St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (50) can count on a wealth of experience of defenseman in front of him when the Stanley Cup playoffs start, including Cam Fowler (middle) and Colton Parayko (right). (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/65c15b68-b4c0-42f0-94f3-bc216d91e255.jpeg] St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington (50) can count on a wealth of experience of defenseman in front of him when the Stanley Cup playoffs start, including Cam Fowler (middle) and Colton Parayko (right). (Jeff Curry-Imagn Images) MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- When the likes of Jimmy Snuggerud, Zack Bolduc and Jake Neighbours lace the blades and suit up for the St. Louis Blues [http://thn.com/stlouis] in each respective first Stanley Cup playoff game on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets [http://thn.com/winnipeg], there’s something comforting knowing that players that could tend to perhaps play tentatively or fall into a quagmire of nerves. And even for guys like Jordan Kyrou and some of the other Blues, who open their best-of-7 Western Conference First Round series on Saturday, there will be quite the comfort factor knowing that should they try to make plays and accentuate their strengths, there will be plenty of experience behind them on the Blues’ blue line. Of the 16 playoff teams and their top six defensemen that will likely suit up for Game 1 of each respective series, the Blues have the most experience among top six defensemen by a wide margin. Their 5,462 combined regular season games’ worth of experience ranks 1,010 games more than the next closest foe, the Carolina Hurricanes [http://thn.com/carolina] at 4,452. Does it matter that the Blues have a wealth of experience back there? It may not mean anything in this day and age, but that comfort level, especially for forwards, will ease a lot of minds and help them in knowing that if mistakes are made, Ryan Suter (1,526 games), Cam Fowler (1,042), Nick Leddy (1,042), Justin Faulk (980), Colton Parayko (723) and even Philip Broberg and his modest 149 games played will be the kind of presence they need. “Just look at how many games our d-corps has played in the league,” said Bolduc, who will make his playoff debut. “It’s incredible. We’ve got so much confidence in them. We’re just happy to have them and we know all the experience they have. We know they’re there to repair the mistake that we’re doing in front of them. It’s good to have them behind us. “They’re involved in the offense too. They’re so good on boxing out, breaking out. We’ve got some many ‘D’ capable of beating pressure, one or two guys just by themselves. It’s great and it’s fun to have them.” Only the Vegas Golden Knights [http://thn.com/vegas] (480 games) have a top six among defensemen that have played in more playoff games than the Blues (465), so not only do the Blues, who are the second wild card in the Western Conference after finishing the regular season 44-30-8, have the wealth and knowledge of guys that have played a plethora of games, but they also have guys that have been on the big stage often and taken home Stanley Cup titles with Parayko (2019) and Leddy (2013). “It’s great,” Kyrou said. “Veteran d-corps, all have played a ton of playoff games before. They know what it’s going to be like and I think it’s going to make it a lot easier on us forwards. Them just playing an experienced game.” Compared to the Jets, whose top six game played in 3,694 regular season games and 191 playoff games, the Blues have a decided edge on the aura factor. Again, it may not matter when the puck is dropped but from a coaching perspective with Blues coach Jim Montgomery, he has six guys he can utilize in any situation at any time. “It’s very beneficial,” Montgomery said. “I thought it was a big factor in how well we played our last home game to get into the playoffs (a 6-1 win against Utah Hockey Club [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues/latest-news/three-takeaways-from-blues-6-1-win-against-utah-hockey-club]) and I think it’s a big factor why since 4 Nations break we’ve been second in odd-man rushes against. Our defensemen make reads and their experience helps them make really good reads.” It’s a great advantage to have considering this group is adept at handling the pressures of what playoff hockey brings. “Luxury to have,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “That’s experience, it’s guys that have played in big games, guys that have won Cups back there, guys that have played in the Stanley Cup Finals. Just a whole lot of experience. “You go in there and they’re just a calming influence back there. They’re good at making not many mistakes at all and if they do, they’re very good at covering up for them. That’s just with guys with presence and composure with the puck, they’re big and they’re long, they skate well and they’re hard to play against.” The calming presence may be the greatest benefactor and guys that will remain cool under pressure and just simplify the game for everyone. “I think so. I think the one thing about playoff time is you don’t want to change who you are as a person,” said Fowler, who will play in his first playoff game since 2018 with the Anaheim Ducks [http://thn.com/anaheim]. “What you did up to this point that has gotten you this far. I know myself and ‘Leds’ and ‘Flak,’ Parayko are a little bit more on the soft-spoken side, I think if guys see us and see how we’re approaching things and still maintaining that calm demeanor, I think it will help guys understand that it is just another game at the end of the day. Of course the stakes are higher and the intensity’s higher, but if they see us going through our normal routine and with that same demeanor, I think it will help guys settle in too. “We like to think of it as an advantage. We have guys in here that have a lot of experience and I think that’s valuable come playoff time and we have guys that have won the Stanley Cup, so they’ve gotten to the highest of highs that you can in this game. You combine that with a lot of youthful energy and guys that are experiencing it for the first time, I think it’s a great mix. We’ve known for a long time that the back end has kind of been that veteran type of group for us and we’ve kind of taken on that role during the regular season too. We’ll have to continue to do that along with the ‘Schenners’ and ‘Tommer’ and those guys that have been through it as well on the forward side of things.” When the Blues face the Jets (55-22-4), who claimed the Presidents’ Trophy and won the Central Division, going into the Winnipeg ‘White Out’ on Saturday would rattle a younger group. But knowing who is behind them, the Kyrous, the Bolducs, the Snuggeruds, Robert Thomas, Neighbours, even Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich can all focus on doing creative things instead of playing with their knees knocking. “You have to let those guys be creative,” Fowler said. “That’s part of the reason they’re here and part of why we’ve had success is because we’ve had a good blend of creativity with some sandpaper mixed in up there too. Those guys should feel the freedom to go out and play and feel creative and that part shouldn’t change. It’s the emotional highs and lows of the playoffs that can be difficult to navigate. I think that’s where we’ll come in and understand that there’s going to be ebbs and flows to every series and we have to try and maintain an even keel kind of mindset as a team and I think that’s where guys with a little of more experience can help out with that.” Rest assured that Jordan Binnington will also be quite pleased to have this group in front of him. - - - A breakdown of teams, players, regular season games played and postseason games played: St. Louis Blues (5,462/465): Ryan Suter 1,526/133; Cam Fowler 1,042/62; Nick Leddy 1,042/130; Justin Faulk 980/38; Colton Parayko 723/82; Philip Broberg 149/20. Carolina Hurricanes (4,452/354): Brent Burns 1,496/120; Dmitri Orlov 866/92; Jaccob Slavin 745/71; Shayne Gostisbehere 688/32; Sean Walker 394/13; Jalen Chatfield 263/26. Toronto Maple Leafs (4,354/263): Oliver Ekman Larsson 1,059/49; Morgan Rielly 872/57; Chris Tanev 866/60; Jake McCabe 643/18; Brandon Carlo 636/72; Simon Benoit 278/7. Florida Panthers (4,156/338): Dmitry Kulikov 1,018/53; Seth Jones 860/37; Nate Schmidt 741/76; Aaron Ekblad 732/64; Gustav Forsling 477/61; Niko Mikkola 328/47; *Uvis Balinskis 102/0 – Ekblad is suspended for the first round but was included in total over Balinskis. Vegas Golden Knights (3,916/480): Alex Pietrangelo 1,087/139; Brayden McNabb 822/93; Noah Hanifin 758/34; Shea Theodore 564/114; Nicolas Hague 364/33; Zach Whitecloud 321/67. Winnipeg Jets (3,694/191): Luke Schenn 1,072/47; Josh Morrissey 622/42; Dylan DeMelo 636/29; Colin Miller 572/41; Neal Pionk 536/22; Dylan Samberg 216/10. New Jersey Devils (3,593/290): Brenden Dillon 974/83; Dougie Hamilton 835/66; Brian Dumoulin 706/81; Brett Pesce 699/57; Johnathan Kovacevic 224/0; Luke Hughes 155/3. Washington Capitals (3,355/207): John Carlson 1,088/127; Trevor van Riemsdyk 682/35; Jakob Chychrun 540/9; Matt Roy 438/18; Rasmus Sandin 308/6; Martin Fehervary 299/12. Tampa Bay Lightning (Lightning 3,231/444): Victor Hedman 1,130/165; Ryan McDonagh 1,009/191; Erik Cernak 440/79; J.J. Moser 258/0; Nick Perbix 219/8; Darren Raddysh 175/9; *Emil Lilleberg 112/0 – extra D not included in total games. Minnesota Wild (3,183/206): Jared Spurgeon 933/67; Zach Bogosian 929/54; Jonas Brodin 853/67; Jake Middleton 306/12; Brock Faber 162/6; Zeev Buium 0/0; *Jon Merril 682/37; *Declan Chisholm 99/0 – Merrill and Chisholm not part of total games. Dallas Stars (2,960/280): Cody Ceci 871/88; Matt Dumba 737/54; Esa Lindell 684/85; Ilya Lyubushkin 433/14; Thomas Harley 197/39; Lian Bichsel 38/0; * Miro Heiskanen 475/85 – Heiskanen is injured and not part of total games. Los Angeles Kings (2,867/226): Drew Doughty 1,206/95; Joel Edmundson 602/82; Vladislav Gavrikov 434/23; Mikey Anderson 344/18; Jordan Spence 179/8; Brandt Clarke 102/0. Ottawa Senators (2,679/49): Travis Hamonic 899/22; Nick Jensen 632/27; Tomas Chabot 512/0; Artem Zub 306/0; Jake Sanderson 235/0; Tyler Kleven 95/0. Edmonton Oilers (2,576/223): Darnell Nurse 716/72; Brett Kulak 580/76; Troy Stecher 560/21; Evan Bouchard 347/53; Jake Walman 267/1; Ty Emberson 106/0. Colorado Avalanche (2,546/310): Josh Manson 626/58; Samuel Girard 548/60; Devon Toews 473/77; Ryan Lindgren 405/43; Cale Makar 395/72; Sam Malinski 99/0; * Erik Johnson 1,023/55 – Johnson not added to total games. Montreal Canadiens (2,158/93): David Savard 870/57; Mike Matheson 627/20; Alexandre Carrier 296; 16; Kaden Guhle 169/0; Jordan Struble 112/0; Lane Hutson 84/0.
