Vladimir Tarasenko was named the NHL’s first star of the week Monday afternoon and what better way for the St. Louis Blues winger to celebrate the achievement than by scoring a Goal of the Year candidate like he did Monday evening?
The 22-year-old Russian has been on fire lately with eight points in his last four games—his posterizing of Cam Talbot and the New York Rangers was just an exclamation point on his early-season success.
Sometimes it takes a remarkable individual effort for fans to realize a player’s talent, but Tarasenko has a lot more going for him than this one highlight-reel goal.
Here are five reasons why Tarasenko could end up being the breakout star of the 2014-15 season:
Teams can’t afford to game plan for him…
The Blues roster is so rich with talent that if opposing teams go out of their way to shut down Tarasenko’s line, Ken Hitchcock’s squad has other weapons with the ability to take over a game.
When you play the Columbus Blue Jackets, you can specifically aim to blanket Ryan Johansen, shut down his line and take your chances with the other three lines; when you play a team like the Ottawa Senators, you try to silence Bobby Ryan’s unit; when you play the Vancouver Canucks you have to limit the Sedins. But if you employ that same strategy against the trio of Tarasenko, Alex Steen and Jori Lehtera, then David Backes and his line will burn you, or Paul Stastny and T.J. Oshie (when they’re healthy) will burn you. Being on a deep roster like the one in St. Louis can give a skilled player more space over the course of a game and when you give Tarasenko space he will most certainly burn you too.
Because of nasty moves and a shot like this…
Prior to slicing through the Rangers like a hot knife through butter, the 16th-overall pick from the 2010 NHL Draft put on a clinic against the Dallas Stars last week. He registered four points and his first career hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win and made quality NHLer Ryan Garbutt look like a minor bantam house league player breaking in new skates in the process.
He can score with finesse and skill, but at the end of the day he can also wire a puck home with force.
He’s a game-breaker…
The Blues are known as one of the most defensively responsible teams in the league and one that can wear you down with a hard forecheck and relentless physical play. Players like Backes, Steen, Jaden Schwartz and Patrik Berglund are prime examples of players with a nice combo of skill and grit, but no one on the Blues has the offensive upside of Tarasenko. The member of the 2014 Russian Olympic team is all about generating offence. He’s the type of player the Blues can rely on to break a tie late in a game. He’s among the league leaders in goals, points and shots and that should be the case by the end of the season as well.
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He’s on the top power-play unit
Last season, the Blues were a top-10 team with the man advantage—they had a success rate of 19.8 percent on the PP—and so far this season they’ve improved on those numbers, operating at 21.4 percent. Tarasenko has earned a spot on the top unit, averaging 3:15 of power-play ice-time per game and leads Blues forwards with four power-play points through 11 games.
Chemistry with Jori Lehtera
While Tarasenko ultimately relies on his elite skill level to get results, the chemistry he has with Jori Lehtera shouldn’t be understated. Lehtera has been a key component to Tarasenko’s success so far this season. The two played on a line together for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL during the 2011-12 campaign prior to Tarasenko getting traded to St. Petersburg SKA and their on-ice rapport was reignited in training camp upon Lehtera’s NHL arrival.
Lehtera has been great in the face-off circle, is reliable in the defensive zone and Hitchcock trusts him in most situations, which benefits Tarasenko. The 2014 Olympic bronze medallist was one of the best players in the KHL for years and if he and Tarasenko stick together they can continue to evolve into one of the league’s top dynamic duos.
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