Preseason games normally don鈥檛 bring the butterflies out of players with more than 100 NHL games under their belt.
But recently in Dallas, Mackenzie MacEachern 鈥 playing in his first game since undergoing shoulder surgery that ended his season in January 鈥 felt them.
鈥淚 played in Dallas on Saturday (Sept. 21), it was my first game in eight months,鈥 MacEachern said. 鈥淚t was a little goofy. It was probably the most nervous I鈥檝e ever been in a long time, just to get hit again. It鈥檚 hard let alone with no injury, but with that, you鈥檙e always scared because you鈥檝e done. You did the surgery. Once I got bumped the first five minutes, I felt normal, I felt like myself again.鈥
MacEachern played in his second game of the preseason on Saturday night as the Blues beat the visiting Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime. A longshot candidate to make the NHL roster, MacEachern is more likely destined for AHL affiliate Springfield, but would have to pass through waivers to get there.
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MacEachern, 30, got hurt on Jan. 27 in an AHL game when he was hit into the curved glass between the benches. Three days later, the Blues announced that he would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery.
鈥淢y shoulder just went and got stuck in there,鈥 MacEachern said. 鈥淜ind of had no where else to go but out. So unfortunate bounce, anywhere else in the rink, I probably would have been fine. Just so happened to be in that particular area.鈥
MacEachern said he started his rehabilitation process in March, began skating in early July and took on full contact in late July and early August. He drew upon his experience with a shoulder injury, knowing what and when he could do in the recovery process.
鈥淚t kind of beats you down,鈥 MacEachern said. 鈥淚鈥檝e done it before, so you never want to go through it once, let alone twice. It was hard to wrap my head around at first, but once I got home, I knew I had a month in a sling to figure things out. After that, it was go time.鈥
MacEachern鈥檚 usage during training camp does little to suggest that the Blues are seriously looking at him to fill a depth role, as he鈥檚 largely been lined up with fellow bubble players such as Nikita Alexandrov or Nathan Walker, or with AHL-bound forwards such as Hugh McGing and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki (who he was scheduled to play with on Saturday night). When the Blues split into NHL and AHL groups, MacEachern was in the latter.
鈥淭hey know who I am as a player,鈥 MacEachern said. 鈥淛ust provide some depth when needed, they brought in a lot of good players, a lot of young, fast players. It makes camp fun, a lot of competition. Just try to go out there, worry about myself and just play my game.鈥
MacEachern played in eight games with the Blues last year, averaging 7:52 of ice time during his time in the NHL. He鈥檚 played 123 career regular-season games in the NHL, all with the Blues despite a year in the Carolina organization.
Blues coach Drew Bannister said 鈥渉e came up and played well for us when I was here.鈥
鈥淔or him, it鈥檚 just getting back to what he does best, which is forechecking, it鈥檚 being physical, using his speed,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got to be around the net.鈥
MacEachern is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Perunovich plays again
Defenseman Scott Perunovich played in his second preseason game of the fall on Saturday night, on a pairing alongside Pierre-Olivier Joseph. During morning skate, Perunovich also practiced with the top power play unit, which has an opening with Torey Krug out for the season due to ankle surgery.
鈥淪cott, in the past, has proved he can run a power play, so we鈥檙e hoping he makes another step forward with that,鈥 Perunovich said. 鈥淚 think coming into this season, Scott鈥檚 had a good summer. Training-wise, he鈥檚 put on some muscle, he鈥檚 gained some weight. Now, it鈥檚 just getting to the defensive side of the game and the compete level in the defensive zone to where we need it to be.鈥
Perunovich would have to pass through waivers in order to be sent to the AHL.