Mikkola, Parayko to see time together along with Leddy, Faulk as Blues look to shore up D

So in an effort to try and gauge more stability defending their own net, Berube has split up Nick Leddy and Colton Parayko, putting Leddy with Justin Faulk and Niko Mikkola with Parayko while pairing Calle Rosen with Robert Bortuzzo.

"I just want 55 and 77 to really focus on good defense, penalty killing," Berube said after practice Wednesday at Centene Community Ice Center. "That's a real focus there, and Leddy and Faulk, get Leddy involved a little bit more with the puck and getting up the ice with the puck and doing things like that, that he does and maybe some PP time too. We'll see."

The Blues have already allowed 129 goals in 35 games. Compare that in recent memory with the 2011-12 team that allowed the fewest in the league at 155, or a also a league-leading 1.89 per game ... in 82 games, which is astounding.

So the focus has to be as the Blues close out December and head into a pivotal January is keeping pucks out of the net.

"We've got to play better," Berube said. "Our chances for offensively are good. We're above average in the league. I think we're 10th, but chances against, we've got to shore it up by two or three a game. That's not that many if you think about it. It's just about executing the plan and doing the right things. If we can shore up that, we're going to be in a lot better shape and win more games. It's a fine line. It really is."

The Mikkola-Parayko pairing, in terms of size and range anyway, is a reminder of what the Blues had when Parayko was paired with Jay Bouwmeester. Only Bouwmeester was such a smooth skater that was rarely caught out of position and had an uncanny ability to help break up and/or kill plays with a long stick. He and Parayko were quite the shutdown pair when paired together, part of an anchor that led the defensive charge in winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Berube can only hope with Mikkola (6-foot-4, 209 pounds) and Parayko (6-6, 228) can in any way replicate that.

"Their size and their length and things like that, they're going to be in the way a lot," Berube said. "It's a big thing, using their long reach and killing plays.

"I've said it, we need to get better defensively and we need these two guys to really do a good job for us."

A common theme to come from losses seems to focus on the Blues cleaning up or eliminating their mistakes and those would turn into wins.

According to captain Ryan O'Reilly, those mistakes tend to stem around puck management.

"I don't want to say specifically one thing. I think we're inconsistent with a lot of things right now," O'Reilly said. "We are doing some things better, but I think it's managing the puck at the right time. Our timing with that isn't great right now. ... There's plays that need to be made and we've got to try it, especially our skilled guys, they need to try and make plays but it's that next one that's the important one. Sometimes we're forcing that instead of just saying, 'Hey, put that one deep and build it from there and kind of go.' I think when we do that, it takes care of everything. It's something I've seen lately that we all as a group need to be better with that. Just have better timing, awareness to the situation we're in and knowing the eight time to force a play and when's the right time to build our game.

"That's something obviously we would have liked to have (done) earlier, but if you want to have success going down the stretch, we have to clean that area up too. It's not an easy task at times. We all want to make the plays. You want to make those plays and create more, but we have to know we have to take care of the puck. That's the most important thing is defending better. Eliminating turnovers gives us a pretty good chance."

* Perunovich, Scandella skate; Saad misses practice -- They're not anywhere on the horizon, but defensemen Marco Scandella (hip) and Scott Perunovich (shoulder) skating with the team Wednesday was a breath of fresh air.

Each was placed on long-term injured reserve prior to the season and were listed in the six-month range to be re-evaluated, which would put each into April.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that each could return sooner should things go better than projected, and Berube even hinted on Tuesday that is a possibility but not a guarantee, but the fact they each worked extensively on Wednesday is a good sign.

Perunovich participated in the majority of practice while Scandella left the ice before team drills commenced.

"He could come out and do some of the flow drills, passing, shooting and things like that," Berube said of Perunovich. "He's got to watch contact, but yeah, he's doing good.

"They're coming along well. They're going to be coming out with us here sooner than later."

Forward Brandon Saad took a maintenance day on Wednesday but isn't expected to miss Thursday's home game against the Chicago Blackhawks.