I realize this may not be the most shocking news in the world but certainly news nonetheless, sources confirm David Perron will not attempt a return this season.

Perron has been limited to only ten games played this year after being rocked by San Jose Center Joe Thornton back on November 4th. Perron has yet to get past very light exercise and is not close to getting back on the ice. I wrote a few weeks back that it made little sense to rush Perron back before the end of the season and I’m told they won’t. The main focus for Perron and the Blues is to now focus on getting healthy and prepared to play the 2011-2012 season.

The team has yet to publicly announce an end to Perron's season but sources confirm he will not be attempting a return.

Without question, a Perron return will be the top story heading into training camp next fall.

Boom-Shock-Halak…

Let’s not pretend this wasn’t a huge game for Jaro Halak. Beating his former teammates meant an awful lot to this guy after he was traded last summer. Halak put millions into the back pockets of the Montreal Owners last spring before he was shockingly sent to St. Louis.

The season hasn’t gone as planned for Halak or the Blues but sticking it to the Canadiens will somewhat cushion the blow of not making the playoffs.

For a game with this much buildup I was somewhat surprised by the lack of intensity for most of the game. This was especially the case on the Montreal side who may have been affected by the loss of Max Pacioretty who broke his neck a few days before.  It was good to hear Pacioretty was released from the hospital on Thursday. He will need to wear a neck brace for the next 2-4 weeks.

Halak looked sharp early making a pretty big pad save off a line rush as Ryan White let a shot go. White had David Desharnais available on the weak side who may have had a better scoring opportunity.

The Blues have now reeled off three in a row after also sweeping Columbus in a home and home set.

Halak didn’t need to be spectacular but he was better than solid stopping 27 of 28 shots en route to earning the games first star.

I had a good conversation with Lars Eller who was the main piece in the trade going to Montreal. He was obviously frustrated with his team’s performance as they never seemed to get it going. Montreal struggled getting to the hard areas and seemed to be standing still much of the game.

I did a few radio shows in Montreal on Thursday including the post-game show on the flagship station. For some odd reason there seems to be a lot of anger directed at a player who is still getting his feet wet at the NHL level. Eller has come on in recent games and had some moments during the game on Thursday. I really don’t think you can come to a conclusion as to who Lars Eller is as an NHL player this early into his career. He was never projected to be a superstar and the expectations for this kid appear to be somewhat unrealistic. He still has plenty of time to get his game in order and develop into a solid NHL performer.

With all he attention on Halak and Carey Price, this game also meant a lot to Eller and Blues forward Matt D’Agostini.

There was a decent amount of money put on the Blues board prior to the game. Still the amount wasn’t close to the number Erik Johnson threw up when Colorado visited St. Louis just a few days after the blockbuster trade.

 
Andy McDonald continued his spectacular play recording another goal and two assists. His speed and tenacity on the puck does nothing but create chaos out there.

D-man Carlo Colaiacovo has a pretty big opportunity staring at him with the injury to Barret Jackman. Can Colaiacovo be counted to play top four minutes? We’re about to find out. He kept things really simple and played a solid game that also saw him see some time on the PK. Alex Pietrangelo tells me he and Colaiacovo have great chemistry both on and off the ice and he really likes playing with him. Colaiacovo has an opportunity to make a statement to close out the rest of the season.

Speaking of Pietrangelo, it was interesting to see him wearing the “A” in the absence of several players. He was once a Captain in Niagara during his OHL days and was an Alternate Captain for Canada in the World Junior Championship.

Patrik Berglund didn’t seem to have his best game on Thursday night as for one reason or another he kept drawing his linemates off sides.

I do want to say this in regard to Dave Checketts being noticeably absent on Monday night when the Blues honored the four players including Keith Tkachuk. Word is Checketts had a family matter that prevented him form attending the game. He had his entire family in St. Louis the week before.

The fact that Mike McCarthy, Checketts right hand man, was involved in the pre-game ceremony shouldn’t go unnoticed. McCarthy does deserve some props for finding a way to sellout a relatively meaningless Monday night game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was nice for at least one night to put all the Ownership stuff aside and recognize some of the better players in franchise history.

Garry Unger will be back in town this weekend to receive the Spirit Award at the annual St. Louis Amateur Hockey Hall of Fame Dinner. The event takes place Sunday March 13th at the Downtown Millennium hotel as plenty of tickets remain.

  
Blues Buzz airs this Monday live from Johnny Mac’s sporting goods.

More to come,

Andy Strickland
strickland.andy@gmail.com