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It would be hard to imagine now, 10 games into the season,
where the team would be without him.
Parayko scored his fourth goal of the season Thursday night --
albeit on a lucky bounce -- to give the Blues a 2-1 win over the
struggling Anaheim Ducks, who are not seeing the bounces go
their way.
The game was tied 1-1 when Parayko fired a shot from the point
midway through the third period. The shot went off the end
boards and came back toward the net, where it hit the skate of
goalie Frederik Andersen and deflected into the net.
"He's around big points right now, which is a good sign for us,"
said coach Ken Hitchcock. "He's getting a lot of timely goals
and assists. He's having a big impact for us right now."
Parayko, who was credited with 10 shots on goal, leads all NHL
defensemen with his four goals. He also is tied for second in
goals for the Blues.
"The kid is a beast," said left wing Steve Ott. "When I saw him
in training camp I didn't even know who he was, but I think the
whole league knows now."
The Blues said Parayko, who has two game-winning goals, was the
first rookie in franchise history to record 10 shots on goal in
a game and the first NHL rookie with 10 shots on goal since the
Capitals' Alex Ovechkin did it in 2006.
Parayko was getting treatment following the game and was not
available to the media.
His goal was the kind of bad bounce that has been going against
the Ducks, who fell to 1-7-2 on the season. They are winless on
the road at 0-5-2 and were 0-4-1 on the trip that ended with
Thursday night's game.
"It ended up costing us the game," Andersen said of the final
goal. "It's tough. I was surprised it came out that fast (off
the boards). We deserved a win for sure."
Said Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau, "We can sit here and say it
was a bad goal, but Freddy did make four great saves after that
and it was 2-1 so he kept us in the game. We need a break and
we're not getting them right now. We're playing good enough to
win. We're competing really hard and that's all I can ask for."
The Ducks took a short-lived lead early in the second period on
a power-play goal from defenseman Hampus Lindholm, only their
second goal in the second period all season and third power-play
goal in 28 chances.
However, the Blues tied the game less than four minutes later.
Ott found center Jori Lehtera and right wing Vladimir Tarasenko
on a two-on-none breakaway with a stretch pass. Tarasenko got
the goal, his sixth of the season and first in four games.
The Blues got a major scare later in the period when Tarasenko
had to leave the ice after a hard check from Ducks center Shawn
Horcoff. He was able to skate off but missed the last four
minutes of the period before he was able to return for the final
period.
"He's our No. 1 player, and when you see your No. 1 player go
down it's the worst thoughts possible," Ott said, "with how
valuable he is to our club and the league. He's a superstar. To
see him come back and have a big third period was uplifting."
Tarasenko said he was fine after the game as did an obviously
relieved Hitchcock, knowing the Blues already are without
injured center Paul Stastny and left wing Jaden Schwartz for the
next five weeks or more.
"Honestly it just seems like it's going to be that type of
year," Hitchcock said. "We're just going to have to live with
injuries. We were happy he was back and he played really hard in
the third period, which was a good sign."
NOTES: Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk missed his seventh consecutive
game because of a groin injury. The team is hoping he will be
able to play in their next game, at home Saturday night against
Minnesota. ... The Ducks played their second game without C Ryan
Getzlaf, who underwent an appendectomy on Wednesday. The team
captain had scored only one point, on an assist, in his first
eight games. The Ducks said Getzlaf could be out anywhere from
four to 12 days. ... The Blues also scratched RW Scottie
Upshall. ... Anaheim LW Andrew Cogliano played in his 632nd
consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NHL. ... The
Ducks return home to host Nashville on Sunday night.
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