Capitals center Mathieu Perreault has given the folks back home in Quebec plenty to cheer about over the last week. He scored a goal in person at Bell Centre against Montreal. Bumped to the top line thanks to an injury to teammate Nicklas Backstrom (concussion) and an illness to Marcus Johansson (food poisoning), Perreault had two assists on Sunday against Pittsburgh. And he topped things off with a hat trick against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday – a game that was televised throughout Quebec on French-language network RDS.
“It’s awesome. You can’t explain that feeling,” Perreault said. “This is what you dream of. You dream to play in the NHL, but when you get a hat trick, it’s even better.”
They call those “earned moments”. Perreault has been in and out of the lineup all season, as likely to take the dreaded scratches’ skate the morning of a game and watch the game from a suite in a suit as to get 10 or 11 minutes of ice time in a fourth-line role. He has played in 29 of Washington’s 48 games. But that playing time has been as streaky as Perreault’s notorious goal-scoring runs. He played in eight of the season’s first 10 games. Then he was scratched nine times over the next 14. He played 10 games in a row in December only to sit seven of 10 games after the holidays. Now, the injury to Backstrom, Johansson’s brief illness and Alex Ovechkin’s three-game suspension have opened up ice time. Perreault is taking advantage.
“Kid’s been working extremely hard all season. He’s been in and out of the lineup,” Caps forward Matt Hendricks said. “He comes to the rink with that smile on his face and he’s got a great personality, great guy to be around. I feel great for him. I’m so happy. Everybody else in this room I’m sure feels the same way. He’s a tremendous asset to our team.”
It wasn’t a perfect game for Perreault. He took a hooking penalty late in the second period that led to a Boston power-play goal that tied the game 2-2. In the third period, with the game still tied, the 5-foot-10 Perreault – and the official roster is being beyond generous there for a player actually closer to 5-8 – somehow high-sticked 6-9 Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, who is probably over 7-foot on skates. Luckily for Perreault his teammates killed the penalty and he thanked them by slamming home the eventual game-winning goal after a dominant offensive shift.
There was no stoppage in play after the penalty expired at 6 minutes, 15 seconds of the third period. The Caps quickly changed personnel and left Perreault on the ice. Boston took one shot on goal, but a takeaway by Alex Semin quickly gained possession for Washington. His wrist shot went wide, came out to defenseman John Carlson, who fired a slap shot wide. Perreault settled himself in front of the goal and tipped a Roman Hamrlik shot. The puck was cleared out to the blueline, where Hamrlik did a great job keeping it in the offensive zone. His next shot was stopped by goalie Tuukka Rask, but Perreault was there for the rebound goal.
“You get that feeling when he’s moving the puck fast and he’s skating,” defenseman Karl Alzner said of nights where Perreault is clearly in form. “You can just tell. He’s winning battles against guys that are almost always bigger than him. In the games where he’s not winning them or not always in the battle you can usually tell it is not going to be a good game. It’s the same for anybody. Tonight he was in the mix with every single guy out there and that’s the result.”
Perreault has played four games in a row and has four goals and two assists during that stretch. Since he’s on fire, Perreault joked he didn’t want the NHL All-Star break to stop his momentum. But Washington may need to rely on him for a few games more on that top line. Backstrom has yet to step onto the ice for more than a few minutes at practice in warm-up gear. Ovechkin has to sit out games against Tampa Bay (Jan. 31) and Florida (Feb. 1). Perreault’s skills are a natural fit for top-line duty – at least in short bursts. But while he’s headed “somewhere south with a beach” for the All-Star break, he can’t exactly bask in his own glory.
“Again, we’re missing top end guys,” Caps coach Dale Hunter said. “But you know, [Perreault’s] got to have a good game in Tampa. This is gone. He’s got to realize it, that he can’t live on it. It’s your next game that counts.”
And that’s long been the knock against Perreault, who according to the Patriot News’ Tim Leone last had a hat trick on Feb. 27, 2010 while playing for AHL Hershey. He has an uncanny knack for quick starts that aren’t sustained. As a rookie in 2009-10, Perreault recorded two goals and four assist in his first eight games in the NHL. He had one point in his next 10 games and was returned to the minors. He was recalled in late March of that season and quickly scored a goal in his first two games back.
Same thing last season. Perreault had two assists in his first game on Oct. 23, 2010. After a short three-game stint he returned Dec. 6 and scored twice vs. the Maple Leafs. But while that kicked off a five-goal December, he had one point in 12 games in January. Perreault actually rebounded with two goals and four assists last February, but was returned to the minors after the trade deadline.
“As I get more ice time, I feel more comfortable and get more confidence out there,” Perreault said. “It’s a big part of my game when I get more ice time, I feel a lot more comfortable. Same way when I was in Hershey – my first two years I wasn’t playing much and once I get more ice time, this is when I feel better.”
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