It came in a loss, so for Colton Parayko, the milestone may have been tempered, but nevertheless, the St. Louis Blues defenseman joined an elite group on Friday.
With an assist on Robert Thomas’ goal at 15:04 of the third period, Parayko became the sixth Blues defenseman in their history to reach 200 assists.
Parayko was in the background after he moved the puck up to Pavel Buchnevich, who hit Thomas in stride for the breakaway goal after initially falling down that brought the Blues back within one at 4-3, which was ultimately the final score.
He joined Alex Pietrangelo (341), Al MacInnis (325), Chris Pronger (272), Rob Ramage (229), and Jeff Brown (214).
Parayko, who played in his 662nd game, was tied with Kevin Shattenkirk at 199 prior to Friday.
The assist was the 168th at even strength, which is only second to Pietrangelo (217).
Can Parayko ultimately climb the rankings of this group? It’s likely he passes Brown this season and possibly Ramage. As for the others, it will take some doing, and of course good health, but with four years remaining on his contract with a full no-trade clause, it’s certainly possible.
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