Barbashev added to list of injured Blues, who aren't feeling sorry for themselves

Forward sustained left ankle injury in win over Sharks Thursday, 

will miss at least next six weeks; Tarasenko skates with full group Friday

By LOU KORAC
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Don't feel sorry for the Blues. They're not feeling sorry for themselves.

They could easily be doing that after another domino fell regarding the injury front when forward Ivan Barbashev was the latest to fall to the injury bug when he was placed on injured reserve with a left ankle injury; he will be out a minimum of six weeks and then be reevaluated.

(St. Louis Blues photo)

Ivan Barbashev (49) will miss a minimum of six weeks after injuring his left

ankle in a 3-2 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.

Barbashev was hit with a puck early in the third period of Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the San Jose Sharks by teammate David Perron and joins teammates Vladimir Tarasenko (shoulder), who by the way was on the ice for the first full practice with his teammates; Tyler Bozak (upper body), Jaden Schwartz (lower body), Robert Thomas (thumb) and Colton Parayko (undisclosed).

But the Blues (10-5-2) will be the first to tell you they don't want your pity, they don't want your condolences. The show must go on, and that's the mindset they have always had and will continue to motor on with, because simply they have no other choice.

"That doesn't help anything if you're going to worry about who's out or who's in," center Brayden Schenn said. "We'd love to have Thomas, Bozak, Schwartz, Tarasenko, Parayko, Barbashev, you look at the names I'm naming obviously, but at the same time, guys that come in have to grab opportunity, grab ice, make the most of it and guys have done that thus far. Nothing new I find with this team, this organization. We always seem to find a way and guys dig in and we're going to have to dig in even more here, especially at home. We haven't been great, we haven't had consistent play. Tomorrow night's a good chance for us to grab two in a row here."

So what does that mean for the immediate future? Well, for one, the taxi squad has been, well, taxed out, and they're all here, so the club has called up Nathan Walker from Utica of the American Hockey League to the taxi squad, and it thrusted Jordan Kyrou up to the top line with Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron in practice Friday; Zach Sanford moved up to skate with Schenn and Mike Hoffman; Austin Poganski will likely go back into the lineup, Mackenzie MacEachern and Jacob de la Rose will stay in. The aforementioned trio were all taxi squad members at the start of the season and now get to carry the torch until some of these guys can return.

"We can't focus on what happens with injuries and what we don't have," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "There's guys getting opportunities and they've got to take advantage of it. I don't think we should be thinking about that at all. We just should be focusing on what we've got to do in the game tomorrow and who's in the lineup."

It can be tough to see when watching practice who wasn't out there, though, which included defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, but Berube said he'll be good to go Saturday. Tarasenko, Bozak, Schwartz, Thomas, Barbashev and Parayko can make up a heck of a line in some fashion or form.

"Obviously it hurts, but we're not a superstar team," defenseman Vince Dunn said. "We don't rely on one guy ever to win us the games each night. It's about everyone doing their job. Whoever's in and whoever's coming into the lineup, the hurt guys, we count on them and we know they can pull their own weight. The lineup changes quite a bit and this season you can't predict who's going to be out with injuries and things like that. It's just about staying in the moment and being prepared for whatever job you're being told to do.

"It's really hard obviously. You want to have everyone you started the year with, not to mention Vladi. We wish he started the year with us. It's definitely hard when guys are out. Maybe guys are in spots where they didn't expect themselves to be. I think it's just a mental thing and just being prepared for whatever's put in front of you."

The Blues have had this mindset for a number of years and it's enabled them to stay afloat and still be a contending team.

"I'm not sure what every player thinks, but it's the organization's mindset, I'll tell you that," Berube said. "One of the reasons we're a deep team, we've got guys that can come in and replace people and do the job and that's what they should be thinking."

* Tarasenko practices with full squad -- Berube said Thursday that the plan for the time being was to get Tarasenko on the ice during optional skates, just to get him around the team and getting more integrated into things.

Well, on Friday, the right wing was on the ice again. No big deal, right? Well, this was one that rattled the bell a little bit because it was a full practice and aside from taking on any kind of contact, Tarasenko was a full participant.

"We want to integrate him more with our team and practicing," Berube said. "Hopefully he keeps pushing and he can do more and more. It was good to see him out there today. He brings energy to our team right now, guys see him out there, he's in a good mood. I think it's good for our team."

Tarasenko was skating, shooting, passing, all the things necessary recovering from surgery he had five months ago on his left shoulder, his third surgery there and second since Oct. 27, 2019.

"I'm sure it's not easy going through what he's gone through," Schenn said. "Mentally it's tough and I think for him and for us, just to have him around. The moment he gets skating with the team again, he's inching closer and Vladi is one of those guys that can really put our team to the next level and make us into a serious contender. It's going to take time and probably a little bit of time for him to get his 'A' game back. Obviously we're going to have to help him and be patient with this, but the way he can uplift the team and make us a dominant team, he's obviously a huge piece for us. As a group, we're looking forward to getting him back."

There's no timetable for when Tarasenko might take part in practice at 100 percent, or as close to 100 percent as possible and do everything necessary to play again, but the timeline certainly seems to be dwindling.

"It's really nice," Dunn said. "It's nice to have him around the room. Obviously he's been a huge presence here over the last few years. When he's around, it changes the atmosphere in the locker room and especially on the ice when he's doing a simple drill with us, pass the puck around, shooting. That's good to see. I think the guys feed off that."