Finally.
It took 180 minutes of playoff hockey to get there, but on Wednesday, in a pivotal Game 4 for St. Louis, the Blues turned in a full 60-minute performance, beating the Wild 6-1 in Minnesota to tie their first-round series at two games apiece.
The show stopper came in the second period. Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko already had a hat trick this postseason, but the 23-year-old kept things interesting by scoring a jaw-dropping, one-handed goal against the Wild's Devan Dubnyk.
It was the Blues' fifth tally of the evening, which made it pretty sweet icing on the cake.
"You just shake your head," teammate David Backes said to reporters postgame. "I can't do that in a video game when it's slowed down for me."
Watch and marvel. We'll wait.
??? #STLvsMIN #StanleyCup https://t.co/DMtdAI9urB
— NHL (@NHL) April 23, 2015
Tarasenko, who also scored in the first period Wednesday, currently leads all NHL players this postseason in goals scored with five. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he's the first Blues player with two or more goals in multiple games during one series since 2003.
His team's 6-1 performance was equally stunning after being shut out by the Wild virtually 48 hours prior in Game 3.
"I wish I had a good answer for that," forward Patrik Berglund told Darren Pang on the FOX Sports Midwest postgame show when asked why the Blues have struggled to look like themselves all postseason. "We obviously had a lot of meetings, and we had to adjust a whole lot of things if we're going to be successful and win against a very good team, so, like I said, we played the right way. We got pucks deep, we forechecked and we shot the puck way more, and good things happen when you shoot."
The Blues' win Wednesday assured the series will extend to six games, with Friday's Game 5 back to St. Louis on FOX Sports Midwest.
And Tarasenko is already looking ahead.
"Tomorrow, everybody will forget this game," he told reporters. "We have for sure two more games, maybe three, and we need to take the best parts from today's game and bring it next game."
HAT TRICK
• Net presence. From the minute the puck dropped, this game looked different from the Blues' up-and-down performance in their past three outings. They attacked the Wild's net early and refused to leave before the first period closed. On their first three goals, they had someone standing near the crease each time -- Steve Ott provided a screen for Ryan Reaves on the first goal, Tarasenko was on Dubnyk's doorstep for the tip-in on the second goal and Backes coaxed the puck through Dubnyk for the Blues' third of the night. Also of note: It was the first time Reaves had scored a playoff goal since his 2006-07 season playing for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. (No, we didn't make that name up.)
• Goaltending. It was a reversal of roles Wednesday for Blues rookie goaltender Jake Allen and the Wild's Dubnyk. Dubnyk, who saw only 17 shots on goal Monday and finished with a shutout, let in six goals on the same number of shots Wednesday and was pulled with just under four minutes to go in the second period. Allen, meanwhile, continued his streak of allowing two or fewer goals per game. (Two of the Wild's four goals in Game 1 and one of their three goals in Game 3 were empty-netters.) The last time Allen allowed more than two goals was March 1 against Vancouver.
• Second-period breakthrough. The second period has been the Blues' Achilles heel this postseason, getting outscored by the Wild 3-0 going into Game 4. The Blues actually started the second period Wednesday on the penalty kill, and gave up a goal to shorten their lead to 3-1. Unlike in Games 1 and 3, however, the Blues refused to crack, and instead broke their second-period scoring drought with goals from Paul Stastny, Tarasenko and Berglund. The Wild, meanwhile, finished the evening with only 18 shots on goal, although they had 15 attempts blocked.
You can follow Elisabeth Meinecke on Twitter at @lismeinecke or email her at ecmeinecke@gmail.com.
