Vladimir Tarasenko scores the goal of the year, why he is a legitimate breakout star and more…

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Heck of a game between the Blues and Rangers. It certainly felt like New York might have the Blues' number having beaten them earlier in the year and then jumping out to a 1-0 lead after one period by dominating the play, winning the shot battle 15-4.

But the Blues righted the ship in the second period and knotted things up. Then things opened up in a back-and-forth third as the teams swapped leads before going into overtime tied 3-3. Overtime decided nothing and it was off to the skills competition. I only care who won because I have Brian Elliott in a couple of pools, otherwise it would be mostly irrelevant to me.

Elliott was awesome in this one. The game gets away from the Blues in the first if not for his stout goaltending.

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On the other side of the ice Cam Talbot was in for just his second start of the season. He's now lost both games but I don't think that's reason not to use him. I know Henrik Lundqvist is a workhorse but studies are showing that it's increasingly valuable to rest your starters and use your backups. With Lundqvist struggling early once again it makes sense to utilize Talbot more frequently.

Of course, the Rangers have only had one back-to-back so far and only have 11 more this season. With the schedule a little bit looser this season given the lack of Olympics or lockout that compressed the last two seasons there are less back-to-backs and more rest available. Talbot may not really become valuable until March when the Rangers have four back-to-back scenarios and Lundqvist might be worn out by then.

To me, it makes more sense to utilize Talbot now so that you have Lundqvist fresher come March when the games become even higher leverage.

But the Rangers probably need Lundqvist right now. They basically have only one line with Derek Stepan injured and are also out their franchise defenseman and captain in Ryan McDonagh. Things could really get away from them in a hurry.

That one line is sizzling though. Rick Nash is second in the league with nine goals this season. He's a sell-high candidate though given his exorbitantly high shooting percentage of 25% at the moment. He had a sweet saucer pass to Martin St. Louis for the go-ahead goal late in the third.

One of these days the Blues are going to unleash Tarasenko full-time. He has combined with Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz to form one of the most dominant lines in the league the past couple of weeks. I hope they keep it together because they have huge potential.

What would really let these guys bust out is if they got the full top unit power play treatment but all too often they are skating on the second unit. It technically doesn't matter what unit they skate on in St. Louis because Ken Hitchcock simply rotates his units evenly much like the Bruins do but I am calling for Schwartz and Tarasenko to get the top unit billing you see on so many teams.

Hitchcock would argue that that would be unnecessary. St. Louis was tied for fifth in power play efficiency last season and are ranked seventh this season while clicking at an even higher rate. They don't need to ride any one unit. That's fair, I'm just a selfish fantasy player. Actually, I'm not even being selfish, I don't have Tarasenko on any of my fantasy rosters. I just want to see him achieve his potential because why not? He's an absolute stud. Maybe he gets 70 points this season in spite of Hitchcock.

I'm not saying that off-hand either. I really believe that Tarasenko can get there in spite of his usage. Did you know that he's sitting fifth in the league in SOG behind just Patrick Sharp, Claude Giroux, Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin? He's at 49 SOG in just 11 games. That's over four per game, or a 320+ pace. That's superstar type shooting. I am fully on board here.

There is some regression coming. Tarasenko's on-ice shooting percentage is at 13.3%, which is completely unsustainable and since we know he doesn't get enough power play time, he won't have that to buoy him throughout the season. Or does he? He's already at four PPP this season and is on pace for near 30 for the season.

The good thing about the forward depth in St. Louis is that the Blues can skate their veterans Paul Stastny, David Backes and Alexander Steen against their opponents' top lines and shield Tarasenko/Schwartz from elite matchups. I don't even think they necessarily need shielding but more favourable matchups will obviously help Tarasenko's fantasy numbers.

We do still need to see if Tarasenko can sustain this shot output and if he can stay healthy. He hasn't played a season without missing double-digit games so far and his career high was 64 games last season. I've been down on players because of "stamina" concerns in the past though and have been burned. It should be in the back of your mind but I wouldn't say that Tarasenko is certainly unreliable. He's one worth giving the benefit of the doubt. Don't sell high unless you are getting a bonafide superstar, say Patrick Kane for instance. Otherwise, hold on tight. It's clearly going to be a fun ride.

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As promised, this Tuesday you'll get your weekly Jeff Schultz Memorial Trophy race update:

1. Anton Stralman – Plus-13