The hottest headline revolving the St. Louis Blues in the early 2014-2015 season is Vladimir Tarasenko‘s emergence into hockey superstardom, partly due to his one-handed highlight reel goal he scored against the New York Rangers on Monday. Tarasenko’s tremendous tally has been repeatedly showcased all over the NHL Network, TSN, and even ESPN (despite having the NHL at the bottom of the four major professional sports in terms of coverage). At 22 years old, the Yaraslavl, Russia native leads the Blues in overall points (14) as well as goals (8) while major free agent signing Paul Stastny remains sidelined.
While some point to the root of Tarasenko’s success at his explosive, quick release or his swift skating ability, there is a sizable factor that is also attributing to his rapid point production this season, and his name is Jori Lehtera. After signing a two-year, $5.5 million deal on July 1st, Lehtera finally decided to make the jump to the NHL at the ripe age of 26. In fact, he actually paid 66% of his KHL contract with Novosibirsk Sibir in order to make a childhood dream become reality. A month into his first professional season paired alongside Tarasenko and he has racked in 8 points in 11 games, with a face-off percentage above 58%.
However, this isn’t the only time the two have been coupled on a line together. During the 2011-2012 season, Tarasenko and Lehtera suited up for Novosibirsk, combining for 64 points in as many games. Blues fans have already dubbed the duo “Lehterasenko,” a term that has been included in dozens of tweets, also spawning a parody Twitter account depicting the forwards.
In St. Louis, Lehtera and Tarasenko are in sync with one another comparative to Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars, even though North American ice is new to the Finnish center. Their vision expands beyond their peripherals as they are able to feed cross-ice passes as well as dropping the puck between their legs with precision. These star-studded efforts often leave fellow linemate Alexander Steen out of the limelight, who was the leading goal scorer for the Blues last season. Despite this, the three make up a talented Blues line filled with the combination of tenacity and persistence, even though Steen is surrounded by a new change of scenery in the process.
He usually skates with T.J. Oshie and David Backes, but with Oshie currently concussed, head coach Ken Hitchcock decided to move Backes to a “second” grouping consisting of Jaden Schwartz and Joakim Lindstrom. Nevertheless, Steen has registered 7 points in 12 games this year, rounding out the amount of points the revamped top line has totaled at 29. His fast start last year, which saw him battling Alex Ovechkin for the league’s goal-scoring title for two months, gathered attention from around the NHL similar to what his linemates are receiving currently. But why are “Lehterasenko” so lethal the minute they step foot on the ice?
Here’s 4 reasons why:
1. They compliment each other’s skill set
Like any successful hockey pair before them, Lehtera and Tarasenko feed off each other’s attributes. When Hitchcock calls their respective numbers to hop over the boards, their instinct is to get the puck on their sticks as quickly as humanely possible and transition up ice. They’re both strong on the puck along the boards, which allows for easy outlet passes to either their teammates or themselves. In terms of their particular strengths within their game, Jori’s passing ability is exceptional to the point where he’ll even catch fellow Blues off guard at times. He possesses the unique ability to saucer pucks with painstaking accuracy while Tarasenko is on the other end receiving the pass to apply his blistering shot to good use, which has caught a plethora of netminders off guard as of late. But have no fear, “Vladi” can dish it right back if defenses key on him, making this two-headed monster even more unpredictable.
2. Chemistry is unparalleled
On practically every lineup in the National Hockey League, there is at least one line that carries an abundance of skill and offensive prowess, even on the worst of teams. The key to making that grouping successful night in and night out is if the participants read off each other consistently, and that is certainly the case for both Tarasenko and Lehtera. Once they head into the offensive zone, all bets are off on what will happen next. They’ll criss-cross around defenders, sneak in around the crease, and magically find the puck in scenarios where you’ll scratch your head as to how that play came about. It seems as if the two had been playing together for ten years, which makes them deadly every shift they take. Simply put, Lehtera and Tarasenko appreciate each other’s talent and acknowledge it without hesitating, something that Jori explained to NHL.com a couple of days ago:
“I know he’s a great player, that’s why I want to pass him the puck every time I get it.” Lehtera said. “He can pass, shoot, challenge 1-on-1’s at the same time. You don’t know what he’s going to do. The defenseman doesn’t know.”
3. An extreme work ethic
Hours before game time in an barren Scottrade Center, you can see Lehtera and Tarasenko out on the fresh ice in flip-flops on their feet with sticks in their hands. What they are doing may seem a little Jaromir Jagr-esque in terms of a routine, but it surely is leading to their production once the puck drops for real. They’ll test the boards, recognize patches of ice that could cause absurd bounces late in the game, and just have fun with what they do for a living.
On off days, expect to see Tarasenko working to improve on the negatives of his previous outing, even if he notched a hat trick the night before. Lehtera again replicates this unorthodox behavior, noting that it will only heighten the positives of his playing style. The duo is never satisfied after a victory, but remain determined to duplicate a strong, 60-minute effort for every game they suit up for. Tarasenko explained his philosophy of not keeping one solid performance in his head for very long:
“It’s not enough to play one good game and play five bad ones after it,” Tarasenko said. “It’s really tough sometimes to stay focused. When you can do this, you can play a lot of really good games. You can relax after three goals. I need to (keep) working.
4. Devotion to the game is limitless
At the end of the day, these are two hockey players living the dream of playing in the National Hockey League. They understand the various bumps and bruises that come along the way, especially Tarasenko, who has suffered a concussion and a broken hand already in his short tenure with St. Louis. Lehtera, who had the opportunity to come over to the United States in the summer of 2013, passed on the NHL to extend his contract with Novosibirsk. He admitted his mistake to GM Doug Armstrong, who told him to “come next year.” Well, he’s here, and isn’t wasting any time making an impact alongside his good friend, Vladimir. The Fin paid a significant amount of money out of his own pocket to fly overseas to play hockey in a foreign league, so if that’s not devotion, I don’t know what is.
The sky is the limit for Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera this season if the keep up this high-octane pace mixed in with the enormous skill level they both possess. Although, this could be a mere spark that can be halted once defenses begin to decipher their various movements as the season progress. Now that the spotlight has shined bright on Tarasenko, that could be definitely be the case, like with any young talent. But you can’t forget Lehtera up the middle, who has the capability to light the lamp if he finds open ice.
Let’s face it, when #12 and #91 are on the ice for St. Louis, don’t blink.
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