The pieces seemed to fit together when the St. Louis Blues made two separate trades this past summer in acquiring Mason McTavish and Connor McMichael, to put the two forwards together and look for a semblance of a scoring second line.
Although it was not a guarantee, it was a good bet that it would happen, and true to form, Blues coach Jim Montgomery put the former Anaheim Ducks center and former Washington Capitals winger on the same line.
They started with Pavel Buchnevich initially, but since Oct. 6, four games running now, Jonatan Berggren, whom the Blues claimed off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings last season, have formed quite the trio of skaters that the Blues are finding quickly they can rely on them and count on them to balance out their top six.
In the four games together, the Blues have scored 16 goals, including 12 the past two games, and someone from that line has had a hand in seven of those goals.
McTavish leads the Blues with seven goals and three assists in six games; McMichael has two goals and four assists in six games, and Berggren has a goal and two assists in six games.
That's 16 points in six games from three guys that weren't even on your opening night roster a season ago that accounts for half of your top six.
It all boils down to one simple word: chemistry.
"I think we're just reading off each other," McTavish said. "Pretty skilled players I'm playing with, so just reading off them and playing my game. It's been good so far. … I think there's just that natural chemistry you get with some guys and sometimes you don't with others. But we definitely as a line, we talk.
"I think we have that understanding when the other guy wants the puck and when they don't and knowing where they like to go. I feel like we'll pick that up once you play with them longer. The biggest thing right from the get-go is when they want the puck and where they want it. Connor's done a great job of understanding that. So has 'Bergy.'"
According to naturalstattrick.com , the line has been so effective that they lead the Blues in high danger Corsi-for/against at 13-5, which compares to the Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud top line of 13-8. When your top two lines are 26 for, 13 against, that's quite the formidable top six.
It means they're effectively creating opportunities while not cheating the other end of the ice and defending and back-checking properly.
"They've been unreal," Holloway said. "They've been making tons of plays. I think all three of them, the poise and the confidence to be able to make plays as well as play the right way too. They forecheck hard, they buzz hard. They've been great for us to start."
Snuggerud added, "They're skilled players, those two, and 'Bergy' as well. 'Bergy's a very underrated player and I feel like he's a high-skill player and he has very good poise with the puck and he protects the puck really well. 'Mac' and 'Mikey' both feed off each other. Those three brought a lot of energy to our team and that's something we need."
Think about this for a moment when it comes to McTavish and McMichael: each was cast off the island by their former teams, respectively, no longer wanted – or needed -- in a sense. Both are coming into a new situation and looking for a fresh start, so what better way than to combine them together and allow them to motivate each other in the same light.
"It's been easy for me to be quite honest," said McMichael, who is on pace for 84 points (28 goals, 56 assists) at the rate he's going at. "Coming to the Blues at the same time as him, I think it's been kind of a breath of fresh air having another guy in the same scenario as me. We've been bouncing a lot of things off of each other and just looking to keep that rolling."
McTavish, who is on pace himself to reach 98 points (56 goals, 42 assists) in an 84-game season, understands the sentiment.
"That definitely helps," he said. "It's both our first time being traded too. We both have that in common. Maybe that has something to do with it. I think it does. He's been great to play with. A super smart player."
For Berggren, the potential has always been there. Gifted in his playmaking abilities, the Blues took a chance on a player the Red Wings also cast away at a young age, but there were some challenges along the way with the Blues last season in playing 36 games (16 points; six goals, 10 assists).
"I think the last 10 games he played last year, he turned the corner," Montgomery said. "He started to play the right way every game. Him and I had a very candid and honest conversation, and I told him that he might be looking at going back to Europe because you can't play three games good, one game not be there, and I give incredible kudos to him because not everybody takes that and applies it, and I think he's really applied it because I think he's been one of our hardest workers, he's causing a lot of turnovers. He's leading our team in 5-on-5 scoring chances, and he doesn't get the ice time of some other people.
"… He's quietly having a really good start to the year."
Berggren was a restricted free agent in the offseason, but the Blues and 26-year-old came to terms on a prove yourself one-year, $2 million contract and so far, not only is Berggren holding up his end of the bargain on the line, but he's added more responsibilities in his tool belt, including becoming a penalty killer on the unit that's tied for seventh in the league (89.5 percent).
"First time in 15 years. I'll take it," Berggren said. "It's just fin to be on the ice and I'm just trying to help the team as much as I can, if it's PP or PK. I'll take whatever. You get more time on the ice and every player wants that. … It's a big responsibility to do PK. PK wins you games and the coaches trust me to me on that and it's an honor. I'm just trying to do my best.
"Those two guys are really skillful and I just try to do my game and skate a lot, try and create space for them and I think we have done a good job these couple games we've played together. Let's keep going. It's easy to play with those two. They talk a lot and help me a lot. Just try and skate a lot and give the puck to them."
The common denominator has been each player has his own skill set to offer to the line. But in McTavish, he's the net front guy the Blues have desired so much; McMichael supplies the grit and wall play that wins them pucks, and Berggren is the strength skater that developed a penchant to win pucks back and protect it well.
"They're playing with a lot of confidence," Montgomery said. "(Berggren) wins a lot of battles, he's really fast, he gets in on the forecheck and gets a lot of pucks. He's got some really good skill too. He complements it really well.
Mason McTavish (83) and Connor McMichael (77) have been solid additions to the St. Louis Blues' top six thus far in the early going. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
"(McMichael's) ability to win 1-on-1 battles, his wall play has been excellent and his vision with the puck on entries on the power play, he finds people who are open and he surprises people. … Just a really smart hockey player because his brain works so well at both ends of the ice to be honest because he's doing a good job on the PK too. He's one of our trusted 4-5 PK forwards right now. We're leaning heavily on those guys right now and those guys are getting a lot of PK time and maybe it takes away from their 5-on-5 time. Really happy with his development, how quickly he's become a go-to player for us."
It was a slow start to the top line, but those players have picked it up the past two games. Knowing they have guys behind them that can alleviate some of that pressure probably wasn't something that was there last year.
"You want to do as much as you can to help the team. We're in it together," Snuggerud said. "We all understand that as a team from the first line to the fourth line, all the defensemen and the goalies. So it's a team effort, and it's nice to have such a strong, solid top six and top 12 as well."
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.
