BOSTON – Six days is plenty of time for the text messages and well wishes to flood the phones of the St. Louis Blues.
But it’s the simple words of encouragement from those friends who’ve lifted the Stanley Cup, who’ve lived what Brayden Schenn is about to, that mean a little more to the Blues’ top-line centre.
Champion and former Flyers teammate Vincent Lecavalier fired Schenn a note.
So did three-time winner Brent Seabrook.
[relatedlinks]
"I’ve played with Sidney Crosby before. He reached out to me," says Schenn, who won a world championship gold medal with the Crosby-led Team Canada in 2015. "There are guys who reach out and try to help you along the way. They are great players who have won it before. It’s a ‘Congrats. Good luck in the finals.’
"A lot of guys who’ve won in the past have texted once you get in the final. They say, ‘Just enjoy it. Have fun with it. You never know if you’re gonna get back here again.’"
Schenn centres Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko — the Blues’ most dangerous shooters in the post-season and regular season, respectively. So Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy isn’t even bothering to play coy about who he’ll throw in Schenn’s way: Selke finalist Patrice Bergeron.
"He’s good in all three zones. He’s one of the top centres in the league. Good in the face-off dot. Does it all," Schenn says. "We feel as a line, we’ve played good lines and good centremen throughout the playoffs, whether it was [Mark] Scheifele or [Tyler] Seguin or [Logan] Couture. All those players bring something different than Bergeron, but to get to this point, you had to beat good centremen.
"It’s no different with Boston."
Dunn ‘pretty close’ to a return
Six days off still weren’t enough for Vince Dunn’s mouth to fully heal.
The Blues defenceman hasn’t played since absorbing a Brendan Dillon shot with his face in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, but he ditched the full cage for Monday’s morning skate and his speech is improving.
"Yeah. His teeth are coming in," captain Alex Pietrangelo quipped.
Dunn, who has seven points (two goals, five assists) in 16 playoff games, has now skated three straight days and coach Craig Berube says he’s "pretty close" to game-ready but will sit out Game 1.
With the more dynamic Dunn recovering, Berube has been satisfied by the keep-it-simple approach from his bottom pairing of Carl Gunnarsson and Robert Bortuzzo.
"They’ve done a good job of eating ice time up and defending well and doing the little things right," Berube says. "They’re difficult to play against."
Blues forward Robert Thomas has taken multiple maintenance days since the Sharks series wrapped, but the 19-year-old will play Monday.
"A lot of the guys have been fighting for many years to get to this point," Thomas says. "For me, it’s just a blessing and such a great experience, and I can’t wait for it to get started."
Sorry, Blues fans: Marchand is playing
Despite some speculation that Bruins leading scorer Brad Marchand is nursing an undisclosed injury and despite the fact he left the optional morning skate after just a few twirls around the ice, coach Bruce Cassidy assured that his leading scorer will be in the lineup.
Marchand was seen favouring his left hand Thursday and curiously missed Sunday’s practice.
"I just told Butchy I wanted a day off. I’ve had enough of practising," Marchand smiled. "I’m good."
Captain Zdeno Chara missed the final game of the Hurricanes sweep with an undisclosed injury but is good to go as well. John Moore will sit to make room for Big Z’s return.
Blues must stay disciplined
St. Louis is well aware of the buzz saw that is the Bruins’ power play — a special-teams unit that has been extra special since April.
Boston is humming along at a ridiculous 34 per cent success rate with the man advantage in the playoffs. Meanwhile, St. Louis’s power play is a pedestrian 19.4 per cent.
"Use our feet instead of our sticks in certain situations and be cautious," says Blues defenceman Colton Parayko. "Being good and disciplined. And whenever we take it to them, making sure we stick to our systems and just do the things we’ve got to do to be successful in those situations, and I think we should be good."
