ELMONT, N.Y. — Pavel Buchnevich had a unique way of describing how he and Brayden Schenn have been slumping offensively for the St. Louis Blues.

Schenn went into Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders with one point in his last 11 games. Buchnevich had one point in his last 13 games.

“Me and ‘Schenner’ sit in cold tub for month probably,” Buchnevich said.

Well, teaming up for one goal in the Blues’ 2-1 victory over the Islanders won’t suddenly put them in the hot tub. But with the club suffering one dramatic loss after the next, it was long-awaited and much welcome.

“I’m happy that (Schenn) score finally. I just need to find the back of the net, too,” Buchnevich said. “As a line, I finally feel like I’m a hockey player a little bit. Last couple games, possessing the puck, making plays. Something to build for.”

The Blues not only ended a four-game winless streak (0-1-3), but also they might have found a forward line with some chemistry.

In Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, coach Jim Montgomery put rookie center Dalibor Dvorsky in the middle of Schenn and Buchnevich. They didn’t score against the Flyers, but the three combined to put 18 shots at the net (including ones that were blocked and missed). Then Saturday, they each had a hand in the Blues’ first goal.

It was an unusual set of circumstances preceding the goal.

The Blues opened Saturday’s game with the line of Jake Neighbours, Robert Thomas and Jimmy Snuggerud on the ice, but when a puck was lifted into the crowd for a stoppage in play just 11 seconds later, Montgomery put Dvorsky, Buchnevich and Schenn out for the defensive-zone draw.

Why?

“It’s (Dvorsky’s) power side (on the faceoff),” Montgomery said. “That’s the side he’d win on. Thomas takes it on the other side. You just want to put centers in good position to win draws. When they’re on their power side, the odds go up 5 percent.”

Indeed, Dvorsky won the faceoff against the Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri, setting in motion a sequence in which Philip Broberg fed the puck to Dvorsky at center ice, Dvorsky snapped it to Buchnevich at the offensive blue line, and Buchnevich put it on Schenn’s stick for the goal just 42 seconds into the game.

Brayden Schenn, probably: “Let’s get this party started.” #stlblues pic.twitter.com/FIb5tlQHkc

— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 22, 2025

It all started, as Montgomery had hoped, with Dvorsky winning the draw.

“I was just happy that I got to be on the ice, and I just tried to win that faceoff,” he said.

He was 6 for 12 in the circle Saturday, including 2 for 4 against the Islanders’ Bo Horvat, who is winning 58.4 percent of his faceoffs this season. Dvorsky, just a rookie, is 55 for 108 (50.9 percent) in 12 games since getting called up to the NHL.

“He wins the faceoff, nice surprise for a young guy,” Buchnevich said. “He’s so strong on faceoffs and responsible defensively, and he listens, wants to learn. We just try to help him on the ice with talks. He can make plays, he can shoot. Good kid, wants to learn, it’s a positive sign.”

“He’s just smart,” Schenn said. “He’s in the right areas, good in the battles, good details to his game and easy to read off of. That’s what makes it easy. He’s going to be a good player for a long time.”

Before the game, Montgomery went as far as comparing Dvorsky to former Blues center Paul Stastny.

“He reminds me a little of Paul, how he connects the dots,” Montgomery said. “The puck is on his stick and off his stick and it’s moved to a winger who’s getting the puck in a good position.”

“Uh, that’s a great compliment,” Dvorsky said sheepishly. “Paul is a legend and, yeah, I’m happy that Monty said that. He was an amazing player, so that’s a big compliment.”

What Montgomery said about Dvorsky moving the puck to a winger in good position was exactly what happened with Dvorsky’s quick dish to Buchnevich. Then, when Schenn scored, it felt like a load had lifted for the veterans, particularly Buchnevich, who had gone 16 consecutive games without a point at five-on-five.

“Yeah, it’s always nice to see a smile on that guy’s face,” Montgomery said.

And it brought pure joy to the face of Dvorsky, who picked up his first assist in the NHL.

“It feels good, but I would’ve never done that without my linemates,” Dvorsky said. “I’m so grateful that I get to play with those two guys. Schenner and Buchy, they are amazing players, and I just try to do my best out there to play my game with them. They’re pretty easy to play with. They’re so strong on the puck, they make plays, it’s really fun to play with them, and I learn a lot from them.”

So why did Montgomery decide to put Dvorsky, Schenn and Buchnevich together against Philadelphia?

“Maybe it was the last (possible combination) with all the changes that we’ve made,” Montgomery said, smiling.

That could be true.

The Blues have had 27 different line combos play together for parts of at least two games this season, per Natural Stat Trick.

But there was more to it than that.

“What it does is, Schenn gives another center in case (Dvorsky’s) not back first, and then Buchy’s one of our most reliable two-way forwards,” Montgomery said. “It creates a line that’s well-balanced at both ends of the ice.

“It’s great to see the chemistry. It’s two games in a row where they’ve played really well, connected together. They’re reading off each other, making plays and supporting plays in all three zones.”

The Blues, in fact, used the same group of top-nine forwards for the second straight game, and the only change on the fourth line was Nick Bjugstad subbing in for Oskar Sundqvist.

“We’ve had many line combinations throughout,” Schenn said. “Hopefully this gives us a little bit of stability. Hopefully this gets us kick-started. We actually feel like we’ve been playing a lot better hockey, 1) defensively and 2) harder. We slowly feel like we’re building something here.”