Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko progressing in returning from shoulder surgery

There appears to be some good news at least on the horizon for the Blues.  Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, general manager Doug Armstrong indicated that winger Vladimir Tarasenko has resumed skating as he works his way back from offseason surgery:

"His shoulder certainly isn’t 100 percent right now, but it’s at a point where the safety mechanisms are in place where we feel he can skate. He can receive passes, make passes, and shoot to a level of his comfort.  He’s still a ways away. We won’t see him for a number of weeks, but he certainly is on the right track."

Tarasenko has been out since re-aggravating his previous shoulder injury back in the bubble, which played a role in the Blues signing Mike Hoffman just before the season started.  While it will be several weeks yet before he returns, he’s on track to be a big second-half addition to a team that has gotten off to a solid start this season with a 7-2-1 record.

More injury news and notes from around the league:

• Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk have resumed skating as they continue to recover from their respective lower-body injuries, notes Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now. Neither player is expected to suit up on Friday when their current road trip comes to an end, while their next two games against Buffalo have already been postponed.  That would appear to have them in line to return a week tonight against the Rangers.
• Kings defenseman Sean Walker will have surgery on his nose and is expected to miss the next two-to-four weeks, reports Lisa Dillman of The Athletic. He took a slapshot to the face in the third period of Thursday’s game and hasn’t played since.  Los Angeles placed Walker on injured reserve yesterday.
• The Blue Jackets announced that they have activated Kevin Stenlund off injured reserve. The center suffered an upper-body injury last week that held him out of the last four games.  Stenlund had gotten off to a good start before getting injured with a goal and an assist in his first two games.