FROM ESPN.COM

Perreault finds new life in Nashville

When Yanic Perreault walked into the Nashville Predators' training camp on a tryout basis in September, his chances weren't particularly good.

The 34-year-old hadn't played during the lockout and during his last season in Montreal the veteran center had been marginalized, relegated to fourth-line and face-off duties.

Plus, to be frank, foot speed has never been at the top of Perreault's résumé, and with speed at a premium in the new NHL, it wouldn't have been a big surprise to count Perreault among those players eclipsed by the new game.

But in the same week that saw Tampa Bay captain Dave Andreychuk pushed off the good ship Lightning, there was the unsinkable Perreault, notching his 16th and 17th goals in a shootout loss to Atlanta.

"It's been great, actually," Perreault told ESPN.com. "They gave me an honest chance to show what I could do."

All the affable Perreault has done is emerge as a crucial power-play specialist who is second on the Predators in goals and third in scoring with 33 points.

He also leads the league in faceoffs with a 62.2 winning percentage (202 of 333 draws). In the new NHL one of the key catalysts to success is puck possession. How do you get the puck? Well, if you win 60 percent of the faceoffs, that's a good start.

"He's been very consistent throughout the year," said talented winger Steve Sullivan, with whom Perreault has played most of the year. "He's such a quiet individual and he's quiet on the ice, too."

At camp, Perreault was pitted against another veteran center, Randy Robitaille, for the job as the team's second-line center.

"Yanic came out of the blue," head coach Barry Trotz said of Perreault's arrival hours before the start of camp. "He started slowly, now he's been playing really solid."

On a team that has battled through a myriad of injuries, Perreault's contributions have been significant as the Predators remain in the hunt for the Central Division crown and home-ice advantage in the playoffs.

Was the father of four children between the ages of 8 months and 7 years worried?

"Absolutely. Especially with the lockout and not playing for a year, you're not sure how things are going to turn out," Perreault said. "Every year now, you've got to show what you can do and prove you can play in this league."