Oh, thank God: Vladimir Tarasenko is close to returning

When last we saw Vladimir Tarasenko, something was wrong. He played in just two games against the Vancouver Canucks before being benched and returning to St. Louis for an evaluation. His shoulder was injured again, and had to be surgically repaired for a second time in August. The recovery timetable this time was at least five months.

He was re-assessed in January and cleared to practice a few weeks ago solo. He’s been practicing with his teammates for a week or so, slotted in with Brayden Schenn and David Perron.

Today, at probably one of the most frustrating parts of the Blues’ season so far - a three game losing streak and an IR a mile long - Blues head coach Craig Berube had some pretty good news when he was asked about Tarasenko’s progress:

“Yeah, there’s a good chance (he plays),” Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said Friday. “I would say so, yeah.”

The West Coast road trip just got worth staying up until 1 am to watch.

He’s probably going to take a little bit to work off some rust, but the Blues need scoring and they need offense in the worst way. Most importantly, they need a spark. If this isn’t a spark, I don’t know what is.