No quit in Blues
St. Louis got off to a roaring start in Game 1 and controlled play through the first half of the first period, but gave up the opening goal. The same thing happened in Game 2, but this time the Blues didn't wilt; they did not get demoralized or allow Nashville to control the play.
Instead, they tied the game before the end of the first period, gave up the lead again early in the third, but tied the game again before Tarasenko's game-winner.
There is a certain level of mental toughness required to win in the playoffs. The Blues, having not been tested too severely in the first round, showed that on Friday.
Vladimir Tarasenko will not be denied
Tarasenko is the Blues' offensive leader, and he was starting to feel the heat of scoring one goal through the first six games of the playoffs.
But coach Mike Yeo said he got a sense from Tarasenko as early as Thursday things would be different in Game 2, and his teammates felt that determination from him at the morning skate on Friday.
Tarasenko delivered, tying the game late in the first period and scoring the game-winning goal at 16:09 of the third. If that was a sign he's about to hit a hot streak, this series just changed in a big way.