Blues place Vladimir Tarasenko, Scott Perunovich, Jake Walman in COVID protocol

After icing a nearly fully healthy team Wednesday night against Pittsburgh for what felt like the first time in forever, the St. Louis Blues got hit with bad news Thursday. They released a statement Thursday saying they placed forward Vladimir Tarasenko and defensemen Scott Perunovich and Jake Walman in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

These are large absences for this team, especially Tarasenko. He’s been a somewhat unexpectedly huge contributor to the lineup after requesting a trade this past offseason, potting 14 goals and 20 assists in 34 games, seemingly fully recovered from years of shoulder issues.

Perunovich and Walman have been valuable depth pieces on defense, especially Perunovich. The young 23-year-old has impressed during his first NHL stint, tallying six assists in 18 games and averaging 15:33 per game. The 45th overall pick in 2018 will have to wait a little longer to score his first NHL goal, however.

Walman, through 18 games, has a goal and two assists in 12:06 of ice time per game.