ST. LOUIS — Brayden Schenn took his gloves off after the St. Louis Blues’ 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, and on his left wrist was a symbol of the whirlwind the past 48 hours had been.
Schenn and his wife, Kelsey, welcomed their third child Thursday morning: a girl, Capri.
Operating on just a few hours of sleep Friday, Schenn scored the game-winning goal in the third period, and then, moments after coming off the ice, showed he was still wearing his hospital bracelet.
The couple’s due date was Jan. 2, so he spoke with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong and incoming GM Alexander Steen about the situation ahead of time. The Blues played on New Year’s Eve against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to Denver,” Schenn said. “I talked to Army and Steener, and they said ultimately the decision was mine.”
Schenn decided to travel with the Blues to Denver, but because the team was staying overnight, he made arrangements to fly home on a private jet immediately after the game.
It was a hard night for everybody in the club, as the Blues fell behind 4-0 to the Avs just 4:39 into the first period. It was 5-0 after the second period, when Schenn checked his cellphone in the dressing room and saw a text from his wife.
“I don’t normally check my phone during the game, but that night, I did,” he said. “She texted me in the second intermission that she was having some contractions. Hard playing the third period, but went out there.”
Schenn played six shifts in the third period of what wound up as a lopsided, 6-1 loss to the Avs. He went straight to the airport and made the two-hour flight to St. Louis.
“In the air, with about 30 minutes to go, she said, ‘We’re going to be going (to the hospital) right when you get home,’” Schenn said. “So, I race home and pick her up, grabbed my bag and then went to the hospital.”
Brayden Schenn scored the game-winning goal in his first game since the birth of his daughter, Capri – and he was still wearing the hospital wristband when he did it.
Schenn’s goal came with 1:33 left in regulation on Friday vs. Vegas – and he’s saving that puck for Capri.… pic.twitter.com/B72N58UPui
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 3, 2026
Schenn got home around 1:15 a.m., and he arrived at the hospital with Kelsey at about 1:45 a.m.
Capri arrived at 5:30 a.m., joining older brothers Huxley and Braxton.
“Family always comes first,” Schenn said. “But at the same time, we play a pro sport where you want to be there for your team and your teammates. You try to have the best of both worlds. There’s some risk involved that you might miss it, but luckily I was there, and most importantly, baby Capri and my wife, Kelsey, are healthy.”
Schenn didn’t go to sleep until about 10 a.m. Thursday, a day off for the Blues, and he was back at the rink Friday for a 2 p.m. puck drop.
“It was a late night, but I slept with (my wife) and the baby at the hospital,” Schenn said. “Came right to the rink this morning and do it all over again tomorrow.”
The Blues turn around after Friday’s win over Vegas and host the Montreal Canadiens at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Whereas Schenn wanted to get out of Colorado quickly for personal reasons, the Blues wanted to get out of town after being embarrassed by the Avalanche. After the first period, the Avs had as many goals (four) as the Blues had shots on goal.
Blues coach Jim Montgomery was asked before Friday’s game against Vegas what kind of response he wanted to see from his team.
“I want to see us fight for each other,” Montgomery said. “I want to see us have more determination in not being denied getting to hard areas and denying people to hard areas.”
There was definitely more determination by the Blues at both ends of the ice against Vegas.
Alexey Toropchenko tied the score at 1 on a power drive to the offensive net.
“That’s what Torpo does for us,” Montgomery said. “When you drive the net on the strong side, we call it the ‘two-hole,’ and it’s the hardest thing to do because usually the defensemen are going to stop you from getting there. It takes great will and courage to be able to take the puck to those areas because you expect you’re going to get hit. That’s why it takes courage, but when you do it, you either score, you create a rebound for a goal or you draw a penalty.”
The Blues got the goal, and for Toropchenko, it was his second of the season.
“Just tried to make hard, simple and smart plays, and it went well today,” Toropchenko said.
Schenn was happy for Toropchenko.
“It’s nice to see Torpo get rewarded because he plays hard every single night,” he said.
Fellow fourth-liner Oskar Sundqvist put the Blues ahead 3-1 on another goal at the net.
“That’s exactly what we (meant before the game),” Montgomery said. “I felt that tonight offensively was one of our better offensive games of being inside the dots and being a little more committed to harder areas.”
Vegas, however, tied the score at 3 with 11:39 left in regulation. But that’s when the Blues pulled some “new dad power.”
Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud went on a two-on-one rush. Snuggerud put a shot on net, and Schenn crashed the net, knocking the rebound past Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart with 1:33 remaining in regulation.
“As a line, we worked tonight but maybe didn’t have a ton of chances,” Schenn said. “(Pavel Buchnevich) made a nice pass to (Justin Faulk), and just a good battle by him on the wall to give us an opportunity with the two-on-one. Jimmy made a good shot, and I was just at the right place at the right time.”
Montgomery loved everything about the goal, especially who scored it.
“We’ve talked about being able to finish on our odd-man rushes, something we haven’t done at an efficient rate this year, and I’m glad (Snuggerud) decided to rip it,” he said. “I just think that’s the hockey gods for Schenner to score a goal for his baby girl that was born yesterday.”
Montgomery called Schenn an “incredible family man.”
“For him to be able to come in and be committed to the team, despite knowing your wife may go into labor, speaks volumes to his commitment to being a pro, and it speaks volumes about him rushing back home to grab his wife and get to the hospital,” he said. “He’s probably running on fumes right now.”
Some fumes, yes, but Schenn said it’s exciting because the family didn’t know whether they were having a boy or a girl and were surprised.
“We actually thought we were having a boy, just the way (Kelsey) was feeling, and we had a baby girl,” he said. “I definitely got a bounce tonight, and it was pretty cool to score that goal for her and Mom.”
Schenn got home in time, and the Blues got a much-welcomed win at home, where they’re 9-9-5 after a 1-4-1 start to the season.
“It was really important after the lopsided loss in Colorado that you come back and get right after it again,” Montgomery said. “The one good thing about our schedule is you don’t have a long time to (celebrate) a good win or get over a bad loss. This sport gives you the opportunity for redemption right away, and the response was nice to see.”