ST. LOUIS. -- Kasperi Kapanen called Saturday night's game a "special" night for him.
When the Penguins play the Blues at 8:08 p.m. Eastern here in St. Louis on Saturday, it will be the first time Kapanen has the opportunity to play against his former team since being claimed off waivers by the Blues in February.
"There's always extra motivation when you play against teams that you've been on," Kapanen told me after the Blues' morning skate on Saturday. "Especially with (the Penguins), I'd like to think I know the guys pretty well and had a good time there. It's going to be special for me, it's going to be a fun night.
Kapanen has no hard feelings toward the Penguins after the way things ended in Pittsburgh last season. Kapanen spent much of last season on a third line opposite Brock McGinn and centered by Jeff Carter. The line as a whole was a weak spot for the Penguins while it was together, and Kapanen struggled to produce offensively. He had seven goals and 13 assists in 43 games.
"It was a combination of a few things," Kapanen said of what didn't work out for him in Pittsburgh. "There's no point really getting into it. The past is the past. You know, I enjoyed my time there. I really did. And I got to play with some amazing players and met some amazing people, so I'm not going to get into (what went wrong)."
Kapanen shifted into a top-six role with the Blues after he was claimed off waivers, and he thrived. He scored eight goals and six assists in 23 games.
"I felt like the end of the year last year was good for me," Kapanen said. "I was playing well, I was scoring goals and it just felt like I was contributing. I got the chance to play a lot of minutes. The start of this season has been good, too. It's different from Pittsburgh, but you have to adjust. But I got a house and everything and got settled in."
Kapanen is playing on the second line for the Blues to start this season, and he's still searching for his first point after three games. Even though he's been held off the scoresheet, Blues coach Craig Berube has liked what he's seen from Kapanen this year.
"His speed is really noticeable," Berube said of Kapanen. "He's really skating and working, doing a good job with killing penalties and that kind of stuff that we have been doing. He's on the power play now, because (Pavel Buchnevich) is out, and he's got a good shot in that hole. Just his work ethic overall has been outstanding for me."
Kapanen named a couple of reasons for his success with the Blues so far -- a fresh start can often provide a boost, and he thinks that he's a good fit style-wise for the Blues. But the biggest contributor has just been his increased role that he quickly took advantage of."
"The more you play, the more chances you're going to get," Kapanen said. "I think I was put into a role where I was able to maybe play with some players that were a little more offensive-minded and things were just clicking. So I was happy."
Kapanen never seemed to have a bad attitude or get down on himself when things were going south in Pittsburgh last year. He always seemed to have a positive attitude, and he was a good teammate, keeping the rest of the guys laughing in the room.
I asked Kapanen if there are any former teammates he's especially looking forward to facing off against this evening, and he cracked a smile. He's excited to see all of his former teammates, but there's one he's looking forward to playing against a little more.
"Maybe I'll have to pick on Geno a little bit. We'll see."
