The St. Louis Blues are in the middle of their best stretch of play this season and got the biggest kick in the pants they couldn’t have foreseen.
The team announced on Thursday afternoon that defenseman Colton Parayko will be out at least six weeks after injuring his left knee in a 3-2 shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
General manager Doug Armstrong said in a press release that the 31-year-old will undergo a scope will be reevaluated in six weeks.
It’s quite the blow for the Blues (30-27-6), who entered Thursday one point out of the second wild card in the Western Conference behind the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Parayko could have been injured late in overtime when he stumbled and fell off an offensive zone face-off win by Robert Thomas back to the right point. Parayko could be seen landing hard on the ice with his left leg underneath him as Trevor Moore of the Kings went in on a breakaway as a result and was stopped by Jordan Binnington.
Parayko, who played for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, is in the midst of arguably his best season in the NHL. He has a career-high 15 goals this season and has tied an career high with 35 points while leading the Blues in ice time at 23:51, including 23:13 on Wednesday.
The Blues are 6-1-1 in their past eight games; they next play at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and barring a sudden change from Armstrong, will move forward with Cam Fowler, Philip Broberg, Justin Faulk, Ryan Suter, Nick Leddy and Tyler Tucker as their top six defenseman.
Could the Blues all of the sudden be in the market for a defenseman, particularly a right-handed shot with Parayko all but certain to miss the remainder of the regular season having just one righty (Faulk) among their top six?
