Sundqvist is Blues version of Swiss Army knife

None other than Oskar Sundqvist, the Blues' version of a Swiss Army knife. 

If Berube needed to move someone up in the lineup, Sundqvist is the guy. If he needed to move someone down in order to provide a boost to a line, Sundqvist is the guy. If he needed an instant boost for a net front presence on the power play, Sundqvist is the guy. If a penalty needed to be killed, Sundqvist is the guy.

The man they all call 'Sunny' is the do-all doers of the hockey club.

"I'll play wherever he puts me," Sundqvist said. "It's that simple. It's easy too. I know what he expects from me. It makes my job a lot easier too."

And that's where the trust factor comes in. Heck, that trust goes back to the days of winning the Stanley Cup when Berube trusted in no uncertain terms Sundqvist, Alexander Steen and Ivan Barbashev to play in any situation and any role.

That's the kind of versatility Sundqvist provides.

"That's the type of player that he is," Berube said. "He's kind of the non-usual type player where I don't think it matters to him. He just says, 'OK, I'll do it,' or if you need him to do this. Surprisingly I used to use him on the power play quite a bit because he's just a guy that understands his job on the power play and does it very well. We spot him here now and then still on the power play and net front or whatever. He's just that type of guy that is a very intelligent player, highly competitive. He just plays the game the right way."

With Hayes moving to a line with Schenn and Jordan Kyrou, Sundqvist was moved up to center Brandon Saad and Kasperi Kapanen. It's a natural fit for a skater that can play both center and the wing, and that way, Berube could slide Nikita Alexandrov in to center the fourth line with Alexey Toropchenko and Sammy Blais.

"I'm just trying to keep playing my game," Sundqvist said. "Obviously we've shuffled around the lineups a little bit and I've got to play with 'Saader' and 'Kapi.' It's just keep building what you've had there. It's fun to get some more ice time obviously."

Sundqvist, who has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 24 games and is a plus-2 on the season, was playing anywhere from 10-13 minutes a night centering the fourth line before the switch. In three games since the move, he has an assist in each game and has provided some offensive capabilities needed to be scattered throughout the lineup by averaging over 15 minutes per game.

"He's been playing good for us this year," Blais said. "Hopefully he keeps going. Yeah it's been really important. You can put him anywhere and he will be the same player. For me, he's a really good two-way player and we're happy to have him on our side.

"He was a big part when we won the Cup. That line he had with 'Steener' and 'Barby' was really good for us. They could play offense, they could shut down their (top) lines. I think he's been the same player since. He can put the puck in the net, make good plays, good on the PK obviously and when he's in front of the net, he's really good too."

Sundqvist draws penalties, his face-offs weren't good earlier in the season but have since improved drastically to 41.4 percent, which is still an area he's working on.

"I'm getting in a rhythm," Sundqvist said. "I'm still pissed off about that one [Thursday]. I think I was 6-0 and lost one and they scored right away. It pisses me off a little bit, but I feel more and more comfortable with it."

Sundqvist uses a particular stick that can be a disadvantage on the dot but has since improved and is putting in the work to get towards that 50 percentile.

"He's improved a lot better," Berube said. "I think that he's just understanding with his stick, there's a lot of flex in his stick. When you have a lot of flex in your stick, it's a little bit more difficult for face-offs because the whip, you end up losing a lot of them off of it. But he doesn't want to change his stick; I don't blame him, that's what he uses. I think he's adjusting to that side of things and what he has to do a little bit better with that whippier stick in the face-off circle.

"I think his work ethic drives people to take penalties. I honestly believe that. It's just his work and the way he plays. Stuff's flying everywhere, the hair and everything. He just gets in people's way and draws penalties. That's just 'Sunny.'"

Berube can always move Sundqvist back to where he started the season on the fourth line, but the coach knows he has someone he can count on to always provide in areas on a whim.

"You've got to try and find a solution that will spark the lineup a little bit," Sundqvist said. "... It's not super uncommon. It's more just trying to find something that works and stuff that is just going to work consistently.

"I'm just trying to play my game."