Desperate for defence, Blues activate Perunovich from injured reserve

The Blues will have Scott Perunovich, left, back from injury for Game 4 of their series against Minnesota on Sunday (Scott Kane/AP)

The St. Louis Blues have activated defenceman Scott Perunovich from injured reserve, providing some relief to a team desperately short of rearguards.

The move makes Perunovich eligible to play in Game 4 against Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, with the Blues down 2-1 in their first-round series to the Wild.

Perunovich, 23, has been out of the lineup since Jan. 16 due to a left-wrist injury and has played in just 19 regular-season games for the Blues, collecting six assists. 

St. Louis is playing without defencemen Nick Leddy and Torey Krug, who got hurt on Friday night — a pair that averaged over 20 minutes of ice-time this season. Marco Scandella is reportedly playing through a lower-body injury, so not 100 per cent.

Perunovich played in 17 regular-season games for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he picked up three goals and 19 assists.

More from Sportsnet
Kaprizov, Fleury lead Wild to second win in a row over Blues
Blues’ Torey Krug leaves Game 3 with lower-body injury

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.