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"The Russians" have been lifesavers for Blues this season. 21 декабря 2021 года. Thomas, Jim. St. Louis Post - Dispatch; St. Louis, Mo. [St. Louis, Mo]. The long-running, highly successful line featuring Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz -- two "Sasky" boys from Saskatchewan -- broke up in the offseason when Schwartz signed a free agent contract with the expansion Seattle Kraken. Over the past couple of years, it's been hard to top the line headed by Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron. O'Reilly and Perron are so simpatico, they once dressed up for Halloween as each other -- without telling the other person. Alas, that duo has been together for only 16 games -- about half the season -- due to COVID (O'Reilly) and injury (Perron). But just when it looked like Blues fans were running out of a line to embrace, along came "The Russians." Earlier in the season, coach Craig Berube played Ivan Barbashev and Vladimir Tarasenko on a line centered by Robert Thomas for several games. For just three games, he put together an all-Russian line of Klim Kostin-Barbashev-Tarasenko -- the KBB. Later, Berube had Pavel Buchnevich and Tarasenko together with Thomas for seven games until Thomas got hurt in early December. Almost out of desperation, Berube had Barbashev step in for Thomas on that line, flanked by Buchnevich on left wing and Tarasenko on right wing. "I needed to put some combinations together, so I figured it probably would be a good line," Berube said. He figured right. Barbashev, Buchnevich and Tarasenko already were enjoying strong seasons. Putting them all together for the past six games has kicked it up a notch. They have combined for eight goals and 17 assists in those six games, with five or more points in each of the past three contests. "Am I surprised? I don't know," Berube said. "They got a lot of skill on that line, I'll tell you that. You got a little of everything on that line. Vladi's a shooter. Buchy's a great playmaker. Barby's making good plays, but he goes to the net hard. He's around the net, and he's a physical player." Maybe it would be different if Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas weren't currently injured, but 31 games into the season, the Blues' three leading scorers are: - Tarasenko, with 29 points on 12 goals and 17 assists. - Buchnevich, with 29 points on 11 goals and 18 assists. - Barbashev, with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists. (Kyrou, who has missed the past four games with an upper-body injury, is tied for third with 25 points on nine goals and 16 assists.) "You can see the chemistry that they have together," Tyler Bozak said. "I don't know if it's because they're all Russian or what it is. But they kind of play the game the same way. They know where each other is going to be on the ice, they all work extremely hard. They're a fun line to watch. "We're winning a lot of games because of them right now. So it's been awesome." Whether it's at practice or during games, the Russians are always talking. On the ice, on the bench, and undoubtedly in the locker room. Talking in Russian. "Yeah, sometimes you wish you knew what they were saying," Bozak said, smiling. "They're probably chirping all of us behind our backs 'cause we can't understand. No, I think obviously it's easier for them to communicate that way being they're all Russian, so they can speak to each other that way." What's all that talking about? "The more we play together, the more teams will learn how we play," Tarasenko said. "We try and create some plays, try some stuff, some new stuff. ... Just communicate where we're going, what we're doing. It's nice when you can talk native language. We are having fun." When asked why the Russian line has clicked, Tarasenko said that's up to the media to decide. "We're just trying to play Blues style of hockey, but if somebody open, we always try and make the pass," he said. "So we just try to move the puck fast. I think we have success lately." That's for sure. "I still think we can play better, and I think it's easy to understand for us," Tarasenko added. "We understand each other, where we go, create some plays and work for each other obviously." After two seasons plagued by shoulder injuries, Tarasenko looks very much like his old self -- the 30-goal-per-season Tarasenko. In fact, he's on a 31-goal pace. And the rocket he fired past Braden Holtby from the right circle Friday against Dallas looked as good as anything he offered up pre-shoulder surgeries. Not a whole lot was known about Buchnevich when the Blues acquired him in July via trade from the New York Rangers. But if anything, he has been better than advertised so far. Berube thinks he has the potential to be a 30-goal scorer, providing he looks for his shot more often. "I've talked to him quite a bit about it," Berube said. "But it's in his DNA to pass the puck. I think he is trying to shoot more at times. But we definitely would like him to shoot a little bit more." The real surprise has been Barbashev, who for most of his NHL career has been a fourth-liner who played strong defense, killed penalties and popped in a goal every now and then. Barbashev's career high for points in a season is 26, achieved both in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Just 31 games into this season, he's one point shy of that career best. "Yes, yes I always thought (he had) this in him," Tarasenko said. "He's kind of a unique player who can play really well defensively, play PK. Him and Buchy play well in the D-zone, and he can create a lot of chances." Befitting his versatility, Barbashev has scored nearly every way imaginable this season. He has five even-strength goals, three power-play goals, two empty-net goals and a shorthanded score. It helps that he's getting lots more ice time -- 17:06 compared with a career average of 12:26 entering this season. Once Thomas returns, it will be interesting to see if Berube puts him back with Buchnevich and Tarasenko, or keeps Barbashev there. Knowing Berube, he'll wait until the Russians cool off. But as Bozak says: "I don't see them slowing down any time soon." |
 Страничка Ивана Барбашева на сайте "Звёзды с Востока"
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