Dunn leads Blues with goal, assist in 4-3 win over Coyotes

Defenseman playing with a purpose since being made healthy 

scratch three games ago, helped St. Louis to fourth straight win

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Being a younger player, Vince Dunn could have gone in one of two directions after being made a healthy scratch recently.

Dunn could have had his confidence shaken drastically, pout and mope about the temporary demotion, or he could put his best foot forward and be a better player.

The 24-year-old chose the ladder, and even though it's a small sample size, it's evident Dunn has played with a purpose the past three games.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Blues defenseman Vince Dunn (29) defends a play in a recent game vs.

the Los Angeles Kings. Dunn had a goal, assist on Tuesday.

He contributed a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday at Enterprise Center.

Dunn, who has two goals and an assist in three games since being scratched against the Vegas Golden Knights Jan. 26, made it a point to put his best foot forward, whether he agreed with the decision or not, and who would agree to get benched in the first place? So instead of making matters worse for himself, Dunn decided to give it his best effort moving forward and he hopes to continue to trend in the right direction.

"It's always a surprise," Dunn said about being scratched. "You're never really walking into the rink and thinking that's going to be happening to you, but obviously coaches make decisions and you obviously have to respect that and put your head down, work even harder."

Blues coach Craig Berube identified some of Dunn's turnovers as a contributing factor for what the player called a reset. But Dunn played 16:00 minutes in the game Tuesday and was a plus-3 with two shots (three attempts) and one hit.
 
"He’s playing pretty hard, I think," Berube said. "He’s involved, physical, moving pucks well. He was a plus-3 tonight. Looks pretty good right?"

That's your call, coach. But with that sort of praise and if this sort of consistency continues, Dunn won't be out of the lineup moving forward.

But it's pretty evident that there's a purpose to his game these past three and one with dogged determination, a chip on his shoulder, if you will.

"I'm just trying not to think so much out there," Dunn said. "By the time you're thinking about something happening on the ice, it's probably too late. I'm just trying to play off my instincts and trust myself and trust myself to put me in good positions and they're doing a great job of that. I just need to keep things simple when I can and jump in holes and make offensive plays when I can. It's all about focusing on me and making sure I'm doing my job."

He did his job well when he pinched into the slot and took in a Jaden Schwartz pass and beat Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot and a 3-2 Blues lead in the second period.

"It was a close one on the blue line," Dunn said. "'Rouzie' (Jordan Kyrou) chipped it in deep there. I think 'Schwartzy' turned up in the corner and I think there was a hole in the slot there. 
"The forwards are doing a great job finding us on the points and it's just our job to get it through. To be honest, I wasn't really looking to pick corners there. I'm just trying to make sure it's not getting blocked there by that underneath guy."

Dunn has paired up well the past three games with Niko Mikkola and giving the Blues three solid d-pairs. 

"I guess it was just a reset for me," Dunn said. "I didn't think I was playing that bad, but obviously I had a lot more to give. Obviously that's behind me now and just trying to forget about it."

It had to feel good for Dunn to step out and salute the small but vibrant crowd as the game's No. 1 star, a much better feeling that a week ago on this day.

"It was great," Dunn said. "Obviously even when we had the (300) there, it's nice just having a couple people out there watching. There's obviously even more watching on TV and what not, but to have that many more tonight, that's a good feeling for us and a good feeling for the community. Obviously we're taking strides for the battle against Covid. I think it's just a good feeling not only in the rink but in the city."