The season has not lived up to expectations for Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich, and Dalibor Dvorsky is still finding his footing in the NHL. However, Jim Montgomery tried a new look that may have changed the fate of their seasons.
The captain
Brayden Schenn struggled out the gate never really finding his footing on the ice. He opened the season with 6 points in his last 21 games, a pace well below his career norms.
Schenn started as the 2C but has since lost that role to Pius Suter, meaning he was playing sort of positionless. Montgomery tried him on Suter's wing, on Thomas's wing, and even at 3C, but there was no fit.
Schenn plays a physical, bruising style of hockey that causes a lot of chaos on the ice. His linemates often have to pick up a little more defensive slack and they have to play at a very slow and methodical pace given that Schenn's heat-seeking missile often takes time to develop.
This is why the pairing of two of the slower skaters on the team seems to be working so well as compared to the rest of a Blues team that plays with a lot of speed and heat.
The veteran
Pavel Buchnevich has not had the season he was looking for either. With only 2 goals and 7 points in his first 21 games, he was on pace for a disastrous season.
Previously thought of as one of the top goal scorers on the team, two goals just wasn't going to cut it for Buch. While he failed to register a goal against the Islanders, his process looked a lot improved and I would expect the goalscoring opportunities to come.
Buchnevich was on a cold streak, but still played with plenty of fire with Dvorsky and Schenn. He also isn't the fastest skater, so the speeds all along this line complement each other to provide a more methodical but dangerous offensive line.
The rookie
Unlike his linemates, Dalibor Dvorsky has found some success playing up and down the lineup, although not in the points column. Dvorsky registered 3 power-play goals in his brief time in the NHL, but it took until the game against the Islanders to find his first even-strength point.
Something clearly sparked within Dvorsky, playing with an established veteran like Buchnevich and his captain, Schenn, and he found a way to still generate a rush offense chance despite being a somewhat poor skater.
Dvorsky provides a baseline of puck control and playmaking for the line. Dvorsky has already proven himself as one of the best faceoff winners on the team, beating out Schenn for the center spot despite Schenn being a terrific faceoff winner as well.
Dvorsky's playmaking is second only to the likes of Robert Thomas, and he put it all on display against the Islanders. He has a fantastic mind for the game and his hockey vision and IQ are well beyond his years, something that sparked an offensive fire under his linemates.
It seems like a sustainable brand of winning to keep the line of Schenn-Dvorsky-Buchnevich together, given how they played together. All three were kind of positionless, looking for a fit on the right line with the right linemates, until Monty tried them together. And now, this "line of misfit toys" has come together and looks like one of the better parts of the team.