Tarasenko makes season debut vs. Kings

St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko made his season debut Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings.

In a corresponding move earlier Saturday, the Blues placed defenseman Colton Parayko on injured reserve with an upper-body injury.

Tarasenko has been recovering from the third shoulder surgery of his career in late August.

"It was a long period without playing hockey, but most important, we needed to get it fixed and get it done and get it healthy again," Tarasenko said.

He added, "The three surgeries is in the past, there is some speculation still, but it was a different injury, not the same injury three times. Now it's healthy, I feel strong and ready to come back and can't wait until I step on the ice."

The sniper hurt his shoulder in October 2019, which resulted in his second surgery. After spending the majority of the 2019-20 regular season recovering, he returned for the playoffs. Tarasenko only appeared in four contests before undergoing the third procedure.

The 29-year-old led the Blues in goals for five straight seasons prior to the 2019-20 campaign. Since 2013, he ranks 13th in the NHL with 214 tallies.

Copyright (C) 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.