SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jaden Schwartz had to face the questions all season long.
Where had his scoring gone? Was something wrong? When was he going to break out of it?
Now, after his second hat trick of the postseason, Schwartz is answering some questions that are a bit more fun.
The 26-year-old forward had just 11 goals in 69 regular season games. Through 18 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he has 12.
He also has the Blues knocking on the door of the Stanley Cup Final.
For Schwartz, he's treated the postseason as a new start of sorts.
"It's a new season," Schwartz said after Game 5. "The playoffs are the most fun time of the year. I definitely had a down regular season numbers wise, but I tried to learn from it and the guys still stuck with me and believed in me and I had to believe in myself just to get that attitude and that mindset back."
Schwartz said you can never really prepare yourself to score a hat trick, and gave a lot of the credit to his teammates and goalie behind him.
"You just prepare the way you usually do," Schwartz said. "Sometimes you get some bounces your way and you need your line mates and you defense and 'Binner' to make some timely saves. We've been a team where depth's got us here and depth steps up every night and tonight was no different."
Schwartz and his line mate Vladimir Tarasenko also appear to be in a groove right now.
Tarasenko has seemed more engaged the past few games, and was a +3 in Game 5 including a breathtaking penalty shot goal.
Back to Schwartz, his 12 goals are the most by a Blues player since Brett Hull's 13 back in 1990. Those 13 goals by Hull are the most by a Blues player in a single postseason in franchise history.
If the Blues keep playing like they did in Game 5, Schwartz should be well on his way to tying Hull's mark, and at the rate he's going, he could speed right past it.