Injury Updates: Perunovich, Kassian, Karlsson, Rowney

Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich recently completed his five-game LTIR conditioning assignment with AHL Springfield where he had a goal and an assist.  However, as Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic points out (Twitter link), the 23-year-old remains on LTIR and head coach Craig Berube indicated that Perunovich is still being evaluated.  It’s unclear if this is a flare-up of his upper-body injury or something else entirely but it appears as if St. Louis will be without the young defenseman for a while yet. His continued presence on LTIR will make it that much harder for them to bank any cap space in an effort to give themselves any sort of wiggle room to try to add before the upcoming trade deadline.

More injury news from around the NHL:

• The Edmonton Oilers had Zack Kassian back on the ice today as he continues to recover from a broken jaw, according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The veteran forward hasn’t played since February 9, when he left a game against the Chicago Blackhawks after taking a puck to the face. Kassian was wearing a full cage to protect the injury and it is still not clear when he’ll actually be back in the Oilers’ lineup.
• The Sharks are hoping to have defenseman Erik Karlsson back in the lineup on Thursday, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He has been out for the last six weeks with a shoulder injury that has been giving him trouble since the start of the season although it hasn’t held him back offensively as the 31-year-old has 26 points in 31 games.  Pashelka adds that blueliner Jaycob Megna could also return on Thursday.  The 29-year-old underwent surgery last month to repair a foot fracture, one that carried a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks.  It appears he’ll be on the short end of that range.
• Red Wings winger Carter Rowney left Friday’s game with what appeared to be a foot injury, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. He had just come back from a lower-body injury that cost him 17 games, scoring in two straight before last night.  Veteran penalty killing forwards are often something playoff teams look to add by the deadline but this injury may end any chance of Rowney being on the move by March 21st.