Berglund reflects on hat trick in Montreal

MONTREAL - It's a special place.
No matter your level of hockey fandom, die-hard or casual, walking into Bell Centre in Montreal has a distinct feeling. You can't help but get the sense that you are in a place that is much bigger than its 780,000 square-foot footprint.
Inside the doors and in the arena bowl, the seats are colored red and scaled much steeper than the typical American building, giving the impression that the crowd is right on top of the ice. The rafters are crowded with successes and the numbers of those who helped guide them: 24 Stanley Cups, 18 retired sweaters and countless memorable performances, including one from Patrik Berglund last season.

In terms of Berglund, the Blues and Bell Centre, it was a first.
Berglund scored first career hat trick and the first ever by a Blue at Bell Centre in a 4-2 victory against the Canadiens last February. Only one other Blue has scored a hat trick in Montreal: Brett Hull recorded one in a 6-5 overtime loss on Feb. 25, 1990 at the Montreal Forum.

"It was a really good feeling to score my first hat trick," said Berglund. "I had been waiting for it a long time, so obviously it was really big for me. The biggest thing was we came out of here with two points, though. We had a really hard-fought game by everybody, so it was a good feeling."
The timing of the Blues' only 2017-18 trip to Montreal is timely for the big Swede. Despite missing the team's first 24 games recovering from shoulder surgery, he's gone back-to-back games with a goal and according to Blues Head Coach Mike Yeo, his play is getting stronger by the game.
"Two goals in three games is pretty good," said Yeo of Berglund's start. "I might have underestimated how quickly he'd find things. He looks physical, he looks confident. He's got a good shot and he's finding ways to create offense. I think he had seven shots on goal last game (against Minnesota). He put the one in the net but obviously had a number of other chances.
"He looks good to me right now."