Brendan Perlini's start with the Blackhawks hasn't been ideal. He has zero points and is a minus-6 rating through six games since being acquired — along with Dylan Strome — from the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Schmaltz on Nov. 25.
In his most recent game, Perlini logged only five shifts and was benched for the final 28:28 in a 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Two days later he found himself a healthy scratch. It's been a little more than two weeks now, but Perlini is still trying to find his role in Chicago.
"You always want to be playing, but I always take the positive in everything and try to improve no matter what the situation is," Perlini said. "It's always tough, you come into a new situation, new things going on, you don't know too many people. ... There's a lot of things going on. I just have to stay focused on what I can do to help the team improve each day."
Is he feeling some pressure to live up to the trade and trying to do too much early on?
‘‘Nah, not really,’’ Perlini said. ‘‘I’m an easygoing guy. I just like to come and play hockey, and that’s it. I don’t think crazy things and blah, blah, blah. I just like to have fun, do my thing, work hard, improve. Hopefully the rest falls into place.’’
The Blackhawks aren't asking too much out of him. He's not going to produce big numbers offensively because that's not the kind of player he is. At 6-foot-3, 211 pounds, Perlini is more of a power forward and the Blackhawks want him to be harder to play against so that he can turn into a consistent top-9 forward.
"We just want him to have a little more urgency without the puck," coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Skate, work, work away from the puck, and I think he'll put himself in good situations."
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Perhaps it's a little more difficult to establish your role when the team is on a seven-game losing streak because there's lots of mixing and matching going on as they search for the right formula to break out of it. Perlini (and Strome) has yet to be a part of a win with the Blackhawks, which probably isn't helping as they get acclimated to their new locker room.
But it's also an opportunity to take control and make an impact when things aren't going your way, both individually and as a team, and learn from some of the veterans who have three Stanley Cups on their resume.
"I'm just trying to improve with different things every day and learn off the guys," Perlini said. "Obviously, some unbelievable players. The team is going through a skid, but you take a look around the room — [Jonathan] Toews, [Patrick] Kane, all the guys who have won things and done tremendous things in the game — those are the guys you want to be around and learn from and improve from. For me, regardless of what the situation is, I’m always going to try to improve and better myself.’’