The Blues power play will look a little different this season.
Without primary quarterback Torey Krug available because of season-ending ankle surgery, the Blues will have to fill out their units without the certainty of Krug at the point on the top unit. The answer seems straightforward: Justin Faulk has done the job before, and Scott Perunovich counts running a power play as one of his specialties.
But there are other factors that could make the decision not as cut and dried for Blues coach Drew Bannister and his staff.
Whether it鈥檚 on the top unit or the second unit that he鈥檚 gotten familiar with in recent years, Faulk figures to collect power-play time in some capacity. He鈥檚 been a mainstay on the man advantage since he arrived in St. Louis but has scored just six total power-play goals in his five years 鈥 or as many as he scored during his final season in Carolina in 2018-19.
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鈥淲e know Faulker can run a power play,鈥 Bannister said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淚 like that he shoots the puck, and that was something that we harped on last year was getting more pucks to the net. Obviously, having more traffic, more of a stabilizing force around the net on the power play. He can shoot a puck.鈥
When the Blues found success on the power play in the second half of the season, a lot of it could be attributed to Jake Neighbours playing at the net front and generating traffic. With Neighbours likely to reprise that role, it could make sense for the Blues to lean on the shoot-first Faulk.
Perunovich is the opposite of that. After 73 regular-season games, he鈥檚 still looking for his first NHL goal, in part because he passes up too many shooting opportunities. But when Perunovich is running a power play well, the puck moves quickly and he spies the passing lanes to open teammates.
鈥淲here Scotty鈥檚 more cerebral, he likes to move the puck,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a difference between the two, but I also think, with Scotty, this isn鈥檛 something new that we haven鈥檛 talked to Scotty about; he has to be willing to shoot the puck more. That鈥檚 something we鈥檙e looking for early on when he鈥檚 in those situations, that not only is he distributing but he鈥檚 able to get more pucks to the net.鈥
The thing holding back Perunovich could be his ability to even crack the Blues lineup on defense. With a potential six-man group of Colton Parayko, Nick Leddy, Philip Broberg, Ryan Suter, Matthew Kessel and Faulk, it鈥檚 possible Perunovich will have to fight to even get on the ice, let alone on the power play.
Even if Perunovich is not in the lineup, the Blues have plenty of veterans who have run a power play at some point of their careers. Suter (254 career power-play points) did so all of his career until last year in Dallas. Leddy (122) has experience from the Islanders. Even Parayko (43) slid into that spot a little bit last year.
But what about Broberg?
He鈥檚 the former No. 8 pick who the Blues signed as a restricted free agent this summer to a fat $4.58 million cap hit for two years. In Edmonton, Broberg wasn鈥檛 on the power play, but he did play on a unit for AHL affiliate Bakersfield.
With an entrance into the St. Louis organization like that, perhaps the Blues would want to see what he could do with offensive opportunity? Maybe not.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 going to be somebody that, early on, we鈥檙e going to get him (penalty) killing, he鈥檚 going to be playing quality minutes in certain situations,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淏ut we have to find roles for everybody. We don鈥檛 have to double up on things. We鈥檒l see how he comes in. I would that under the circumstances, he鈥檚 going to probably feel a little bit of pressure, too. We want to minimize that as a coaching staff and let him get his feet underneath him also.鈥
Krug鈥檚 absence opens up an opportunity for another defenseman to make his way on to the 23-man roster, as well.
鈥淣ot having him is going to be tough, and we鈥檙e going to ask some guys to have to step up,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淎 guy like Matthew Kessel, we believe, is going to take a step for us. We bring in Ryan Suter, who鈥檚 a veteran presence, has played a lot in this league, that鈥檚 going to be able to bring some of our young players along.
鈥淲here does P.O. Joseph fit in? Where does Scotty Perunovich fit in? Where does Tyler Tucker fit in? I鈥檓 excited to see that competition, and they鈥檙e going to sort it out themselves.鈥