St. Louis Blues forwards Ryan O’Reilly (broken foot) and Vladimir Tarasenko (hand injury) were placed on injured reserve and aren’t expected to be in the ice for more than a month.
The Blues said Monday that O’Reilly is scheduled to be re-evaluated in six weeks and Tarasenko could be re-evaluated in four weeks.
The crater in the lineup subtracts 45 total points in output from the Blues, who recalled forward Jake Neighbours from AHL affiliate Springfield.
St. Louis placed defenseman Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve on Dec. 27 with a lower-body injury. He had 17 points (12 assists) this season and is not likely to be back until February.
Tarasenko, 31, is third on the team with 29 points (10 goals) this season and O’Reilly, 31, had 16 points (10 goals).
“It’s never fun losing a player of his caliber,” said linemate Robert Thomas on Saturday, when Tarasenko left a loss to the Minnesota Wild in the first period.
Neighbours, 20, has appeared in 13 games with the Blues this season, scoring one goal.
The 26th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, he had 14 points (seven goals) in 19 games with Springfield.
–Field Level Media