ST. LOUIS -- Scott Perunovich will return for the St. Louis Blues when they conclude a four-game homestand on Thursday against the New York Islanders (7 p.m.; BSMW, ESPN 101.1-FM).
The defenseman will return after missing the past seven games with a lower-body injury sustained late in the third period of a 4-3 overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 28.
"I've just been working with the trainers and them obviously getting me as prepared as I can be," Perunovich said. "Just trying to be smart and listening to them and taking their advice. I'm trying to stay motivated and positive.
"It was kind of a weird hit, a clean hit I think. We just got tangled up there awkwardly. We were thinking about (returning to the game), but there were three minutes left and my gear was off so not really worth it at that point."
The Blues power play has been clicking and Perunovich, who will slide back in on the third pairing alongside Marco Scandella, will quarterback the second unit.
"It's disappointing; I thought I was finding my groove there," Perunovich said. "Hopefully I can just keep it simple and rely on my teammates to help me out.
"I think the power play, special teams are super important and can win you games. Obviously they've been red hot the last however many games. Hopefully I can just keep it going."
Blues interim coach Drew Bannister confirmed Perunovich's return, and to make room for his inclusion back on the roster, the Blues assigned defenseman Calle Rosen to Springfield of the American Hockey League.
"When he was with us, he added an element to that second (power play unit) or whatever unit he was on when he left but we were having success with him on there and we've continued to have success," Bannister said. "Put him in situations where he can have success and he's proven to be a good power-play quarterback."
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Blues defenseman Justin Faulk (lower-body injury) skated for a third straight day, second with the team, on Thursday but will miss his 11th straight game.
Faulk, who was placed on long-term injured reserve on Wednesday, was injured on Jan. 23 against the Calgary Flames.
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The Blues' projected lineup:
Pavel Buchnevich-Robert Thomas-Jordan Kyrou
Zachary Bolduc-Brayden Schenn-Jake Neighbours
Brandon Saad-Kevin Hayes-Kasperi Kapanen
Alexey Toropchenko-Oskar Sundqvist-Nathan Walker
Nick Leddy-Colton Parayko
Torey Krug-Matt Kessel
Marco Scandella-Scott Perunovich
Jordan Binnington will start in goal; Joel Hofer will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Sammy Blais, Nikita Alexandrov and Tyler Tucker. Justin Faulk (lower body) is out.
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The Islanders' projected lineup:
Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom-Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin-Kyle-MacLean-Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov-Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly-Scott Mayfield
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal; Ilya Sorokin will be the backup.
Healthy scratches include Samuel Bolduc and Sebastian Aho. Casey Cizikas (upper body), Robert Bortuzzo (lower body) and Hudson Fasching (lower body) are out.
