St. Louis Blues Player Of The Game vs. Carolina Hurricanes: Philip Broberg

Defenseman extends points record for defenseman to begin Blues career to six, plays another outstanding game against one of Eastern Conference elites

ST. LOUIS -- Could anyone ever imagine that Philip Broberg would be this good, this soon?

The St. Louis Blues were hopeful, but even they have to be tickled to death that their young 23-year-old blue liner has turned out to be even better than advertised.

Broberg continued his superb play on Saturday in a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Enterprise Center on Saturday.

We named Broberg as THN's player to watch heading into this encounter against a highly-competitive, elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

How would Broberg manage against one of the East's best?

Not only did he manage it well, he played at an elite level himself, extending his season-opening point streak to six games (a franchise record for defenseman to begin his Blues career) with an assist on Dylan Holloway's goal -- his first as a Blue -- and helped Broberg climb the record books for the Blues.

The duo were the two top offseason pickups when the Blues signed each to an offer sheet that the Edmonton Oilers did not match on Aug. 13 and neither have disappointed.

Broberg especially.

Hey, he's human though. He was on the ice for a goal against when Shayne Gostisbehere scored a power-play goal in the third period, the first goal against for Broberg, but he finished with 21:26 ice time and was a plus-2, giving him a team-leading plus-6 on the season.

It's been said that the sky's the limit for Broberg, but the left-handed d-man already seems like he's there.

"He had an outstanding game again tonight," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "He's just continuing to build his game and get better and confidence goes a long way at this level. He's playing extremely well. Like all of our players right now when we're playing that way, we're able to have success."

Bannister is trusting Broberg and partner Justin Faulk more and more and arguably the Blues' most consistent d-pair keep getting the job done and complement each other so well.

Broberg's penchant for reading plays and breaking up plays with his stick and positioning is outstanding.

"Yeah, his hockey IQ is high and then his ability kind of takes over and his stick, his ability to skate and close out plays," Bannister said. "Just kind of reads that next play. Extremely smart hockey player."

And then there's the offense, being able to filter into plays at the opportune times.

"Broby's been so good," Holloway said. "I've been telling people too (that) I've been a 'Broby' fan. It's nice to see him getting the success that he deserves. I'm sure there's more to come from him.

"He's just playing with so much confidence right now. He's confident in his ability to make those plays. It's pretty special to see. I'm pumped for 'Broby.'"