Sometimes, all it takes is that one final, seemingly magical piece to put a team over the top and complete the championship puzzle that coaches and general managers struggle to solve year in and year out.
This scenario may be playing out for the Blues of St. Louis right this very moment, according to Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News.
"Vladimir Tarasenko was making magic again last night for St. Louis and while there is something to be said about getting worked up over what could just be a hot streak, the emergence of the young Russian bodes well for the Blues. Simply put, if Tarasenko is for real, his skill set may be the missing ingredient for that elusive Stanley Cup."
St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko has been otherworldly thus far this season, with nine goals and seven assists on the year and sporting a plus-10 rating, according to ESPN.
None of that tells the full story though.
Already this young season, he's got two of the best goals you're apt to see. HNGN covered the first here - he blows past the entire defense, gets the goalie to overcommit and pots the puck one handed. You can see the second - where he, you guessed it, blows past the entire defense, gets the goalie to overcommit and scores, this time using two hands (what an amateur) - here.
More important than the highlight reel of goals is the fact that, should Tarasenko's rise be a legitimate one, he could finally be answering the all-important question of "who is the go-to-guy" for St. Louis, a franchise consistently pegged with Stanley Cup expectations that has fallen well short each of the last several seasons.
"No doubt the Blues have an enviable number of forwards with varying degrees of skill, ruggedness and two-way ability, but that lingering question of who gets the puck in the last minute when they're down a goal could never be answered."
On a team that already boasts a group of high-quality forwards like David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Alex Steen, Tarasenko's emergence could either be icing on the cake or the final Stanley Cup ingredient no one really knew was missing.
