St. Louis Blues Top 10 Moments Of 2018-19 NHL Playoffs

10. Vladimir Tarasenko’s Game 1 vs Dallas

Like Binnington’s save mentioned earlier, this one is somewhat forgotten since it came so early. Still, we forget that despite finishing higher, the Blues were not favorites against the Dallas Stars. They might not have been true underdogs, but a lot of analysts were thinking the Stars had the better of the matchup.

So, the team to score the first win was going to have a decided advantage. That’s when the team’s best scorer, Vladimir Tarasenko stepped up.

Tarasenko was not completely silent in the opening series. He showed some grit and scored a couple goals, but both goals came in losses, so the impact was lessened greatly. Tarasenko would not let the same happen against Dallas.

The Russian sniper scored the team’s second goal of the game on the power play, giving them a 2-1 lead. Tarasenko took the puck off the faceoff and cycled it around. He then wristed one in from the left circle, which is where so many fans want him on power plays anyway.

Tarasenko was not done there either. With the Blues still hanging on to their one-goal lead, he took it upon himself to make the impact stars make.

Tarasenko picked up the puck after a bad clearance by Dallas in the neutral zone. He then bulldozed his way past the defender, cut in from the end line and roofed one pas Ben Bishop and his attempted poke check.

It was the kind of goal Blues fans have been begging to see more of from their star. It was the kind of goal that reminded the Stars how good Tarasenko can be and is.

Oddly enough, those were the only two shots on goal Tarasenko had. He ended the evening with a shooting percentage of 100%. That bulldozer goal also ended up being the game winner.

The Stars kept him fairly quiet the rest of the series, but that game made them focus all their attention on shutting down Tarasenko.