The St. Louis Blues announced on Tuesday that Vladimir Tarasenko will be leaving the NHL’s bubble in Edmonton in order to meet with team doctors back home. He’ll do so in the coming days to evaluate his surgically-repaired left shoulder. As such, it’s currently unknown as to whether or not he will return for the playoffs.
Vladimir Tarasenko ended up requiring surgery following a matchup with the Kings in October. The star forward had played 10 regular season games, recording three goals along with seven assists. Tarasenko recorded these totalled before missing the remaining 61 scheduled games. Due to the COVID-19 pause, Tarasenko was cleared by the Blues as healthy enough to participate in the NHL’s Return to Play plan.
However, Tarasenko ended up being unfit to play as the team looked to seed in one of the NHL’s round-robin games. This was followed by Game 3 and 4 of their first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks. In five games, the native of Russia didn’t on the board in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
General Manager Doug Armstrong specified that the St. Louis Blues would provide an update regarding Tarasenko’s status next Monday, the 24th. The St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks are tied at two wins apiece heading into game five. Their next meeting will be on Wednesday with both sides vying for a spot in round two.
Puck drop is scheduled to take place at 10:30pmET at Rogers Place. The game is available for viewing on Sportsnet Ontario, CBC and NBCSN, meanwhile, it can be heard via radio on Sportsnet 650 and 101 ESPN. It will also be carried in Blues region on Fox Sports Midwest for those based in Missouri.