Blues' Tarasenko Does the Forsberg Dangle

Published on 4-Nov-2014 by J Square Humboldt

NHL    NHL Daily Review

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Blues' Tarasenko Does the Forsberg Dangle

There are great moments in sports.

And there are the legendary moves that made those moments great.

Creative actions that only the elite can recreate.

Clearly, St Louis winger Vladimir Tarasenko is in that class. The 22-year-old Russian has opened the season addressing a perpetual sore point for the Blues -- anemic offense -- in dynamic fashion, racking up 13 points in 11 games to date. And the statement-maker was this rush against the Rangers:

Had Henrik Lundqvist been in goal instead of his understudy, Cam Talbot, Tarasenko might not have scored. A Swede who has an appreciation for history, King Henrik might have seen the Russian set up for that move, known as the Forsberg Dangle.

And here's why. Return with us now to the 1994 Winter Olympic gold medal game in Lillehammar between Canada and the Tre Kronor -- Swedish for Three Crowns, the national symbol -- that went to a shootout.

As fanatically popular as hockey is in Sweden, it had never won an Olympic tournament, until Peter Forsberg did something no one had seen in competition before:

And the Forsberg Dangle was born.

It's the dream move of every Swedish player, and those talented enough to do it pick their moments, like Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg:

Tarasenko may not be a Swede, but he's shown the Forsberg Dangle translates well for anyone who has the hands to do it at game speed. And he's one of a mere handful.