http://youtube.com/watch?v=sAlhryv8Z0k?rel=0
It'll go down in the books as just another assist, but Vladimir Tarasenko's effort to set up Andy McDonald for a goal against the Minnesota Wild deserves a bit more recognition.
Tarasenko chased down a puck that was cleared out of the St. Louis zone by David Backes. Though Minnesota's Justin Falk beat him to the puck, Tarasenko used his stick to disrupt the play, causing Falk to lose control and tumble to the ice. Falk wanted a penalty on the play, but it was deemed that he fell trying to reach back for the puck, not because of anything Tarasenko did.
Tarasenko then reached back around Falk and got off a one-handed pass to Andy McDonald. McDonald did the rest, sliding the puck into the back of the net on a shot that Niklas Backstrom probably should have saved.
When he was asked about the play after the game, Tarasenko said it was lucky. Fans may beg to differ as his ability to track the puck down, win it from the defenseman and get off a pass looked like it had little to do with luck and more to do with hard work and determination.
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