Faulk starting 2021 season off on right foot

Defenseman scores two big goals, balances offense with defense down 

stretch protecting one-goal lead in 5-4 win against San Jose on Monday

By LOU KORAC
ST. LOUIS -- Forget the fact that Justin Faulk scored multiple goals in a game for the first time in nearly two years. Forget the fact that Faulk pumped eight shots on goal and had 11 attempts.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk gets some flex on his stick taking a shot

against the San Jose Sharks Monday in a 5-4 win. Faulk scored twice.

Monday was a sample size of what was expected of Faulk since the day the Blues traded for him Sept. 24, 2019. He came with the pedigree of an offensive defenseman that was a power-play specialist who played top-pairing minutes.

But what Blues fans can get used to moving forward is seeing Faulk on the ice defending his zone, protecting a one-goal lead at the end of a game.

Such was the case in a 5-4 win against the San Jose Sharks in the home-opener at Enterprise Center.

With the Blues (2-1-0) clinging to a one-goal lead and the Sharks (1-2-0) searching high and low for the equalizer, Faulk goes into the defensive corner with a minute remaining to battle the puck away from Logan Couture and Timo Meier. He's then able to get an important clear of the zone with 30 seconds remaining. And finally, he's in front of his net, battling traffic, willing to take the brunt of one-time rippers by Brent Burns and then Erik Karlsson.

This is what the coaching staff has trusted Faulk to do moving forward. Now that Alex Pietrangelo is in Sin City, Faulk has been given the role of lockdown defenseman with the free pass to jump up in the rush and do what he does best. These are areas the Blues trusted and invested in him to the tune of a seven-year, $45.5 million contract the moment they traded Joel Edmundson, prospect Dominik Bokk and a seven-round pick in 2021. 

On Monday, it all amounted to 21:14 time on ice, including 20:34 at even strength. Along with the eight shots on goal and 11 total attempts, Faulk led the Blues with three hits.

The balance of offense and defense is something that will continue to come with experience and time in the Blues system, but Monday may have been Faulk's best all-around game since joining the club.

"Faulk was excellent," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "I thought he really at the end before the pause, he was playing pretty good hockey for us. I'm not sure his role's changed a whole lot from what it was in Carolina other than he played obviously some power play. He's a good shutdown guy, moved the puck well. He's got tremendous gaps out there, plays a heavy game. I think he came into this year confident and obviously wanted to have a good year."

So far, so good, and if this is the Faulk that Blues fans will see on a regular basis, their affection for him will grow, and maintaining a balance of offense-defense will earn him plenty of points not only with the fan base but his teammates and coaches as well.

"Yeah, I think you have to," Faulk said of balancing the offense and defense. "There’s always opportunities to jump in the rush. But you've got to know who you’re out against and kind of see the play developing in front of you before you get too aggressive.

"I think the guys have been doing a good job in being consistent. ... If we can stick to our system and play that way, it allows the D to jump up a little bit more, more consistently. And that kind of fits our group, I think."

Down 2-0, Faulk jumpstarted the Blues' four-goal second-period outburst when he jumped out of the penalty box, took Ivan Barbashev's pass at the offensive blue line, slightly cut inside at the top of the left circle and wired a wrister high glove side on Sharks goalie Devan Dubnyk for an all-important first goal, the Blues' first in 88:14.

"It’s pretty bang-bang," Faulk said after being named the first star of the game. "As much as you see a guy with the puck, they don’t always have time. You’re in the box and you don’t feel very good about yourself there. I guarantee you every single player’s in there thinking they’re going to get a breakaway or hoping they get a breakaway. But no, just a good play by 'Barbs' to take his time. Sometimes guys will just heist it down and get a chase. But he took his time, corralled it and made the play to me up the ice and gave me some space."

His second goal put the Blues ahead for the first time when he was able to redirect David Perron's hard whipping feed from close range with exactly a minute left in the second for a 4-3 lead, Faulk's first multi-goal game since scoring his only NHL hat trick Feb. 13, 2018 with the Hurricanes against the Los Angeles Kings.

(St. Louis Blues/Scott Rovak)

Justin Faulk is among a host of teammates congratulating Jordan

Binnington (right) after the Blues defeated the San Jose Sharks 5-4.

Offensive defensemen are good to have because they can help at a moment's notice when goals are needed, but those that focus on their defensive responsibilities as well make those players hard to defend.

Faulk played like this, as Berube said, down the stretch and into the bubble last season and has carried his solid play into the 2020-21 season.

"He was a great player in Carolina, I saw him a bunch," said Blues forward Mike Hoffman, who scored his first goal with the Blues and played against Faulk when he was with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. "And, you know, he was probably the best player on the ice on either team. He definitely stepped up and helped us win, you know, a big game for us."