In the final two games of the season, the Blues might not have much to play for.
ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were eliminated from postseason contention late Friday night when Vegas beat the Wild. They are currently slotted into the No. 16 pick in the draft, and have a four-point lead on Washington, making a climb to No. 15 unlikely. They can’t play spoiler in games against the eliminated Kraken and the division-leading Stars.
So the organizational attention has to be on individuals, and perhaps none as much as defenseman Scott Perunovich.
Perunovich has played the last three games on the top pair alongside Colton Parayko, stepping up in responsibility from his typical third-pair sheltered minutes and power play time to facing top-six talent and logging upwards of 20 minutes a night.
“Have to play smarter, make better decisions,†Perunovich said. “It’s nice you can kind of get more of a rhythm, but definitely more of a step up.â€
In the loss to the Hurricanes on Friday night, Perunovich played a season-high 21:59. It was the fourth straight game that the Blues played Perunovich more than 20 minutes — the only times all year he’s been above that number.
As Torey Krug has missed time with an upper-body injury, Perunovich has taken over on the top power play unit, and garnered 6-on-5 duties as well.
What has Blues interim coach Drew Bannister learned about Perunovich with the added responsibility recently?
“His puck play has been outstanding,†Bannister said. “There’s times in the games when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick that we have to get him to be more assertive, and I know he knows that as a player. It’s just got to be a constant in his game. I’ve seen strides in it, but we want to see more strides in his game in that sense when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick.â€
On Friday night, Perunovich erred with the Blues net empty, losing a battle with Jake Guentzel in the neutral zone and allowing the Hurricanes to seal the game with an empty-net goal that gave them a two-goal lead.
It was a situation that Perunovich hasn’t been put in often this season, as he played 34 seconds with an empty net on Friday, the fourth-most for him across the entire season, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“He’s just got to be stronger in those situations,†Bannister said. “Those are situations that he wants to be in, so you have to perform. You have to put the performance on the ice. You can’t just put it on one person. There’s five other guys on the ice that have to do their job, too.
“That was an opportunity for him to show to us that he’s ready for those situations. Not that he didn’t perform to what we expected him to, but certainly that play in the game, we would want more from that person in that position.â€
In the final two games, Perunovich will continue to play for his NHL future.
A pending restricted free agent in the summer (he would have been a Group 6 unrestricted free agent had he played fewer than 74 career regular season and playoff games), Perunovich is trying to make a case as part of the future on the Blues blue line.
Perunovich has 17 assists in 52 games this season and should expect a raise from his league-minimum $775,000 salary in the summer. Calen Addison signed a one-year deal at $825,000 after a 29-point season in Minnesota, for example.
Is Perunovich looking at these last two games to set himself up for next season?
“I haven’t really thought about that,†Perunovich said. “Obviously, just missed the playoffs yesterday. Every game is obviously important to me, and trying to improve your game and prove that you belong. Next few games are obviously important for me and a lot of guys. So try to go out there and put my best foot forward.â€
The Blues knew the tail end of the season could be used for evaluation purposes, and that could have been part of the decision to dress younger lineups beginning last week in San Jose.
Hours after the Blues were eliminated from postseason contention, the team returned to practice to pick up the pieces of a fizzling season and to prepare for the final two games. The reality that four days remained in the season set in. So the coaching staff conducted a lighter practice.
“To be realistic, guys are still in mourning this morning,†Bannister said. “I guess that’s probably the easiest way to put it. It’s a tough day to come to the rink, so it’s a tough day. You don’t want to grind them. Reality’s setting in of where we’re at, and how far we’ve come. Now, we have two games left. Today is get through it, refocus ourselves the rest of the day and make sure when we come in tomorrow, we’re prepared to play, and play a hard, energetic, physical hockey game.â€