Justin Faulk has yet to find his stride as a member of the St. Louis Blues this season after a highly anticipated arrival. After signing a seven-year contract extension to stay in the Note, Faulk has struggled a bit.
Maybe it’s wrong to be nitpicking after a strong 11-3-3 start to the season but I was excited about the Justin Faulk trade and I have been a little bit disappointed so far this season. However, despite putting up a minus-5 and six points (no goals) in 17 games, I do not believe that this lull will continue.
The dry spell has pushed Faulk down to the third defensive pairing and has diminished his ice time over the last seven games. He has also been shooting the puck significantly less than in the first part of the year, posting just seven shots on goal in his last seven games. For reference, he took seven shots combined in games two and three of the season.
Throughout his career, the South St. Paul native has averaged 0.46 points per game. This season it has dropped to 0.35 points per game. Defensively, his Corsi For Percentage is just under 50%, meaning the opposition has controlled the puck more than the Blues while Faulk is on the ice.
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There are several reasons for his recent sputter, ranging from his own decision making to the lineup decisions from the coaching staff.
For starters, they have been shifting Faulk’s defensive pairing all season. They seemed fully committed to shifting captain Alex Pietrangelo to the other side of the ice, so he and Faulk could be the first defensive pairing. They quickly gave up on that forcing Faulk to Jay Bouwmeester‘s line and later to the third pairing alongside young gun Vince Dunn.
Not only is he trying to get adjusted to St. Louis after spending the last eight seasons in Carolina but he also has no consistency in his linemate. I believe this is the main reason for the slightly sub-par play on both sides of the ice from 72 in 2019.
Another thing I noticed while looking at his game logs is the number of shots he is taking. Earlier in the season, I was elated to see a Blues defenseman whose first instinct was to rip a shot on goal. In the past, the Blues would continue to pass the puck looking for a perfect shot even if they had a lane to shoot. Faulk came onto the scene and did not hesitate to put a shot on net.
Now it seems as if he is questioning that a little bit. I am not sure why he has taken significantly fewer shots over the last seven games, but I would suggest that continuing to shoot the puck will get him out of his recent funk.
Of course, now that he’s not playing like a strong, top-six defenseman we are seeing his ice time drop a little bit. That could compound the issue even more.
I fully believe that Faulk will find his way out of this recent slump and with the team he has around them, he could EASILY put up career numbers in most categories. To do so, he must continue to shoot the puck and the head honcho, Craig Berube, has to give him consistency to work with. Once he finds his linemate and his St. Louis stride, he will turn into one lethal offensive defenseman.
Don’t be one of those people who will quickly write this player off. We are talking about one of the most highly regarded defensemen in the NHL. Once he finds that consistency in the lineup and finds his groove, we could see some truly eye-popping numbers from the talented blueliner.