The St. Louis Blues have only missed their biggest defenseman for two games so far in 2020. However, regardless of game results, his absence has been felt.
The St. Louis Blues have not been long without Colton Parayko. In fact, to this point, he has only missed three games in the calendar year of 2020.
The Blues have seemingly not missed him, as they continue to have the next-man-up mentality with every new injury they pick up. St. Louis has won two of the three games he missed and were ahead 3-0 and should have won the other game as well.
Still, there is something missing from the squad. That something is the big number 55.
Even though the Blues won two of three, the team’s defense is still shaky. Win or lose, St. Louis has allowed eight goals over three games, and seven came in two games. That is not a solid recipe for success.
Now, you could make a case that the team’s defense was suffering anyway. They gave up seven against Colorado in Parayko’s last game and he played the most minutes out of any defender.
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The difference rests in the eye test. While the Blues were making mistakes against Arizona and Colorado, there was still a certain foundation to the structure.
Now that Parayko has been out a few games, you can see a slight unease in the combinations. Playing with new linemates always comes with risk, but the change could not have come at a worse time.
In spite of the blip that was those bad losses, the defensive combinations had finally settled in. Alex Pietrangelo and Justin Faulk had solidified their partnership and figured out how to successfully put a right hander on the left side.
Parayko was able to return to the combination of he and Jay Bouwmeester. We have not seen a shutdown defensive pair like those two in quite some time.
The third duo was in flux, with Carl Gunnarsson‘s injury and Robert Bortuzzo‘s suspension. Even so, there was usually a more defensive defenseman paired with the offensively gifted, but sometimes defensively challenged Vince Dunn.
It felt like all was as it should be. Then, we get this mystery injury to Parayko. That definitely plays into the frustration. The NHL is under no obligation to tell fans anything, but it is unnerving to not know if upper body injury means he is in concussion protocol or it could be a shoulder injury (another thing plaguing the Blues) or whatever.
Regardless of what the injury is, the Blues are just a different team without Parayko. As the writers at St. Louis Game Time pointed out, Parayko plays an integral part late in games.
As noted in that article, Parayko can quickly dissipate an opposing forecheck because he is quick and has a long stride. That is important because teams will forecheck harder when the Blues are ahead. Without that ability to get away from the forecheck, along with some other mistakes, the Blues coughed up what should have been a sizable lead against Vegas.
From a pure physical standpoint, nobody on the Blues is capable of replacing that. Pietrangelo has the skill, but he’s not the fastest, even if he’s not slow.
Niko Mikkola has the stature, but he’s young and inexperienced. Though he played a solid game against Buffalo, the team is unlikely to put him in high pressure situations yet.
Bouwmeester has the speed, but not the stride. Dunn can move the puck with the stick and he’s quick, but it’s not the same. Bortz is Bortz.
The bottom line becomes the Blues are going to struggle without Parayko if he is gone a significant amount of time.
That is not to say they cannot continue to win. They have done quite well without their leading scorer, but that has been a group effort.
It is harder to do the same defensively, since Parayko has such a significant role in crunch time if a game is close. Your defensive unit can come together and play better throughout a game, but you still have to ask more of individuals in key moments.
Keep your fingers crossed that the big man will return soon.