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When the Blues open in Dallas on Thursday, they’ll do so with two pairings on the blue line that they leaned on heavily during a turbulent season in 2022-23: Nick Leddy with Colton Parayko, and Torey Krug with Justin Faulk.

The two pairs were the most common a season ago for the Blues: Leddy-Parayko on the ice at five on five for 993:41 of ice time and Krug-Faulk on for 612:12, a number that would have been higher if Krug did not miss time due to a broken foot. Across the entire NHL, those pairs were the ninth- and 35th-most used combinations a season ago.

“I think that they’ve had success in the past,� Blues coach Craig Berube said. “I think you’ve got more of a puck mover on each one of them, although Faulk moves the puck really well himself. They’ve had some good chemistry, those two pairs for a while. I like that combination of that skating ability and puck movement on both pairs.�

At a very basic level, the two pairs did what they were designed to do last year, at least relative to the rest of their teammates on the blue line.

Krug and Faulk drove offense better than any other Blues pair, as ºüÀêÊÓƵ had 7.13 more shots on goal per 60 minutes at five on five with them on the ice than with them off the ice. Of course, that means they also gave up more in their own end than the rest of their teammates.

Leddy and Parayko served as a semblance of a shutdown pair in 2022-23, and the Blues were a better defensive team with them on the ice than with them off it, according to every possession metric tracked by Natural Stat Trick. Of course, they were also a black hole on offense, and ºüÀêÊÓƵ produced very little in the offensive zone with Leddy-Parayko on the ice.

These figures are also diluted by the fact that the Blues defense last year ranked in the bottom 10 of the NHL in most categories, so even success relative to teammates has to be graded on a curve.

But as the Blues run back the same top-four defensemen — the third pair of Marco Scandella and Tyler Tucker is a new addition, as is the presence of Scott Perunovich as a healthy scratch — they’re banking on improved seasons from them, and tweaks in the defensive zone to pay dividends.

“You’ve got to play good defense to be successful in this league,� Berube said. “That’s a big part of our camp this year was focusing on work ethic and defense. We’ve got to carry it over to the season.�

Last year, the Blues’ best pairing was undoubtedly Krug and Parayko, and they only began one game together. Across the entire season, the pair was on the ice for 100:56 together at five on five and were the only ºüÀêÊÓƵ pairing that was above 50% in shot attempt share, shot share and expected goals share.

But throughout last season and in preseason camp, the Blues have shown no appetite to deviate from their familiar pairs of a season ago.

Since Krug joined the Blues in the 2020-21 season, Faulk has played with him for nearly 2,000 minutes — 1,934:28 to be exact — which is about 23 hours more than the next-closest defenseman in the past three seasons.

“Yeah, it’s easy,� Faulk said. “I like playing with Kruger. We see each other well out there, we read off each other well. We both have a pretty good understanding of how we want to play without the puck, and then move the puck with each other. We’ve played plenty of games now with each other. We expect each other to be in the right spot and be there for support, and 99% of the time, we are.�

Since Leddy was traded to ºüÀêÊÓƵ in the spring of 2022, he’s played with Parayko twice as much as the next-closest Blues defenseman.

“I think we play well together,� Leddy said. “We play well off each other, too. I think he’s got a great growth mindset, always willing to learn and get better. He’s an easy guy to play with for me.�

With new assistant coach Mike Weber now on the Blues staff (replacing the fired Mike Van Ryn), the Blues have implemented a new scheme in the defensive zone that keeps them closer to the net and defending the slot area.

“You need a buy-in from everybody to be successful in this league,� Berube said. “They’ve done a good job of it so far in training camp, and we’ve got to keep on it, working them in practice and getting that buy-in.�