Schenn looks forward to meeting Flyers

ST. LOUIS - Since an offseason trade moved Brayden Schenn from Philadelphia to St. Louis, things have been going just fine for the Saskatoon, SK native.
Schenn has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his 13 games with the Blues thus far and is hot lately, posting five points (one goal, four assists) in his last five games.
Tonight, Schenn will play his first career game against Philadelphia - a team he spent six seasons with - when the Blues host the Flyers at 7 p.m. at Scottrade Center (FSMW, FSGO, KMOX).

"Obviously I've been looking forward to it for awhile now," Schenn said of tonight's game. "When a guy gets traded, he looks at the calendar to see when he plays his last team. It's going to be an exciting night, it's going to be a little different. (I have) a lot of buddies on that team, but at the same time, when the puck drops, you have to play and you have to play to win."
"It's always emotional and it's his first time doing that," said Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo. "He's been such a great addition for our group, not only on the ice but inside our locker room and fitting in with the culture of our group that I think we'd want to make it a special night for him, too."

In his six seasons with the Flyers, Schenn collected 246 points (109 goals, 137 assists). In June, the Blues acquired Schenn from Philadelphia in exchange for Jori Lehtera, a first-round pick (No. 27 overall) and a conditional draft choice in 2018.
Since the trade, Lehtera has played in seven games for the Flyers, collecting one assist. For Schenn, he said the transition has been rather seamless.
"It's been awesome," Schenn said of his transition to the Blues. "It makes it a lot better when winning is happening. A 10-2 start, a great group of guys in this locker room, winning hockey, guys do things for the team and that's why we're successful.
"Getting traded, you never know what's going to happen, but coming here, it's a strong organization, it's a strong team. It's been awesome."

THE MATCHUP

The Blues rolled to a 4-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, who at the time shared first place in the Western Conference with the Blues. Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist in the victory, which gave the Blues sole possession of first place in the West. Carl Gunnarsson scored the game-winning goal, his first as a Blue, to secure the victory. Jake Allen made 26 saves for his seventh victory of the season, which is tied for third in the League among goalies.
The Blues are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot in the League with 21 points, and have scored 14 goals from defensemen, which leads the entire League. The Blues' 2.31 goals-against average and .928 save-percentage ranks second overall in the League, and their plus-18 goal differential at even-strength is a League best.

The Flyers met the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night, losing 3-0 at United Center. Philadelphia started the season 5-3-0 but are just 1-3-1 in their last five games. The Flyers currently have the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 6-6-1 record (13 points).
Jakub Voracek leads Philadelphia in points with 16 (two goals, 14 assists), while Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Shayne Gostisbehere are second, third and fourth on the club, respectively. Former Blues goaltender Brian Elliott signed with the Flyers in the offseason and has started nine games this season, although he played against the Blackhawks last night so it's unlikely he would play against the Blues tonight.
The Blues have won five of their last six meetings with the Flyers at Scottrade Center and won both meetings between the teams last season. Over their last seven meetings, the Blues have killed 18 of Philadelphia's power-play opportunities.

HOT VS. PHILLY

• Paul Stastny has recorded a point in three straight games against the Flyers, netting a goal and three assists.
  - Alexander Steen has an assist in three of his last four games against the Flyers.
  - Dmitrij Jaskin has an assist in each of his last four games against Philadelphia.

BLUE NOTES

• The Blues have started the season 5-0-0 at Scottrade Center, which is their best home start to a season since they went 6-0-0 in 2010-11.
  - The Blues are 11-1-1 in their last 13 regular season home games, outscoring opponents 49-28.
  - Vladimir Tarasenko has five points in his last four games (one goal, four assists).
  - Carl Gunnarsson is one goal shy of tying his career high of four, which he set in both 2010-11 and 2011-12 with Toronto.
  - The Blues rank first in the NHL in blocked shots (219).
  - Alex Pietrangelo remains first in the League among points by a defenseman with 13 (four goals, nine assists).