Brandon Saad is one of a number of veterans that knows what it takes to park a poor loss and get back on the saddle looking for a better result.
The forward was a key contributor in doing that Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Saad scored his first two goals of the season, was effective and dangerous all night, could have potted more goals and nearly missed a hat trick with an empty-netter late in a 4-2 win over the Penguins at Enterprise Center.
Saad skated for the second time in as many games on the top line with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou in the absence of Pavel Buchnevich, who missed his second game with an upper-body injury.
Saad was dangerous throughout the game, and not just because he helped the Blues (2-1-1) get their first lead of the season in the first period but he was skating with a purpose, driving the net hard and had it not been for Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, it could have been a three- or four-goal night for the Pittsburgh native.
"After last game, we didn't have our best game and we wanted to come out with some pace and some chances tonight and I think we did a good job of moving the puck and creating some chances," Saad said. "As a line all night, I thought we played pretty well.
"I think just playing with some good players. We played fast. Anytime you move the puck fast, you're going to create some offense and obviously 'Rouzy' and 'Tommer' are great playmakers so I'm just trying to find the open ice and use my speed."
Saad played 16:18, had a team-high six shots and nine attempts and was a plus-2.
"He's a strong skater, got good speed, straight ahead, solid game from him," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "That's what he does for those guys. He's always going to the net and opens things up for them. He scored a lot of goals around that net, that's where he scores his goals."
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