Tarasenko, who had one goal entering Tuesday, had been badly outplayed by Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov in this series, a trend that continued early in Game 5.
Kaprizov, who scored two power-play goals in the first period to help the Wild overcome an early goal by Ryan O'Reilly, was flying around the ice, bringing the crowd out of its seats several times in the game. He was frustrating and intimidating the Blues with his speed, strength and shiftiness.
"Well, you know, we had] him pretty covered, but Kaprizov just needs a little room and his shot is really good," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said. "He's so strong, hard to handle, a heck of a player."
However, Berube knows he has a heck of a player, too, in Tarasenko.
"His shot is elite; he can beat goalie from distance," Berube said. "The thing for me right now watching him play is the work ethic without the puck. He reloads hard, he's checking, being physical. Eventually he gets a couple of opportunities and he buries them. That was really good by him tonight."
Tarasenko said he hasn't thought much about the personal rivalry with Kaprizov, even if everyone else is. He admitted national pride does play into the equation, though.
"Obviously, when you play against guys from Russia, we feel some extra emotions," Tarasenko said. "I think at this time of the year, I think it is more St. Louis against Minnesota.
"We talk every once in a while, but we haven't talked since the start of the series. He's a good guy and had some success in the season, but now we are playing him so it's no friendship over there."
***[RELATED: [Complete Wild vs. Blues series coverage]*
Now, he has put Kaprizov on the back skate.
The joy of Kaprizov's two-goal performance on Tuesday and the pride of his seven-goal outburst in the series are being drowned by the disappointment of losing Game 5 and the desperation that comes with facing elimination.
"You don't really think about it, you know. You're there to do what you can to help your team win and focus on the team game," Kaprizov said. "At the end of the day, that's what I'm there to do is to help the team win in any way I can.
"It's not how I feel after scoring the goals. It's really just how can I continue to help my team win the game, and that's all I was thinking."
It appears that Kaprizov has already learned a lesson that took Tarasenko several seasons to absorb about playoff hockey.
"The biggest thing I learned from [2019] is it is just one game," Tarasenko said. "It doesn't matter how we lose, overtime or 5-1. It's just one loss and you need to reset your mind very fast and get ready for the next game and give your best effort. Just trust in the group, trust in the coaches, trust in the players beside you, and you will have success."
Each will have a chance to apply those lessons when they meet again Thursday with their immediate futures on the line.
It should make for another compelling chapter in what has been great theater between these two teams and these two players.
