MONTREAL — After scoring in both of the games leading up to Saturday’s match against the Canadiens, you’d think Brayden Schenn would be feeling pretty good about his level of play two weeks into being an Islander.
And you would think wrong.
“I still feel I got more to give,” Schenn told The Post on Saturday morning. “I feel I got better day to day. There’s moments and spurts but as a whole, I still feel I can elevate my game and [I’m] gonna have to down the stretch.”
Give Schenn, a Stanley Cup winner with extensive playoff experience, credit for not settling.
Give him more credit for the fact that it’s a realistic assessment.
He was sporting a 31.04 expected goals percentage over the last two games before Saturday and just a 29.92 percent mark over his first six as an Islander.
Just like the two goals in two games aren’t as good as they look, that’s not as bad as it looks either.
Six games is a meaningless sample size, there’s always an adjustment period for deadline acquisitions, and Schenn is still getting his sea legs under him amid a road-heavy schedule and linemates that changed Saturday for the third time already.
Coach Patrick Roy had only praise for the new guy on Saturday, and Schenn certainly endeared himself by dropping gloves with Ottawa’s Ridley Greig two nights prior in his first fight as an Islander.
“He seems to be very comfortable with the structure of the team,” Roy said. “Think about it, a team you’ve been there for 10 years and structure’s probably a little bit different and going into new teammates, so finding his place on the team. And I think confidence is getting there.”
System-wise, Schenn said the adjustment isn’t too difficult — at the end of the day, most players have played in most systems.
It has more to do with building chemistry with different teammates and getting comfortable in a different environment than one in which he’s been steeped for a decade.
“It’s starting to, more,” Schenn said, asked if it feels normal yet to be an Islander. “I don’t think you sit back and breathe and take it all in when you’re in the heat of a playoff race. There’s times to relax and there’s times to get ready for the next game and right now we’re playing a ton of hockey. But definitely day by day, just feeling more normal and getting in the rhythm of everything and getting to feel a part of the team, for sure.”
That piece of it, feeling like part of the team, isn’t even about being on the ice. It’s about getting to know people.
“It’s good being on the road,” Schenn said, though like everyone else, he’ll be thankful for the fact that there are just two away games left after Saturday. “You’re around guys more, you get to see them more, you understand personalities more and what makes this group click. It’s an easygoing group that’s fun to be a part of.”
All that said, and all grace given to the reality that it takes time to adjust, there is a playoff race to worry about.
That’s why the Islanders brought in Schenn, after all. And he knows as well as anyone what’s expected as the season reaches its most critical point.
“You have to contribute offensively and help on the power play,” Schenn said. “At the same time, I still feel I can be more physical and bring more of an edge with the physicality part of the game and create room for my linemates.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
