St. Louis Blues defensemen Justin Faulk (72) and Philip Broberg (6) have not been on the ice for a goal against at even strength during the first round series against the Winnipeg Jets. (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images)MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Defending in the Stanley Cup playoffs in this Western Conference First Round series for St. Louis Blues defensemen Justin Faulk and Philip Broberg has become an art.
A picture-perfect art.
Not only have the duo become defensive partners since the Blues paired them together at the start of the season after Broberg came on board via offer sheet, but they've become a glue pair for the team against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets in this best-of-7 series that's tied 2-2 with Game 5 looming on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.; FDSNMW, ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, ESPN 101.1-FM).
Call them the 1B of the Blues' defensive unit, with Cam Fowler and Colton Parayko as 1A, but not by much.
Through four games in a series deadlocked at 2-2, when the game is played at even strength, it can't get any better than what the Broberg-Faulk duo is doing. So good, it's spotless.
For defensemen in the playoffs that have played four or more games, it's the only pairing that hasn't been on the ice for a goal against at even strength, and they account for just six d-men that have been spotless. The others are Ryan Lindgren (Colorado Avalanche), Trevor van Riemsdyk (Washington Capitals) and Simon Nemec (New Jersey Devils).
Those are all individual players, but it speaks volumes that the Blues' duo has played together all season and continued it into the playoffs playing at such a high level. They've only been on the ice for one goal against, a meaningless power play goal late in Game 3.
"I think I’ve played with Faulk basically the whole year," Broberg said. "I think we’re comfortable playing with each other. I think we read off each other very well. I think you’ve just got to keep working hard in our own D-zone and try to create offense as well."
Which is something Faulk, especially, has done with a goal and two assists in the series, including -- for all intents and purposes -- the dagger goal in Game 4 of a 5-1 win on Sunday.
But if you're Blues coach Jim Montgomery, you appreciate the balance at both ends of the ice.
"The way they skate and the way they win battles, we don’t spend much time in our end with them on the ice," Montgomery said. "Then the way they can support. They read off each other really well now. They’ve been playing together for so long. When one’s in, the other one’s covering. When the other one’s in, the other one’s covering. They help us in all three zones."
They each average 17:38 time on ice at even strength per game, which makes what they're doing on the defensive side impressive because they're not doing it against the bottom six of Winnipeg forwards but their best, something this duo has been accustomed to more so since the 4 Nations Face-Off break and when Parayko went down with a knee injury on March 5 that forced him to miss a month.
"It’s really stood out, it started after 4 Nations," Montgomery said. "But when Parayko got hurt, those two got elevated to all the hard matchups, and they carried us."
Bronerg said, "I think we’ve played a lot throughout the year and I think the biggest thing is being confident with each other and reading off each other."
It certainly helps for Broberg that the veteran Faulk is, "a great player obviously. He’s a very good player and he’s been great with me all year and helped me feel comfortable coming into a new team. He’s been great towards me, a great teammate and a very good player."
For the Blues to win this series, this pair will need to continue to lead the way defensively.