ST. LOUIS -- It was a play that's been synonymous with Colton Parayko's game to begin the 2023-24 season.
Let's not overlook Parayko's entire game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, because the 6-foot-6, 228-pound defenseman was a factor throughout in a 4-2 win Saturday, even scoring what turned out to be the game-winner, but when a puck was dumped into the Blues zone by Penguins captain Sidney Crosby with 9:30 remaining in the third period with the Blues holding a 3-1 lead, Parayko used his speed to cleanly retrieve the puck with forward Jake Guentzel trailing on his back like super glue.
It didn't matter.
Parayko cleanly retrieved the puck on his backhand, in stride, skated around the Blues net, left a vapor trail of dust behind him, leaving Guentzel in it going coast to coast, and as Blues play-by-play voice John Kelly eloquently said, "Like butter on toast."
Yes, Guentzel was at the end of his shift, but he had no inkling to engage in the big guy steamrolling up the ice. He peeled off waving the white flag.
This has been Parayko through four games. This is who the Blues were hoping to get back from the one that's been somewhat MIA the past couple seasons, and with good reason from a physical standpoint, this is the Parayko that makes partner Nick Leddy go, this is the Parayko that has to be the catalyst that helps the Blues (2-1-1), who face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, overcome their defensive shortcomings of a season ago.
And as Leddy put it, Parayko's mindset has changed. Forget the conservative approach.
"He's kind of saying, 'Screw it, and I'm taking it, I'm going,' and it shows," Leddy said. "I think confidence will do that. 'I'm going to make this play, we're going to go.'"
And the consensus from not only Parayko but from the Blues, is that it all stems from one aspect.
"I think he's really taken the confidence and skating the puck making really good first passes," Leddy said. "That's everything getting out of the zone.
"... I think he's skating really well. He's moving his feet. ... Obviously a big-time shot. He's been great for us so far and looking for him to keep going."
And don't think Blues coach Craig Berube hasn't noticed. He has.
"He's skating so well," Berube said. "I don't know if you remember the play in the third, he rounds the net and he's just like ... he's a big guy, strong that can really move. He's using his feet extremely well and his shot. He's looking to shoot all the time. He's ready to shoot and obviously his feet, skating, closing plays out, but getting the puck and moving right away with it."
Teammate Brandon Saad has also noticed someone who's really playing within himself.
"I think he's been a little bit more composed," Saad said. "He's been calm. He can obviously skate the puck and he's big and strong just having that confidence and doing it every night. He's a great hockey player, so we're happy to have him."
Parayko is averaging 22:58 ice time through four games, he has a goal and is plus-1 through four games, but two stats that stand out that make this a promising start to the 30-year-old's season, Parayko's speed and his shot:
"I think that's when I'm at my best, I think, is when I'm skating and just making plays and just playing hockey," Parayko said. "Hopefully just keep building. Obviously a lot of great players around me that have been helping out. It's been good to have those guys around me.
And when Parayko is aggressively moving pucks, now he's thinking of letting that cannon of his go.
"Yeah I think so a little bit. Just trying to find the right opportunities at the right time for sure, that's the biggest thing," Parayko said. "Any time I get the chance to jump in plays, you get more opportunities to shoot the puck I think. It definitely translates over for sure.
"I just think getting more pucks towards that net. Even if it doesn't go straight in, there's lots of second opportunities, a lot of goals I think are scored in this league just around the net."
It's no secret that Parayko has gotten a bad rap from Blues fans, some angry, some frustrated, some even wanting general manager Doug Armstrong to ship the Stanley Cup champion out of town, despite a full no-trade clause. And a contract ($6.5 million average annual value) with seven years remaining on it weighs heavily.
But he's now physically healthy from a back injury that first developed late in the 2020-21 season that forced Parayko to miss 21 games, and something that didn't require surgery but a lot of patience and playing through discomfort.
"Yeah I feel really good," Parayko said. "I think one of my best summers. I'm looking forward to it. We had a long summer of good training. Just get back and recharge the batteries slowly and re-find yourself again. You get excited for the season and this is the time, especially when you have that much time off.
"Obviously it's a long summer when you look back at a year like that. You're thinking about how you're going from lots every day to playing and then all of the sudden, you have nothing. It's definitely hard the first month, but you look back and throughout the whole year you're trying to figure out what's going on a little bit. It wasn't just in the summer, it's all year."
All it took was a reset, and it's not only carried over to Parayko's play but also that of his partner.
"Every year you get a fresh start to reset and I think he's done a great job in the off-season, it started off with training camp," Leddy said. "You feed off each other. I think we're doing a good job of starting to really read and react off of each other in that sense. The decisiveness, his decisiveness and confidence helps me out too to where I know where I need to be at."
Parayko is using his stick, killing plays, much like he did when he and Jay Bouwmeester were terminators in 2019 on the way to a Stanley Cup. It's all part of the process, all part of the confidence Parayko has regained.
"Confidence is with every player. I always say, 'Oh, I'm not confident. Well, work harder, you get confident,'" Berube said. "He's working extremely hard out there. Again, confidence for me is ... I get it but on the other side of it, if you're not a confident player or you're going through a tough time, you have to work your way out of it. That's how you get out of it, that's how you get confident by your work ethic. His work ethic's extremely high."
And right now, making a difference.
"Consistency's just one for sure. Just the proper mindset to come into practice and to games with the mindset of just having a great day and winning that day," Parayko said. "Did you get better that day and continue to get better? Set yourself to a high standard, not only games but in practice too. Just working hard and continuing to work on things you can improve on as a player. For me, I've just got to close plays out quick, be on guys tight in the neutral zone, good gaps, move the puck quick to the forwards' hands, get pucks through. There's so many things a d-man wants to do throughout the season to have a good year. For me, just playing tight, being good defensively, moving my feet, helping out the forwards. I think if I'm doing that, other things will follow as long as I'm playing quick, no hesitation and just moving my feet."
Mission accomplished ... so far. The Blues -- and Parayko -- just want to see it continue on a regular basis.
