ELMONT, N.Y. 鈥 Justin Faulk had a simple answer for what he was seeing from himself offensively: nothing.
鈥淣othing鈥檚 coming right now,鈥 Faulk said after the Blues鈥 3-1 loss to the Islanders on Saturday night. 鈥淚鈥檝e got to get more shots through. I鈥檓 getting a lot of shots blocked. I鈥檝e got to be able to get up in the rush a little bit more and join and create, and keep pucks alive in the offensive zone. Just get skating more. I鈥檝e got to do a lot more on my end.鈥
Faulk has now gone 14 straight games without a point, the longest drought of a career that has spanned 14 seasons and more than 900 games. His last point was an assist on Dylan Holloway鈥檚 empty-net goal in Toronto on Oct. 24, a month ago.
On the season, Faulk has five points in 22 games, and four of those points came during the season-opening three-game road trip.
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鈥淣othing鈥檚 coming, obviously, offensively,鈥 Faulk said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 obvious. It鈥檚 probably hurting the team. I鈥檝e got to step up and pull my weight and produce like I know I can, and like I have in the past. I can probably help the team from that regard and then bring some guys with me hopefully and try to create momentum. Just not nearly good enough.鈥
Faulk entered the season as the Blues鈥 top offensive option on defense with Torey Krug lost because of offseason ankle surgery. He was set to step into a role on the top power play unit for the first time since he arrived in 最新杏吧原创 in 2019, and was going to receive the offensive-zone starts and 6 on 5 situations that come with being a team鈥檚 best offensive defenseman.
Early on, Faulk thrived alongside new partner Philip Broberg as they formed the team鈥檚 best pairing. As Colton Parayko anchored a shutdown pair, Faulk and Broberg appeared to be getting prime minutes away from other team鈥檚 top lines. But Faulk does not have a point since Broberg exited the lineup 10 games ago with a lower-body injury.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we should be talking about individual players and the offense,鈥 Blues coach Drew Bannister said. 鈥淎s an offensive group, all five of us have to be connected. Good things happen when you鈥檙e working together and supporting each other. It鈥檚 not an individual person.鈥
Through his offensive struggles, Faulk has mostly stayed on the top power-play unit for the Blues, shifted to the left flank as Robert Thomas has taken over at the point. He鈥檚 logged 44:22 of ice time on the power play since his last power-play point, one of four players in the NHL with at least 40 minutes on the power play during that span without a point.
On the season, Faulk has just one 5 on 5 point, and it came on Broberg鈥檚 first goal of the season in the first game of the season in Seattle on Oct. 8. There are 338 NHL players with at least four hours of ice time at 5 on 5, and Faulk is one of 19 with one or fewer points.
Without Broberg, and without Nick Leddy (has not played since Oct. 15 due to a lower-body injury), and without Pierre-Olivier Joseph briefly, the Blues have asked a few veteran defensemen to carry heavy loads.
Faulk has averaged 23:25 per game, which would be just the second time since 2016 that he鈥檚 hit that figure across a full season. Parayko has logged 24:50 per game, which is the eighth-most in the NHL this season. Ryan Suter, who started the season as a third-pair defenseman, is at 24:18 a night in the 18 games since Leddy last played.
鈥淔aulker is a good player for us,鈥 Bannister said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 played a lot of minutes. We鈥檝e had three D have to play a lot of minutes for us. When that happens, too, sometimes you鈥檙e a little bit hesitant to get up in the play when you are managing your minutes a little bit. I don鈥檛 think he should be taking that on himself.鈥
The good news for the Blues is that they鈥檝e outshot the opponent in the last seven games during Faulk鈥檚 minutes at 5 on 5. They are up 5-4 in goals during that span, even if only two of those games resulted in 最新杏吧原创 wins.
The Blues need a productive Faulk on the back end to supplement an offense that has hit a dry spell in recent times. He led 最新杏吧原创 defensemen in scoring just two seasons ago with a 50-point season that was his career high.
In a 3-1 loss to the Islanders on Saturday night at UBS Arena, the Blues once again struggled to score, as Jake Neighbours鈥 power-play goal in the third period was their only goal of the evening.
The Blues and Islanders combined for one goal at even-strength Saturday as the Blues lost 3-1, their seventh loss in the last nine games.
Since Nov. 12, no NHL team has scored first more often than the Blues, even if that hasn鈥檛 translated to wins (最新杏吧原创 is 2-2-1 in those five games).
