Things have certainly changed for Brayden Schenn.
The St. Louis Blues captain went through another rough stretch where he wasn't scoring and couldn't buy a goal, and wasn't even getting many, if any, shots on goal.
Blues player of the game vs. Avalanche: Brayden Schenn (1:26)
Since being elevated off the middle to the wing with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, and then Jake Neighbours, Schenn has two goals in three games, including one on Tuesday in a tough 4-3 loss against the Colorado Avalanche.
Schenn relishes in being the F1 when playing the wing, and he's certainly been more noticeable in doing so.
The captain played 22:21 on Tuesday and had three shots on goal (seven attempts), four hits and was a perfect 5-for-5 winning face-offs.
Schenn scored a nice-time shot off a 2-on-1 with Neighbours in the second period to give the Blues (36-30-3) a 3-2 lead that unfortunately for them didn't last.
The Blues finished the night with a line of Schenn-Thomas-Neighbours that was effective, and the captain led the way, which bodes well moving forward.
"Jake’s playing great. He’s making plays. He’s got good jump. He’s skating well," Schenn said. "He’s scoring goals. I’ve played a lot of hockey with Jake, and I really enjoy it.
"The three of us were able to, I felt, get it going there in the second and little bit of parts of the third. It’s a tough matchup, too. These guys play at an extreme pace. It’s not just one guy, you’re playing a five-man (unit). Forwards are all 6-foot-3, 200-plus pounds. That’s a dominant line as well as two top 'D' to go with it. It’s a tough task. They’re going to get chances, you just try and limit them as much as possible."
Schenn was talking about matching up against Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin and Mikko Rantanen, as well as defensemen Devon Toews and Cale Makar and still made an impact in the game to earn player of the game honors.
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