Vladimir Tarasenko Needs A Wakeup Call

In any sport, once the playoffs get going, your best players step up in the biggest situations. That's the way it goes, or at least the way it should go in any sport. Come the biggest moments, your best players need to show up and make a name for themselves. All the greats have done it in the sporting world. For stretches this postseason in the NHL, Vladimir Tarasenko has done just that for the St. Louis Blues. Except in the Western Conference Finals, where he has been held without a point by the San Jose Sharks.

Coming into this series against the Sharks, Tarasenko had registered 13 points, on seven goals and eight assists, in fourteen games. In the five games against the Sharks, he's had nothing. In those two previous series against Chicago and Dallas, Tarasenko didn't register a point in every game, but when he did get his name on the scoresheet, whether it was scoring a goal or setting one up, it came at a huge moment. Now, he's gone invisible, getting passed for the team lead in points by Jaden Schwartz (4G 10A), David Backes (7G 7A), and Robby Fabbri (4G 11A). With this now going on with Tarasenko, the pressure is really starting to mount for Vladimir to get the job done and help propell the Blues to the finals for the first time since 1970.

What's making this more surprising is that the guy did manage to score 40 goals during the regular season. He was a difference maker in the series against Chicago and Dallas, putting up multi-point games in game four against Chicago and games three and four against Dallas. He could change the series around with a single move. San Jose right now has done a fantastic job of shutting him down and not giving him the looks that he had been getting in the first two rounds. Here's what I mean. Look at the big stars in San Jose, guys like Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Both of those guys have scored huge goals in this series, hell Pavelski scored twice in game five to give the Sharks a series lead and has them one win away from their first ever finals appearance. That's what your best players do, they score or make the big play at the right moment.

Tarasenko hasn't done that yet in this series. He had one shot all night in game five and it was an easy save for Martin Jones in the 3rd period. Now when the Blues are winning, nothing really matters and his struggles can get overlooked. When St Louis starts to lose, when a player like Tarasenko doesn’t score, the issues become magnified. And if the Blues don’t win Wednesday and Tarasenko is again held without a goal then there will be immediate questions as to how a player who had 10 playoff goals in his previous 12 postseason games before 2016 lost his scoring touch so suddenly this year. That's why his wakeup call is so important.

Tarasenko has all the skill in the world to be a top flight player in this game. Which is why there's a lot of pressure on him to score. All it takes is just one shot to get him back in the groove again. Once Tarasenko finds the back of the net, the complexion of his series could shift dramatically. If he can’t, then the Western Conference Final could gnaw at him all summer.