Blues Commitment By Committee Of 'D' Holding True To Form In Absence Of Parayko; Leddy Leading Way By Example

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- It wasn't long ago that St. Louis Blues defenseman Nick Leddy didn't know if he could play hockey again this season.

Heck, for that matter, throw in the notion of if the 33-year-old would ever play again.

But it just goes to show you from one day to the next how things can suddenly change, and in ways nobody could have expected.

When minutes leader and top-pair defenseman Colton Parayko went down with a left knee injury at the end of a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on March 5, it could have signified a devastating blow to a team that had suddenly found its footing and playing its best hockey of the season since the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Sure, it's just a small sample size, but the Blues (31-27-7), who resume their season-long six-game road trip on Thursday against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (26-31-10), have taken the 'next-man-up' mantra quite well.

In the two games following Parayko's injury, which is expected to keep the defenseman sidelined for up to six weeks, the Blues own a 4-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks last Friday and followed it up with a 2-1 overtime loss the Kings the following night, a game in which St. Louis played without not only Parayko but also Parayko's partner, Cam Fowler, who was back in St. Louis for the birth of his son, Beau.

Once again, next man up.

"Obviously injuries are a part of the game and it's extremely unfortunate, especially for a guy of [Parayko's] caliber and you know how well he was playing and how he's contributing to the team," Leddy said. "But this time of the year too, someone's got to pick up the slack. We all (do). Everyone on the 'D' corp's got to pick up the slack and not get out of our game but try and elevate our game.

"Yeah I think so that it's picked up. Whether it's a forward or 'D', it doesn't really matter. Guys will elevate for each other. I think you can tell there's a swagger in the room and there's belief. Guys are excited. Guys want to try and get in that last spot. It's a great challenge for us."

Parayko had already established a career high in goals with 15, tied a career high in points with 35 and was a plus-8 when he went down. His 23:51 average time on ice is an albatross for one individual to fill, so naturally, each of the other blue liners would have to chip away and pick up the slack.

But Parayko and Fowler had become a staple as a top pairing, and someone would have to step into those shoes.

Enter Leddy, who has a bit of experience at this high-end minutes game. In fact, quite a bit of experience.

Prior to this season, Leddy had averaged more than 20 minutes on average per game for the past 11 seasons dating to the 2013-14 season with the Chicago Blackhawks. But in the 11 games since coming back from a lower-body injury, Leddy has been paired on the third d-pair with fellow veteran Ryan Suter, giving the Blues three defensemen with 1,000-plus games worth of experience and someone who's familiar with the higher-end minutes, and Leddy has seized the moment.

"I think in the back of my mind, yeah, but I think at the end of the day, I don't really try and change the way I play too much," Leddy said. "Just try and contribute however way I can for the team. Playoffs is the main goal. Get into playoffs, that's Step 1 and then every round is that next step until the ultimate goal."

In the past nine games, Leddy is a plus-9 and has a goal and an assist the past two games minus the man the Blues nicknamed 'Beast.'

"We kind of expected it," Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. "We've got almost five guys back there with 1,000 games. We've got probably the most veteran 'D' corps in the league that understands what it takes to win and understands different types of situations they're in during a game and what the situation needs. You take 'Pary' out and you put 'Leds' who's got 1,000 games and skates like the wind right onto the first pair from the third.

"Obviously you're not going to replace 'Beast' but it hasn't felt like we've been missing him in a good way. 'Leds' has been unbelievable and all those guys have done a good job of kind of eating 'Pary's minutes. We're so confident in those six back there and everything they bring. Obviously it's on us forwards too to make it easy on them and make it easy for them to break up pucks, be options for them and get the puck out of the zone so they can get off the ice when they can. Everybody's got a role when it comes to replacing a player like that. Everybody's doing a good job of it so far."

Blues coach Jim Montgomery didn't split up Philip Broberg and Justin Faulk, but he knew who could move into the role however long it may be.

"I think he's taking ownership of being a leader of our 'D' corps and also just his presence on the ice," Montgomery said of Leddy. "His game management has been excellent.

"We all know what Colton Parayko means to our team. But good defense has to be a commitment by the team first. You're going to have the best defensive player in the history of the game, Bob Gainey, Patrice Bergeron, whatever player you want to think of, and if they're on a team that's not playing united, they're going to be a minus player in that season too."

When Leddy departed the Blues lineup just four seasons in, nobody knew or expected him to miss the next 50 games, which is why Blues general manager Doug Armstrong went out and acquired Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 14.

Now, Leddy is Fowler's partner for the time being and relishing this role and is grateful.

"Yeah, yeah, for sure. There were times where it was a bit of a grind, but I'm definitely very grateful and I'm happy to be back," Leddy said. "One thing they don't walk about with being out is not being around the guys and that's a huge part of why hockey is so great. That loneliness can kind of get to you when the boys are gone, but the second the guys come back, you can just tell, whether it was a good or a bad trip, it's always great to see the guys. Good or bad trip, you just try and lighten then up a little bit or enjoy the successes.

"It shows a great appreciation of how lucky I have been in my career, how lucky I am to play this game and be around these guys."