*Photo from St Louis Game Time*
Ever since he reported to training camp, Vladimir Tarasenko has looked like a man on a mission, looking to re-become a deadly top flight scorer in the league when fully healthy. This was a start in that direction. Tarasenko scored a goal, Brandon Saad scored, and the St. Louis Blues defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Wednesday night.
The offseason, for both Tarasenko and the Blues, was a tumultuous one at best. It was marred by questions of whether or not Tarasenko could stay fully healthy, whether or not the Blues wanted him back, and whether or not they would fulfill the trade request that was made by Tarasenko. He is still with the Blues, and he's back to scoring.
Goalie Jordan Binnington said of Tarasenko that he was "Happy for him. He's been working so hard. He's been through a lot and it's really nice to see him be rewarded. Can't say enough about that guy and his work ethic. We're all happy for him and hopefully there's more to come."
It was Vegas that struck first, however, with William Karlsson scoring his first goal of the season 8:17 into the opening period, making it 1-0 Vegas on assists from Reilly Smith and Alec Martinez. In the second, Saad scored his first goal of the season 3:21 into the period, tying the game 1-1 on assists from Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron.
In the 3rd period, the Blues jumped out to a 2-1 lead 9:49 into the period, when Tarasenko potted his first goal of the season on a pass from Jordan Kyrou. With 1:12 remaining in the game, Ivan Barbashev scored his second goal of the season, converting on the empty net to make it a 3-1 win for the Blues.
Blues coach Craig Berube said of the win that "You have to win in different ways in this league. That's the thing I talked to our team in between periods, don't force things and don't get impatient because that's where you'll make mistakes."
Binnington got the start in net for the Blues, improving to a 3-0-0 record in all 3 of the Blues games this season. Binnington saved a remarkable 42 of 43 shots that he faced from the strong Vegas offense, posting a very solid .977 save percentage in the win.
Robin Lehner got the nod in goal for the Golden Knights, putting in a strong outing as well, saving 35 of 37 shots that the Blues flung at him, posting a strong .946 save percentage. With the loss, Lehner fell to 1-2-0 this season.
Lehner talked about what went wrong for Vegas, saying that "We just needed to create a bit more chaos, I think. But we've got to clean up some. I don't know how many breakaways or 2-on-1's we allowed. That's not been a problem since I've been here. If we clean that up, we can give ourselves a better chance."
The Golden Knights take on the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night, with Lehner likely to start in net once again. Binnington also figures to start in the next game for the Blues, a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
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