"Obviously he's a big part of our team, great player, works hard," defenseman Colton Parayko said. "Obviously puts up a lot of points, but with that being said, it is what it is and we've got to make sure that we put our best foot forward with the group that we have here and that's our main focus right now, is doing our best job with the guys that we can put on the ice right now."
Perron led the Blues with 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists) in 56 games this season. He was the first point-per-game player for St. Louis since
Pavol Demitra
scored 93 points in 78 games in 2002-03.
Perron was placed in protocol Sunday and it's uncertain if he will return for Game 2 of the best-of-7 series on Wednesday.
"He's a top scorer on our team this year," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "We'll miss him in a lot of areas. He's been a real good player all year, 5-on-5, power play. ... Listen, we've been fighting injuries all year. It's no different right now. It's another player that's out. We just got to keep going and somebody will step in and do the job."
Perron is usually on the right wing with Ryan O'Reilly at center, but Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn were on the top forward line with O'Reilly on Sunday.
"Obviously it's frustrating and [Perron is] in protocol and such, but he's the heart and soul of this team," O'Reilly said Sunday. "Phenomenal player, and I think I've played with him most of the time I've been in St. Louis. [We've] relied on him a lot. We'll see. Hopefully we get through fine, but yeah, it's frustrating.
"Obviously 'Schenner,' I've played with quite a bit even this year. [He's] such a good two-way player that literally does everything. It's easy for myself when you've got him and 'Schwartzy' too, his work ethic, the way he sees the game, the little plays he makes. It's going to be an effective line. If we go out there and we work, we're going to find a way to turn pucks over and create momentum and create offense and we've got to be leading the way."
Perron also led the Blues with 21 power-play points (six goals, 15 assists) and 151 shots on goal. He was one of four Blues (O'Reilly, Schenn, Justin Faulk) to play in all 56 regular-season games.
"It's no secret he's a good player, leading scorer for us, puts up a ton of points, does a lot of good things," Schenn said. "But what I've been saying is you can't worry about who's out. You have to focus who's in our lineup and who's ready to play tonight. We're ready for the test of the challenge. Obviously people are writing us off, but in our locker room, we believe in ourselves."
The Avalanche said they won't alter their game plan whether Perron plays or not.
"I don't know what could change," Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon said Sunday. "Obviously he's a sniper, he's a great player, but nothing changes for us, we're just trying to play our best as possibly as we can on both sides of the puck. Whoever has the puck for them, we're going to track hard and play 'D' very hard, so whether that's Perron or somebody else we're going to give respect to everybody on their team.
"We're not going to ease up because he's out. We have to keep our intensity high throughout every shift of the game tomorrow and all the future games."
The Blues will get a boost with the return of forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who has missed eight of the past nine games, including the past six, because of a lower-body injury.
Tarasenko, who scored 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 24 games this season, practiced Sunday on a line with Tyler Bozak and Ivan Barbashev.
"He's been a good playoff performer for the Blues in the past (49 points in 74 playoff games) and we'll need him tonight for sure," Berube said. "He looks fine to me and he's moving well, so it's good to see."
St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn, who missed the final 11 regular-season games with an upper-body injury, did not skate Sunday due to what Berube called a "bug," and will not play.
