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 The St. Louis Blues right winger is only 23 and has just a couple of
seasons under his belt.
But his teammate, 15-year veteran center Scott Gomez, is convinced
the kid is special.
Tarasenko put in another brilliant performance Sunday afternoon,
firing a pair of goals, including the game-winner midway through the
third period, to power the Blues to a 4-2 triumph over the Winnipeg
Jets at the sold-out MTS Centre.
The native of Yaroslavl, Russia opened the scoring early in the
second period with his fourth goal of the season and then ripped his
fifth at 9:50 of the final frame to snap a 2-2 tie for the Blues
(5-1-0).
Both were laser beams that Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec couldn't
handle.
Gomez, who inked a one-year deal with the Blues just before the
start of the season, has already seen enough to include Tarasenko's
name among some of the game's deadliest marksmen.
"I think it's safe to say I've been around a long time and I've seen
some unbelievable guys. I got to play with (Alexander) Mogilny, but
this guy might be at a different leveI. I don't think we even know
the potential. It's almost scary," said Gomez, who set up
Tarasenko's game winner.
"The closest thing I can think of is when Pavel Bure first broke
into the league. When (Tarasenko) gets the puck in almost any area,
you've got to think goal almost every time. He's a great kid, he's
got a smile on his face all the time and the guys just love him."
Tarasenko netted 37 goals a year ago and had 21 the year before, but
the sky's the limit this season if he remains healthy.
"You can tell he just wants to get better. It's pretty neat. He's
great for our league. This is why you pay to go see a kid like this
because it's awesome to see. He's a special one right there," added
Gomez.
After the game, Tarasenko was content to dole out the credit to his
teammates.
"I got really good passes from (right winger Dmitrij) Jaskin and
from Gomez. I have really good teammates who create the chances for
me, so all I have to do is put the puck in the net and tell them
'thanks' after," he said.
Veteran center Scottie Upshall added his second goal of the year and
defenseman Carl Gunnarsson netted his first for St. Louis, in the
midst of a six-game road trip, the club's longest of the season.
The Jets, now 4-2-0, got goals from left winger Mathieu Perreault,
with his first of the year, and right winger Drew Stafford, with his
second. Both goals came with the man advantage, as the Jets went
2-for-6 on the power play.
St. Louis goalie Brian Elliott made 27 saves for his fourth win of
the young season, while Pavelec stopped 37 shots in the Winnipeg
net. The Blues outshot the hosts 18-6 in the third.
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The Blues were 1-for-6 on the power play. Gunnarson scored with the
Jets killing a penalty with just 1:07 left in the game to provide
some insurance.
Jets head coach Paul Maurice said penalty troubles in the third
period proved costly for his club.
"The disparity in the third period when we were in the box, then
we're chasing it," he said, adding the battle between Central
Division rivals was exactly as he had expected it.
"That's pretty darn close to every game we've played against them
since I've been here. It's very physical and lots of talk on the
ice, great, great intensity."
The two teams were very closely matched during the 2014-15 season --
four of the five games between the two teams were decided by just
one goal, and two of those games required a shootout.
Stafford said he expects every matchup with the Blues to be a
battle.
"It's a long season and we're going to be seeing them quite a few
times," he said. "Every time we see them, we expect the same kind of
game -- physical, in your face, not a whole lot of room. I guess
we've got to clean up the discipline.
"You can look at the Western Conference, just the way the games are
played. It's a lot heavier, a lot more physical, especially in the
Central Division. There are no easy games. Every game is going to be
like that."
NOTES: Blues C Paul Stastny didn't play Sunday and won't play
Tuesday in Montreal after suffering a lower-body injury when he went
down to block a shot Friday in Vancouver against the Canucks.
Stastny had five points in his first five games of the season. ...
St. Louis D Kevin Shattenkirk (lower body) was also scratched, while
the Jets sat D Paul Postma, D Ben Chiarot and C Nic Petan.
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