My player to watch for the St. Louis Blues to open a four-game homestand on Friday against the New Jersey Devils is defenseman Colton Parayko.
The Blues' top d-man this season has been really good to open the season, and he will be seeing plenty of Jack Hughes in this matchup.
Hughes is leading the league in points with 20 (five goals, 15 assists) in just nine games and you can assure, Parayko will be on the ice a lot when Hughes is out there.
"They have a team that can score, a lot of great players over there that can score and make great plays," Parayko said. "They're playing well right now. You watch them, they're going in and beating good teams in their buildings and stuff."
Parayko has done a really good job at containing some of the top players in the league this season, including Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado, Jason Robertson of Dallas and Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh, just to name a few who have had little individual success in games against the Blues this season.
Parayko will also be counted on to provide structured penalty kill duties against the No. 1 PP in the league tonight (44.7 percent).
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