Blues center Patrik Berglund didn’t have one of better games Monday against the New York Rangers, and he’s hoping to bounce back tonight against Columbus. Berglund played only 11:42 against the Rangers, which is the least he’s played since Oct. 30 (9:15).

“I had a really bad first period,” Berglund said. ”When I’m playing my best game, my legs are going and I’m skating hard all over the ice. I didn’t do that. I was just standing still on the ice and when I got the puck, I didn’t have any speed. It’s hard to make good plays when you’re standing still. I have to get that up.”

Blues coach Andy Murray benched Berglund for the first portion of the second period. Murray moved David Perron up from the fourth line to the second line, sliding Andy McDonald to center. Then in the third period, Murray put Berglund on the fourth line with Jay McClement and Cam Janssen.

“I talked to him after the second period, I said, ‘Bergy, we’ve had this conversation . . . when you’re not going the way you want, you can’t have a real bad game,” Murray said. “You have to find a way to contribute. I said I’m going to play you in the third with Jay and Cam. I just want you to be smart. Know who you’re playing with, get pucks deeps.’ I thought he simplified his game in the third period. I thought he did a good job. He played easy.”

Murray and Berglund met this morning and talked more about his game Monday.

“We chatted today, and I said, ‘Bergy, what would you do differently?’” Murray said. ”He said, ‘My legs felt a little heavy. I should have just put some pucks in and then got my legs going. I was trying to beat guys one on one.’ He turned it over three or four times. He lost the puck a couple of times in the corner and had no second effort to battle to hang on it. That’s his game. But he’s a young guy and he’s going to have those (games).”

Berglund said: “I think that was a good sign that they benched me. I had something to think about because I wasn’t good enough. It doesn’t matter that he put me on the fourth line. I get the ice time and I can make a difference. It’s tough when you’re sitting at the beginning of the second period for almost 10 minutes. That’s tough. But it’s just up to me, just me who can change it. Here I am now in Columbus, it’s a new game, and I’m glad that it is. I’m real excited to get back in.”

Berglund has obviously had a good rookie season, with 16 goals, 19 assists and 34 points in 51 games. I don’t think anyone believes he’s hitting a wall, but I asked him about that this morning. Is the long season beginning to take a toll?

“The last two years, in my season back home, I played 35-40 regular-season games and then when the season was over, we didn’t make the playoffs,” he said. “Now I’ve been playing 50-something games and I have 20-something to go. It’s going to be a tough road obviously, but I’m excited to be here and it’s so much fun out there playing. I think it’s up in your head. Mentally, if you want to be tired, you’re tired. If you want to be the guy with all the energy, you can be that if you really think that way.”

Berglund will be back on a line with McDonald and T.J. Oshie tonight.

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Speaking of Oshie, he was all over the ice Monday against the Rangers. Listen to these numbers: Oshie played 19:13, was on 27 shifts (tied for most on the team), had only one shot, one hit and took only one face-off . . . but he was once again one of the most noticeable players on the ice.

“Last game, Coach Murray told me in the pregame skate to make sure I was physical, and he told me again before the game,” Oshie said. “I just tried to keep that on my mind at all times. New York had a game the night before and we knew they were going to be tired, so I was just trying to do that, and it paid off in the end.”

Oshie pursues and puts pressure on every opponent with the puck, even if it looks like his pursuit won’t result in anything.

“I guess that’s the way I was brought up to play, starting in high school and college,” Oshie said. “Our coaches told us to never give up and always work hard. Being a little guy, because I was always one of the smaller ones, I just had to work that much harder to get the puck.”

Oshie said he enjoys playing with Berglund and McDonald.

“It’s really good,” he said. ”Me and Bergy already had some chemistry and then it’s hard to step in with Andy McDonald and not have chemistry with him. He talks out there . . . I hear him all over the ice. He just lets me know where he’s at or he calls for the puck. It makes everything a lot easier when you know what everyone else is doing.”

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The Blues will have the same lineup against Columbus as they did against the Rangers, which means defenseman Jay McKee will be a healthy scratch for the third straight game.

“I don’t have a reason to take a guy out,” Murray said, referring to the play of his six defensemen.

(EDIT: Just before game time, Mike Weaver (lower-body injury) became a late scratch and McKee is in the game.)

Defenseman Roman Polak is on the road trip after an X-ray Monday showed that the broken bone in his foot is almost healed. Polak could probably play tomorrow in Nashville, but the Blues may hold him out until Saturday at home.

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Goalie Chris Mason will get his eighth straight start tonight. If he plays Thursday in Nashville, which he’s expected to do, Mason will be starting his sixth game in 10 days.

“It is a lot of work, but when you’re playing, it doesn’t seem to phase you,” Mason said. “I love to play in the back-to-backs. I guess it might catch up to you, but I feel I can do it.”

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Blues right winger Brad Boyes is gaining a reputation as a Blue Jacket killer. He has eight goals and 12 points, along with a plus-4 rating, in 11 career games against Columbus.

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Take a look at Aaron Portzline’s Columbus Blue Jacket blog . . . . Porty and teammate Tom Reed do a great job for the Columbus Dispatch.

Click here for the blog . . .

JR