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Vladimir Tarasenko caps hat trick in OT to lift Blues over Stars
Vladimir Tarasenko missed the St. Louis Blues' practice on Monday because he was sick.
The Dallas Stars weren't feeling very good on Tuesday night after Tarasenko scored 1:28 into overtime to complete a hat trick and St. Louis' 4-3 victory.
Three times Dallas took one-goal leads in regulation play, and three times the Blues tied the score. The first two tying goals came within 37 seconds of Stars scores.
St. Louis had a 4-on-3 power play after Dallas' Tyler Seguin went off for high sticking 14 seconds into overtime. Tarasenko took a pass from Alex Pietrangelo at the top of the right faceoff circle and fired the puck past Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen.
''We work on it in practice sometimes, so that's what it looked like,'' Tarasenko said.
''He played at 50 percent on Saturday,'' Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. ''He wasn't himself, and then to come back and play that's pretty impressive.
Tarasenko also had an assist on Jori Lehtera's second-period goal, and Lehtera assisted on two of Tarasenko's goals.
''We played together in Russia, so it was fun to play on the same line every time. We have some chemistry.''
The hat trick was the 22-year-old Tarasenko's first in the NHL. He has had five two-goal games, including one in the playoffs.
''It's good, but thanks to my teammates for letting me do this,'' Tarasenko said about his hat trick.
Dallas' goals were by Jamie Oleksiak, Seguin and Trevor Daley. It was Oleksiak's first career goal. Daley's was his fourth this season on the power play.
St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott made 25 saves. Lehtonen had 23.
The Blues had failed to score on their first four power plays before Tarasenko connected. St. Louis had a 5-on-3 advantage for 53 seconds in the second period, but Dallas killed both penalties.
All of Daley's goals this season have been on the power play. He took a pass from Alex Goligoski, settled the puck on his stick in the left faceoff circle and shot into the upper left corner of the net past Blues goalie Brian Elliott.
The goal at 3:27 of the third was only the 13th on the power play for Daley, who had no more than two in any of his first 10 seasons.
The Stars have scored on the power play in six straight games. The Blues have allowed one in five in a row.
Tarasenko's game-tying goal at 11:37 of the third came when he took a pass from Lehtera, skated into the right circle, moved the puck to his forehand and shot past Lehtonen.
Tarasenko had countered Oleksiak's goal at 13:10 of the first period with one at 13:45, 35 seconds later.
In the second, Seguin scored at 5:28, followed by Lehtera's goal at 6:05, 37 seconds later.
''Giveaways,'' Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said about St. Louis' rapid-response goals.
''I was so impressed with the work ethic of our team, but then again, up here,'' he said, pointing to his head, ''hurt us. It's my job to help them.''
Seguin, who entered the game as the NHL's individual scoring leader, had a goal and an assist. In nine games, he has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists).
NOTES: St. Louis captain David Backes (upper-body injury) left the game after a second-period collision with Daley, and did not return. Hitchcock said, ''We're just going to have to see what the doctors say (Wednesday)''. ... Blues D Carl Gunnarsson played for the first time since hip surgery after last season. RW Ryan Reaves also didn't practice Monday because of illness, but played Tuesday. ... D Oleksiak was playing in his 28th NHL game. Seguin and Jamie Benn assisted on Oleksiak's goal, extending their points streaks to seven games each. ... Benn also has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last six games against the Blues.
