Vladimir Tarasenko’s Injury A Blow To The St. Louis Blues Cup Chances

By Jordan Long

The St. Louis Blues are tied with the Vancouver Canucks at 2 games apiece in their best of 7 series.  The pivotal game 5 comes tonight at 8:30 P.M. (MT).   The Blues will be without the services of forward Vladimir Tarasenko due to a shoulder injury.  There is no timetable for his return.

                 Tarasenko played in 10 games this year for the Blues.  Even though his time was short, he was productive with 3 goals and 7 assists for 10 points.  Tarasenko was out most of the year dealing with his  shoulder which was repaired in October 2019.   He was skating and all signs pointed for him to be back in the lineup when the NHL shut down in March due to the COVID 19 Pandemic.

                Tarasenko returned for the NHL restart and played in the round robin phase of the NHL playoffs for the Blues.  Against Vancouver, he didn’t play in games 3 and 4 nor record a point for the Blues.  Now he is leaving the bubble to meet with team doctors for an update on his shoulder in St. Louis.  It could be Monday before that happens which could be the end of the Blues season if they lose the series to the Canucks.

                According to ESPN.com, Head Coach Craig Berube said, “He obviously wasn’t comfortable with the way it felt, so we gotta get it looked at. We’re a team. We play without players at times, because you have to. Our team is what makes us a good team. We rely on each other. Different people can come in and do the job.”

                This is a blow for the reigning Stanley Cup Champions.  Tarasenko is a large part of their offense.  Last year in the playoff run he scored 11 goals and 6 assists for a total of 17 points for the Blues.  Tarasenko was a key part of their power play.  He totaled 5 power play goals and 2 power play assists.

                The Blues will have to replace his production.  It is going difficult but doable because they had to play the regular season without him.  The Blues’ year could come to end in the next 2 games if they drop both of them to Vancouver.  Hopefully they won’t look back and say the injury to Tarasenko was the turning point in the series.