"Of course, I'm really upset it happened in the most important game of the year," Tarasenko said Tuesday. "It's a really bad feeling in the locker room when the guys try to fight for a [Stanley Cup Playoff] spot.
"All our minds were on that game. It's especially a hard injury at that time. Hockey is a weird sport. Sometimes you can give a heavy hit and you don't have [anything serious]. Sometimes a small bump can cost you like six months. It doesn't really matter how it happened because it's still the same injury, but for me, the most [upsetting] part is it happened in that game especially."
This is the fourth straight season Tarasenko has scored at least 33 goals. His 149 goals since the start of the 2014-15 season are second in the NHL to Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (185).
Selected by the Blues with the No. 16 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Tarasenko has 350 points (178 goals, 172 assists) in 421 games.
The Blues (44-32-6) finished one point behind the Avalanche for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
"You just blame yourself for not making it," Tarasenko said. "We fight till the end; we don't give up. I don't know what to say; we all need to be better and say, 'Sorry for not making it.'"
