St. Louis Blues' right winger Vladimir Tarasenko scored what may end up being the goal of the year last night in a game against the New York Rangers.
Down 0-1 midway through the second period, Tarasenko picked the puck up at center and proceeded to weave his way through four Rangers en route to the net, where he got goalie Cam Talbot to over commit to his forehand before bringing the puck back over to his backhand and sliding it home past Talbot's blocker, a one-handed shot.
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Granted, Talbot is a back-up playing in place of King Henrik Lundqvist, who was taking a much-deserved, if rare, night off, but that level of speed, skill and stick handling is rare, even in the upper echelons of the sport. What he did on his way to the net may have been even more impressive than what he did when he finally got there.
The 22-year-old Russian's NHL stock has been on the rise in the past year. He has eight points in his last four games, and seven goals and six assists on the season.
The Blues went on to beat New York 4-3 with the help of Tarasenko's beauty, their fifth victory in a row. Their record is now 7-3-1.