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Blues player to watch vs. Rangers: Brayden Schenn
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Brayden Schenn went through the longest goal drought of his NHL career earlier this season, going 16 games without scoring.

When the St. Louis Blues captain scored twice against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 30, 2023 nobody expected Jan. 9 to be the next time he would light the lamp.

Blues player to watch vs. Rangers: Brayden Schenn (2:47)

Well, if Schenn doesn't score against the New York Rangers on Saturday, he will match that futile feat, something even more surprising at this point.

Schenn last lit the lamp Jan. 28 when he scored the overtime game-winner in a 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Kings, which was 15 games ago, but now that the trade deadline has come and gone and players know what the lineup will be and who is staying, and more importantly, who isn't going, the rest of the season, the Blues (32-28-3) know what's at stake, they know the task at hand, and once again, they need secondary scoring to help get them out of their inconsistent ways.

Schenn, who had an assist in a 5-2 win against the Rangers Jan. 11, has led this group by example with his play off the puck and doing the small things the right way. He now needs to make a difference on the score sheet, and with the tensions a bit more relieved now with 19 games remaining and the Blues trailing the Western Conference wild card by six points, it's time to make that difference.

This is a spot for him to do that with the Rangers likely to pay plenty of attention on the Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou line, which accounted for eight points (four goals, four assists) in the first meeting.

Schenn has 22 points in 36 games against the Rangers, the most of any Blues player on the roster, and as tonight's player to watch, for the Blues to come out of Madison Square Garden with a win, they'll need more from those not on the top line.

This article first appeared on FanNation Inside The Blues and was syndicated with permission.

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