MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — By his own admission, Scott Perunovich isn’t much of a rah-rah guy.
And even after finally shedding, not the monkey but the gorilla off his back after scoring his first NHL goal on Saturday in an 8-1 loss against the Washington Capitals on Saturday that tied the game 1-1 in the first period, there still wasn’t a lot of emotion.
“It’s exciting. I don’t show my emotions too much. People were kind of giving me a hard time for not cellying hard or something. I thought it was a nice setup and good pass, execution from everyone. Just feels good to get it out of the way.
“Obviously it feels good. Wish it didn’t take 700 games to get it (counting the injured games) but just finally happy to get on the board.”
The Blues had a play set up off a face-off. Brayden Schenn won it to Jordan Kyrou, who worked the puck to the right point to Matthew Kessel. The Capitals had two skaters tail Kyrou, leaving the left point open for Perunovich to jump into the slot. Kessel, with good vision, found his d-partner and he turned and snapped a quick wrister by Logan Thompson:
“There was a little confusion,” Perunovich said. “I think two guys wound up going to ‘Rou.’ The play worked out perfectly. Literally exactly how they drew it up. Kudos to the forwards for coming up with that.”
It’s no secret that it’s been tough sledding for Perunovich, a second-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and Hobey Baker Award winner, to keep a job in the NHL through setbacks with injuries and eventually, a lack of confidence.
“I’ve had problems with confidence and just trying to have positive talks and trust in myself,” Perunovich said. “Whatever happens is going to happen. I’ve tried playing when I’m not confident and it’s not going too well so I figured I might as well try and make plays and not be afraid to make mistakes.”
With Nick Leddy (lower-body injury) and Philip Broberg (right knee) going down for a extended period of time, it’s thrust Perunovich into the lineup with perhaps a final crack at proving he belongs.
“Obviously it’s tough when guys go down and you don’t want to see anyone get hurt, especially how good these guys are on and off the ice,” Perunovich said. “But it’s kind of like next man up. I’m trying to take advantage.”
He’s certainly taken advantage the past couple games, and as bad as the loss was on Saturday, Perunovich and Kessel somehow managed to be the only skaters to be plus players (plus-1).
In the past two games, Perunovich has played 17:22 and 18:56 after averaging 10:57 his first four games.
“I think I’m feeling a lot more confident and wanting the puck more and moving my feet more,” Perunovich said. “I’m kind of getting into more of a rhythm.”
Blues coach Drew Bannister agreed.
“It was really good to see that (goal) and I thought Scotty played a great game,” Bannister said. “Unfortunately for him and for us as a team we didn’t play well, but I thought Scotty played very well in that game.”
The first goal feeling would have felt nicer with a win, but now this seemingly lengthy feat is finally in the past.
“A win is more important than just a goal,” Perunovich said. “It would have been nice if we capitalized more.”
