Christensen back in scoring form
Logan Christensen had to wonder if he was ever going to score a goal this season.
“That did creep into my head a couple of times,” the Saskatoon Blades forward said. Really, who can blame him? Christensen had gone 31 games without scoring a goal.
It had taken him until Jan. 16, and 25 games, to even register his first point of what is his third Western Hockey League season.
It took him 32 games to finally get his first goal on Feb. 2.
“I knew I just had to keep getting to the dirty areas … keep going and keep grinding and try to not let it get to my head,” Christensen said following practice on Tuesday before the Blades hopped on the bus for Cranbrook to begin a fourgame road swing.
More than anything, it meant “keeping a good mentality.”
Christensen has finally got things going offensively. He now has three goals and three assists in the Blades’ last five games to give him three goals and four assists in 36 games this season.
It didn’t help that Christensen missed 21 games with a lacerated kidney after being cross-checked in a game back in early October.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s kind of been a struggle since I’ve been back (from injury), but I’ve been put on a line with Shmrysy (Braylon Shmyr) and Gerly (Max Gerlach) and they ’re real big offensive guys. To be able to chip in and help the team get some wins here has been great.”
Christensen ended up missing two months of hockey in the middle of the season.
“The recovery process was pretty long,” noted the 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward from Lundar, Man. “Just getting back into shape was the worst part, getting bagskated and the workouts. It was just great to be able to come back and join the team.”
Blades head coach Dean Brockman — who has always been a big fan of Christiansen’s two-way game and solid defensive play — stresses that it takes a “long time” to recover from such an injury and you can’t do much for conditioning while recovering from it.
“That’s a tough thing,” said Brockman. “He’s kind of one of those guys who needs to be always skating and always doing something. When he kept it idle, that’s a long time for recovery.
“I think he’s finally getting back to where he can be. Even to his own admission, it would take a while, but it’s great to see that he persisted and worked hard to the point where he is.
“He’s finally being rewarded.” Which is good news for the Blades, who are hanging onto a WHL Eastern Conference wildcard playoff spot with a 28-26-2-1 record and 59 points.
Saskatoon enjoys a four-point lead over the Prince Albert Raiders (22-23-9-2, 55 points), who have a game in hand.
Saskatoon is five points back of the Regina Pats (29-23-5-1, 64 points), who are currently locked into the other wild-card spot in a three-way race for two berths, but the Pats have played one more game than the Blades and two more than the Raiders.
“As things get tighter, you need contributions and different heroes every night,” Brockman said. “Virtually, we didn’t have him at all for two month. I don’t expect him to be that offensive guy and score a lot, but to play the way he is and score some goals, it certainly helps our team.”
The Blades have upcoming road games against Kootenay Ice, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Calgary Hitmen and Edmonton Oil Kings over the next week.