MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- The seasonal stats don’t add up as anything the St. Louis Blues should be concerned with.

What are we talking about, you ask? It’s the minutes played by their top four defensemen, Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Cam Fowler and Phillip Broberg.

For the season, Faulk leads the way at 23:23 per game, which ranks as 31st in the NHL; Parayko is 32nd at 23:19 per game; Fowler comes in 44th at 22:45, and Broberg is 46th at 22:38.

Not overly taxing whatsoever as far as using the top end guys. But of late, the numbers have elevated.

Faulk has eight games playing 24 minutes or more out of 17 with a season-high 25:07 Nov. 5 against the Washington Capitals; Parayko has played six games at more than 24 minutes per game and nine times more than 23 minutes, with a season-high 26:45 on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames; Fowler has played just four games over 24 minutes but nine of more than 23 minutes, with a season-high 26:40 on Oct. 18 against the Dallas Stars, and Broberg has played five games more than 24 minutes and all five of them have come in the past seven games, including three straight; he played a career- and season-high 27:09 against the Buffalo Sabres last Thursday.

The Blues (6-8-3) are just 17 games in, so the legs are still there, and there’s nothing wrong with relying on the top end guys, but as the season goes along, is that sustainable? Do they need more trust and reliability from their bottom pair, which has been a mixture of Tyler Tucker, Matthew Kessel and Logan Mailloux?

“Our top defensemen (are) maybe 45th in the league, 35th in the league, so if we’re going to be concerned about it, how concerned are the other teams with their top D,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “I don’t think it’s a big concern. I think in the last little while, they’ve played a little bit more. We don’t want those minutes that you’re talking about. Like last night, we don’t 26 ideally, especially with the amount of three in four’s that are coming up.”

When there are breaks in the schedule like there has been this week with the Blues playing just one day in five, they can allow their top guys to log big minutes. But what about the back-to-back nights, like this weekend? Or how about the upcoming five-game road trip where they play five games in nine nights and close out November with another back-to-back to make it seven games in 12 days?

That’s when those players have to do more than just stay sharp on the ice, it’s doing the necessary things off the ice, too, to allow them to tax the body as long as they can.

“Obviously just making sure you take care of yourself, first off away from the rink and making sure you’re doing your best to prepare yourself for practices and games,” Parayko said. “I think we’re all in pretty good shape where we know what it takes now and we’ve all been in the league for a little bit where we know what it takes. I think all seven of us are capable of a lot of minutes, but all six that are playing each night are capable of playing in all situations. We have a great D-corps. That’s the beauty of it.”

The dropoff is massive to the third pairing, with Mailloux, currently in Springfield of the American Hockey League averaging 12:33 per game, which is 236rd in the league; Tucker is 237th at 12:29 and Kessel 249th at 10:38.

And if you want to see firsthand how much the Blues’ coaching staff is utilizing the top four, a perfect example was Tuesday’s 3-2 win against the Flames when Tucker and Kessel didn’t see the ice again for the final 9:10 and 9:21, respectively.

“Our bottom pair, we as a coaching staff need to show more confidence in them to handle bigger minutes, and we’re going to start using them a little more on the penalty kill as well,” Montgomery said. “That should build up their minutes.”

Parayko prefers the bigger minutes; he feels he’s a better all-around player and skater when he’s on the ice more, but that’s easier to say less than a quarter of the way into a marathon of a schedule, then potentially playoffs should a team get there.

“Personally I do, yeah,” he said. “I think that’s for everybody though. If you ask a lot of guys, I think that’s the way it would be. The quicker you go in shifts, if you make a mistake, the quicker you can forget about it. The more you’re engaged, the less to think about and just more playing. If you ask anyone in here, it’s definitely easier. Your legs just stay in it and everything.”

The Blues are 3-1-1 their past five games and have gotten better in the defensive zone as a result, allowing just 2.80 goals per game, compared to the second-to-worst 3.76 on the season, so they are averaging almost a goal less in this stretch.

But what about the offensive side, which has the Blues’ blue liners scoring just six goals on the season, which is around the middle of the pack?

Asking them to play such high minutes at both ends of the ice, could become taxing. But it’s a challenge they seem to be embracing.

“It’s definitely coming,” Parayko said. “As a group, we’re working on different things, and there’s definitely things we can improve on. For sure, myself, I know that. And I will be better. I know our D-corps, we’re scoring and I definitely have a lot of confidence in our group. But I will say we are capable of more.”

They have scored six goals, with Faulk (three), Broberg, Tucker and Kessel each with one. What about Parayko and Fowler, each with six assists?

“It’s easy to start thinking like that and if you want to put it in perspective too, I can’t remember how many games I’ve played, but there’s still many more games left and I played all of last year, I’ll put it that way,” Parayko said. “Everyone likes to score, but that’s not necessarily my biggest role on this team. But when I can provide offense, it’s something that I enjoy doing and I think is beneficial for the team."

Parayko has played 24:01 the past five games; Broberg at 23:54; Faulk is at 23:22 and Fowler is playing 22:02. It's a lot, but the Blues can't complain about the record (3-1-1) and how they've built it. In the end, however, there needs to be more trust in the younger, less experienced guys.

“It’s fun, but I’m just more so looking forward to our team building right now, 3-1-1 the last five," Parayko said. "I think we’re kind of starting to build a little traction. I think we’ve had a lot of our best games here in recent games. Obviously not the best in Washington. It was one we kind of laid an egg and we all know that, but at the end of the day, I like the direction we’re headed.”

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