After every game this season, David Perron has stood in front of his locker and answered questions from the media. The veteran has spoken about leadership, power-play improvements, on-ice responsibilities and his linemate James Neal’s hot start. The one player Perron hasn’t spoken much about is himself. Even after last night’s game, he somehow found room to credit Neal for Perron’s two-goal performance.
It feels good. I pride myself in practice, putting the work in, and shooting the puck. When you play with a guy like Neal, it’s fun to find him in situations. I try to have more confidence in my shot but maybe I’m more of a set-up man with him. It’s good too see a couple of pucks go in for sure. Getting the winning goal is exciting. -David Perron
It’s interesting to hear Perron call himself a set-up man for Neal. The veteran winger has said before, he’s a shooter. After all, he has scored 161 career goals. Offensively, Perron has been one of the most consistent Golden Knights so far. Take a look at his game logs from this season.
10/06 @ Dallas: 25 Shifts, 20:03 TOI, 5 Shots, 2 Hits, 50% FOW
10/07 @ Arizona: 23 Shifts, 19:04 TOI, 5 Shots, 1 Assist, 1 Hit
10/10 vs Arizona: 22 Shifts, 16:25 TOI, 1 SOG, 1 Assist, 1 Hit
10/13 vs Detroit: 21 Shifts, 18:19 TOI, 1 SOG, 1 Assists, 1 Hit
10/15 vs Boston: 26 Shifts, 19:51 TOI, 2 SOG, 100% FOW, 2 PIM
10/17 vs Buffalo: 25 Shifts, 20:02 TOI, 3 SOG, 2 Goals
His consistency game by game is what any coach would want from a top-line forward. He’s second behind Neal in SOG (17), Points (5) and game-winning (1) goals.
He’s a veteran player and I know all of our veteran players when they get their first goal is a big relief off their shoulders. He’s been playing well for us and working hard. Tonight, was a big night for us. He finally got those goals and he got two nice goals. Any time you get the winner in overtime is a nice feeling. Good for David. Like I said, he’s one of veteran players and one of our leaders. Top six guys that we talked about. -Gerard Gallant.
To keep winning, Perron will have to continue producing for the Golden Knights offense. Now that he broke the seal, I wouldn’t be surprised if #57 continued to pound the puck. Look out for his velvety hands, as one announcer called Perron’s puck handling. Back to leadership though, look at his past quotes. Perron talks about the team, and not himself.
October 14th: Moving forward after a bad team loss
You just got to regroup yourself on the bench. Each individual, whether you made a mistake should go back the next shift and reapply certain details. Making sure you don’t turn the puck over, making sure you’re forechecking and working hard for other teammates. -Perron
October 12th: Power play improvements
I think we’ve improved definitely. I think our execution can be much better. We lose pucks that we shouldn’t right now, and that prevents you from having more zone time. There’s always puck luck, but we need to create our own luck. -Perron
October 5th: Being named an Alternate Captain
Any leaders best quality is to do it on the ice. Lead by example by playing the right way. It’s not really what you say but doing the right things on the ice. -Perron
Perron leads on and off the ice, giving his team a strong effort, and standing by his locker answering tough questions. Although, let’s face it, with only one Vegas loss Perron hasn’t dealt with any tough questions.
Instead, he’s answering soft-balls from the SinBin.vegas. “David, is it fun sending 17,000 fans home happy?”
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