Another poor start; no heart, emotion, energy, effort; Blues just lacking star talent on this roster On Jan. 27, the St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/]traded defenseman Scott Perunovich to the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/blues-trade-defenseman-to-islanders]in exchange for a conditional 2026 fifth-round pick. He became the odd man out on St. Louis' blueline, as evidenced by being scratched for 26 games [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/blues-trade-perunovich-to-islanders] by the Blues this season. Thus, he was due for a change of scenery. The fresh start is paying off nicely for Perunovich early on. In his Islanders debut on Jan. 28 against the Colorado Avalanche, he had an assist and a plus-2 rating in 18:52 of ice time. He then followed that up by recording another assist and a plus-1 rating in New York's last game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 30. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyNTM3NTgwMDQ0OTUzMDk3/usatsi_22607099.jpg] With this, Perunovich is making a good first impression with his new team. If the Hibbing, Minnesota native continues to produce offense from the point, he could cement himself as a nice piece of the Islanders' defense. In 97 games over three seasons as a Blue, Perunovich had two goals, 29 points, and a plus-4 rating.
