When we recall the journey that led Quebecer David Perron to the National Hockey League (NHL), it is not surprising to know that he fully relishes the roller coaster that makes up the playoffs.
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Perron, now 33, used the image himself on Thursday night after the St. Louis Blues’ 4-1 win to tie the series 1-1 against the Colorado Avalanche.
“It’s a big rollercoaster, he illustrated, quoted on the NHL website, after completing the game with two goals. We weren’t happy with our last game [lost 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday]. We probably had two or three players who had played well. Tonight [Thursday] we had the contribution of many more players and it was important to find a way to win a game here abroad.
Perron was personally in his 100th career NHL playoff game. Already a Stanley Cup winner with the Blues in 2019, he is going through a superb streak with seven goals in eight games so far in the playoffs. At this level, he is the first player in St. Louis club history to hit the target that many times in the team’s first eight playoff games since Shayne Corson in 1996.
Even better?
Perron’s career continues to flourish, he who, at 16, had to evolve at the midget B level in Estrie, after being cut off from the Cantonniers de Magog camp, in the midget AAA. He then wore the colors of the Panthères de Saint-Jérôme, in the junior AAA, before finally making the jump to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, for one season, in 2006-2007. Perron was then a first-round pick in the NHL Draft.
“We made some good plays,” added Perron of Thursday’s game. I think we can be even better, which is a good sign when you have just played a good game.
On an individual note, the Quebecer now totals 59 career points, including 22 goals, during the playoffs. And if all goes well, he will play, in 2022-2023, his 1000th regular season game in the NHL. His statistics are 665 points in 973 games. For now, however, Perron is focusing on the rest of the playoffs as the Blues host the Avalanche on Saturday in St. Louis for the third duel between the two teams.
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