Blues lose F Tarasenko (shoulder) for 5 months

St. Louis Blues All-Star forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who suffered a left shoulder injury last week, will have surgery Tuesday and be reevaluated in five months. That timeline could sideline the 27-year-old Russian for the rest of the regular season, which ends April 4.

Tarasenko has three goals and seven assists in 10 games this season. He posted a team-high 33 regular-season goals and 35 assists last season to help the Blues win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Tarasenko added 11 goals and six assists in 26 playoff games. He has scored at least 33 goals in five consecutive seasons.

"That's a tough hole to fill, no doubt about it," forward Brayden Schenn said after Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings. "He's a lethal sniper in our game ... but it's another opportunity for another guy, whether they're power-play minutes or some minutes with me and (forward Jaden Schwartz), so we'll see what we can come up with." Schenn leads St. Louis with 13 points (nine goals, four assists). Forwards Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron each have 12, and Schwartz has 10.

Tarasenko was injured when he got tangled up with Kings defenseman Sean Walker in the first period of the Blues' 5-2 win in Los Angeles on Thursday.