Photo: Jeff Roberson / Associated Press
Vladimir Tarasenko, held to an assist without a shot in a Game 1 loss, responded with his first career playoff hat trick, and the Blues beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1 in St. Louis on Saturday to even their Western Conference first-round series at a game apiece.
“You need to forget whatever it was. Bad game, good game, doesn’t matter,” Tarasenko said. “You need to make a next step. If you think about your success, you’ll stop playing.”
Tarasenko scored two goals in the first period and an empty-netter with 17 seconds remaining in an impressive performance more in line with his play in the regular season.