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But now that Perunovich is healthy, he was a scratch when the Blues opened the season on Thursday night in Dallas. Perunovich and Marco Scandella were the scratches on defense, along with Nikita Alexandrov up front.

“Right now, just keep working on his game and us coaches keep working with him, and trying to improve him the best we can,� Blues coach Craig Berube said. “He’s still a young guy that hasn’t played a lot of hockey in the last couple years.

“Listen, right now, the six guys we’re got going are who’s going to go right now. He’s got to bide his time and keep working and be prepared. When he gets an opportunity and gets in there, show us what he can do.�

Perunovich had three assists in his five preseason games, and his plus-5 rating was the best on the team. The former second-round pick spent most of last season recovering from a preseason shoulder injury and then played the rest of the season with AHL affiliate Springfield and playing for the United States in the World Championship.

“I thought preseason went all right and got better as the games went along,� Perunovich said. “A couple mistakes I have to work out, and got to gain trust in my ability, and the coaches’ trust, too. Hopefully, just keep taking small steps forward here.�

Perunovich has battled a series of injuries since turning pro after a decorated collegiate career that included two national championships and winning the Hobey Baker Award as the country’s best college player. But he’s only played 26 NHL games since 2020: 19 in the regular season and seven in the 2022 playoffs.

“Given the opportunity, he’s an offensive player,� Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “He has to help on the offensive side of the puck and special teams. But also, he has to be competent in his own end.

“That’s really what we’re looking for is his ability to get back, get to pucks quickly, transition the puck out of our zone and be a good offensive player when he gets that opportunity. Right now, we’re just looking for him to get stable, get comfortable again with the group. It’s been an up-and-down few years for him, and I think stability is important.�

For years, the knocks on Perunovich have been about his size (5-10, 175 pounds) and his defensive ability. But he’s overcome that with creative offensive instincts and a penchant for power play productivity.

At every level of hockey, Perunovich has been offensively dynamic: 0.91 points per game in college, 1.08 in the AHL and 0.80 at the Worlds this summer.

“He has to play games to understand what’s in front of him and to get better,� Armstrong said. “But we’re not going to force feed that. Right now, Craig’s got his lineup set, and we’re going to go with that group. When he gets the opportunity, he has to seize it. That’s the competition, and that’s the job responsibility of every player to seize the opportunity when it’s given to them.�

The Blues’ blue line is heavy on players like Perunovich: offensively talented players who might be undersized, with Torey Krug, Justin Faulk and Nick Leddy. Asked whether the mix on defense contributed to scratching Perunovich, Berube said “that’s part of it for sure.�

Marco Scandella and Tyler Tucker played on the third pairing Thursday night, a heavy pair that can each kill penalties and plays in their own zone. Scandella is now a year removed from hip surgery, and Tucker played in his first opening night lineup on Thursday. Berube said “we like the size on the back end in that five, six spot.�

“He’s being physical, aggressive,� Berube said of Scandella’s play in the preseason. “Again, he’s a good penalty killer. That’s important to have in your lineup night in and night out. He’s a big guy and takes up a lot of space.�

Tucker, 23, is entering his first full season in the NHL after playing 26 games for the Note last season. How does Berube give Tucker enough leash to make mistakes as Perunovich and Bortuzzo wait in the wings?

“Mistakes happen, everyone makes them in the game,� Berube said. “You’ve got to try to limit them as much as you can. We’ll just go game to game here and see how he does.�