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Tarasenko torments Tampa Bay in Blues win

Despite being the cover star for “NHL 17,” it feels like Vladimir Tarasenko sometimes slips under the radar, at least compared to some of his high-scoring peers.

Games like Thursday’s 5-4 win for the St. Louis Blues vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning should help him get some more attention.

Tarasenko generated his third career hat trick and added an assist for good measure, giving him 13 goals and 27 points in 24 games this season. (You can watch his impressive display in the video above.)

Other Blues who stood out were Alexander Steen (three assists in his first game since Nov. 15) and Kevin Shattenkirk, who managed two goals and two assists. With 19 points in 24 games, Shattenkirk is putting himself in a position to make some big bucks, whether that happens in St. Louis or somewhere else.

The Blues are on quite the run, especially at home.

Baby steps for the Bolts?

This stands as yet another night in which the Lightning allowed far too many goals. They’ve been out-scored 19-9 during a troubling four-game losing streak.

Even so, the Lightning saw some good in this game, as they made things interesting after St. Louis was at one point up 4-1. Tyler Johnson considered it a “step in the right direction,” for one.

“I thought we deserved points,” Jon Cooper said, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

They didn’t, of course, but perhaps this will be something to build on as the Lightning play three of their next four games at home.