Coach Jim Montgomery wants those playing to grab spot, not rotating players in, out for sake of rotating; Berggren seems to be most puzzling balance these days
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The changes to the St. Louis Blues forward lines at practice on Monday were once again minimal:
The only change was Jonatan Berggren was inside the cut line of 12, Jonathan Drouin was skating with the fifth line, which included Oskar Sundqvist and Nathan Walker.
No big deal, right?
Well, it depends on how you look at it.
With there being 15 forwards, is Blues coach Jim Montgomery looking to get guys in and out of the lineup, or does he want a firm 12 to get a hold of a spot with 13 games remaining and playoff hopes dwindling by the day?
“We’re looking for guys to own their positions in the lineup, and in practice, our goal is to have a high pace, and with five lines, and it’s been eight ‘D’ mostly but with [Tyler] Tucker sidelined for a week here, it’s been more seven ‘D’ but still, we’re trying to get pace and purpose to what we do in the battle level in practice, up, so that when we’re in games, we’re hitting those areas hard,” Montgomery said.
Fair enough.
So with Berggren – a healthy scratch the past two games -- back in, it appears when the Blues (28-30-11) open a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Washington Capitals (35-27-9), it’s another chance for the young Swede claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings to re-assert himself.
Many fans have wondered why Berggren has been one that’s continuously in and out of the lineup. It’s been a topic in this space also. He has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 25 games with the Blues, and has made a number of gifted, high-end plays with the puck on his stick.
There certainly doesn’t seem to be a lack of confidence here when the 25-year-old is in the lineup.
“I feel like offensively, it’s really good,” Berggren said. “I create a lot and feel like I have good chemistry with a lot of guys here. To be honest with you, I feel pretty good right now when I play. I don’t really know if it’s something I need to change. I feel like every time I play, I’ve been pretty decent. Of course you can always be better, but right now, I’m pretty confident in myself.
“It’s a different situation with many forwards where maybe you don’t play every game, so it’s tough, but just trying to by best and I’m feeling the boys help me off the ice too. Just keep grinding.”
So in order to stick, Montgomery said he wants to see, “Just more consistency in his purpose, which would be wanting to win more 1-on-1 battles.
“He’s a really good offensive player who makes really good plays, has great hands and vision, top six hands and vision. But we need players that want to be impactful players every game and that’s what we’re looking to build is guys that want to be on the ice and make a difference. You’re not going to make a difference, but the effort to make a difference should be there every night.”
Drouin, part of the trade that brought him to St. Louis from the New York Islanders in the Brayden Schenn deal, is under contract at $4 million for one more season, so there will be a reason to keep looking at the 30-year-old veteran, and then there were Sundqvist, who was serenaded at the end of practice for his 32nd birthday and also veteran Nathan Walker also on the outside looking in. And then you have faces of the future (Dalibor Dvorsky, Otto Stenberg and Jack Finley) at forward, and Theo Lindstein and Logan Mailloux getting looks at the blue line, who are all part of this mix:
But for the pending restricted free agent Berggren, the options are unlimited, and he will continue to do what’s asked of him; it’s .
“I’ll do whatever coach tells me to do,” Berggren said. “If he wants me to play tomorrow, I’ll play tomorrow. Otherwise I’ll try to be a little bit better than yesterday. But I feel confident and I feel the stats have been pretty good. Just do what I’ve done since I came here.
“Of course you need to be a two-way player in this league and it’s something I feel like I’ve been working on. I feel like I’ve taken strides to that. But what can I say? I feel pretty good. Hopefully I don’t miss too many games.”
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.