Kessel, Perunovich, Joseph rotating in and out of lineup, Bannister waiting for someone to grab it and run
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- P.O. Joseph, Matthew Kessel and Scott Perunovich, come on down.
The St. Louis Blues defensemen can easily be contestants on 'The Price is Right,' auditioning to stay on the Blues' third defensive pairing.
One game, it's two while the third sits, then it rotates to someone coming out, and the other comes in.
Perunovich was the odd man out along with Joseph at the outset when the Blues (5-6-0) were healthy enough to have eight on the opening night roster, and Kessel opened on the bottom pair with Ryan Suter; he has played eight games (zero points) but was a healthy scratch on the first two of the most recent four-game road trip.
Joseph made his debut Oct. 11 against the Vegas Golden Knights and had played in six straight games until having a bit of a hiccup -- like the rest of the team -- while going minus-4 last Tuesday in that 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Ottawa Senators before being scratched Thursday. Joseph has played in seven games and has one assist.
Perunovich made his season debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs Oct. 24 and has played in three of the past four games.
"I think all three of them have played some real good games, really strong games for us," Blues coach Drew Bannister said. "I think it just comes down to consistency and grabbing that job so we don't feel like we have to rotate those players in and out. Whether it's Scotty or P.O. or 'Kess,' I think at times they've played very well for us. And going back to last year how well 'Kess' played for us and P.O., how he had a great training camp for us and earned ice time. And then Scotty not getting the ability to play early on in the season for us and then coming into Toronto and having an outstanding game and earning more ice time.
"When they get those opportunities, they've played well. They have to make sure asa group, they've got to follow it up."
With Nick Leddy (lower-body injury) currently out and likely to miss an eighth straight game on Saturday against the Maple Leafs, two of the three will remain in the fold, but when Leddy does return, it could likely spell for a waiver stint for the one that doesn't jump up and grab a permanent role.
On Friday, Joseph and Kessel were the third pair, and Perunovich, who played Thursday, was the extra.
