ST. LOUIS _ Suddenly, defenseman Colton Parayko is an offensive force for the Blues. Through his first 46 games this season, he was stuck on two goals.
But after staking the Blues to a 2-0 lead, St. Louis couldn't hold on. The game went into overtime tied 2-2 and then Roope Hintz beat Jordan Binnington 5-hole dealing the Blues a 3-2 overtime defeat.
Parayko got one against Carolina on Tuesday and another against Winnipeg on Thursday. On Saturday, in the first period against the Dallas Stars, he struck twice, staking the Blues to a 2-0 lead at Enterprise Center.
In his second game back on the team's No. 2 power-play unit Parayko scored on a one-timer from the left faceoff circle with Dallas' Jamie Benn off for boarding Ivan Barbashev.
That goal came at the 7:18 mark of the period. Just 3 { minutes later, Parayko scored again _ this time in 5-on-5 play _ from just outside the right circle.
So let's do the math. Two goals in 46 games, followed by four in two games plus one period. In recent years, the Blues have been near the top of the league in terms of goals scored by defensemen.
They haven't been quite as prolific this season, but are starting to climb up the charts with Parayko's recent outburst. He now has six goals for the season; the Blues entered the night tied for eighth in the NHL with 32 goals by defensemen.
Benn later made it a 2-1 game, scoring his 15th goal of the season with Justin Faulk off for tripping with 2:12 left in the first.
After a sluggish start to the second period by both teams, Dallas started piling up possession time and shots on goal, and it paid off when Hintz's 16th goal of the season from the slot tied the game at 2-all with 6:35 left in the second.
Dallas had seven of the period's first nine shots on goal. Parayako had a golden opportunity for a hat trick on a Blues power play late in the period, but couldn't get control a rolling puck and shot wide.
