‘Chirping’ Perron get the job done
Oilers winger a scoring threat and an irritant
There’s a lot not to like about David Perron’s game if you are on the other side of the rink. He has irritating inclinations to charge the net, run his mouth, utilize his stick for more than goal scoring, which is also something he is prone to do.
All reasons Sam Gagner prefers having the pesky winger in an Edmonton Oilers uniform.
“A guy like Marty St. Louis doesn’t say a word out there. He just plays. Then you have David,” said Gagner. “He gets himself going by chirping and getting in guys faces. It’s definitely effective for him.
“It just allows him to keep his intensity through the game (but) it’s definitely nice to be on this side of it.”
Perron put up a career-high four points in Tuesday’s 7-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, registering a pair of assists and scoring twice, which has since pushed him into the team lead with seven goals.
Ironically, his big night came on the same night that Magnus Paajarvi scored his first goal — first point, actually — as a member of the St. Louis Blues.
The two traded places in the off-season, and it’s been a much easier transition for Perron, who has settled into the Oilers’ top nine and will head into Thursday’s game against the Florida Panthers with 17 points, trailing only Jordan Eberle (18) on the team list. Paajarvi has played just six games for the Blues.
“When he’s moving his feet and finishing his checks and is playing with a little bit of agitating game, he’s very effective. It’s almost like his hands light up too,” said coach Dallas Eakins, who will send Perron out again with Boyd Gordon and Ryan Smyth against the Panthers.
It is unlikely there will be any lineup changes given that the head coach said he’s reluctant to mess with a roster that has just strung together consecutive wins.
When Eakins was working for the Maple Leafs, he scouted Perron at the Memorial Cup and has been keeping tabs on him since.
As for Perron, he said he started polishing his shiftdisturbing ways back when he was tagging along after his older brother Pascal.
“I was always playing with him and his friends growing up,” he said. “I hated to play with kids the same age as me because I thought they weren’t good enough. And I was doing the same things back then, slashing them, but no one ever jumped me because I was just the little brother.
“There are just games where things aren’t going as well as you’d like, and you need to get yourself going. And sometimes it’s the other team that gets you going,” continued the 25-yearold who is under contract through the 2015-2016 season. “For some reason, I love when the other team yells at me.”
What has changed for Perron since he relocated is the position the Oilers find themselves in the standings. The Blues were in the playoffs three of the last five years while Edmonton hasn’t seen a playoff game since the 2005-2006 season.
The Oilers may have scored 11 unanswered goals in the last four periods they have played but they are still in 29th place.
“When I looked at the standings this morning, we were still in the same old place,” Perron said. “We need to get on a streak. St. Louis is a mature team, and they have a chance to go all the way. I wish them good luck, that’s a team I spent six years with. For us, it’s about trying to bring some of that mentality here.
“That winning feeling we’ve had the last few days, we have to get every day. It’s something we talked about three, four years ago in St. Louis, and look at what they’ve done. Once you get that, it seems like you can get on a roll for a few years.
“I have always wanted to win. When I was a kid, I was probably the worst loser. We could drop a ball down the hallway, and I’d be really frustrated if I didn’t get it first. It wasn’t always pleasant for my parents.”