Newly acquired defenseman gets haircut and picks up assist in NY Islanders debut

If getting traded to the New York Islanders, flying to Long Island for a morning skate, and playing with his new team without a full practice wasn't enough to think about for newly acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich, he also had to find time to take care of his appearance.

After we got a first look at him in an Islanders sweater at the morning skate, wearing No. 26, the 2018 second-round pick and Hobey Baker Award winner looked different when he made his Isles debut against the Colorado Avalanche a few hours later at UBS Arena.

After the game, we learned that Perunovich visited a barbershop between the morning skate and face-off to comply with GM Lou Lamoriello's rules about long hair. We don't know if the Isles GM, a new teammate, or someone else told him something. Maybe he did it all on his own and wasn't willing to take any chances. It was all part of fitting in, which carried over into the game.

“My teammates were helping me the entire game with the systems and questions I had,” Perunovich said. “My partner took real good care of me tonight. It’s a learning adjustment but I’m feeling good.”

By all accounts, it was a successful night. Perunovich played 18:52 and recorded a secondary assist on Bo Horvat's third-period goal that proved to be the game-winner, helping the Isles extend their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 win to close out their seven-game homestand.

"It was a great effort. I haven't been here long, but I can tell this is a really good hockey team, and we played a really good game tonight," Perunovich added. "It was a slow start for me, but my teammates were helping me the entire game with systems and questions."

The trade from St. Louis offers Perunovich a change of scenery and an opportunity at a fresh start with the Islanders to rejuvenate his young career which had started to sputter with the Blues. Given the Islanders injuries, he should log consistent minutes and build a case that he should be part of the team's plans beyond this season.