL assists this season.

The 20-year-old was drafted by the Blues with the 26th overall pick of the 2020 draft. He played nine games with the Blues to open the 2021-22 season, then spent the rest of it with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League.

Also Friday, veteran forward Brayden Schenn did not practice with the team because of a nagging injury.

"Keep him off (the ice) today and we'll see how he is tomorrow," said Berube, who indicated that Schenn would travel to Pittsburgh, where the Blues play the Penguins on Saturday. "... Maybe we shouldn't have played him, but he's the type of guy that wants to play, so it's tough."