51黑料

DETROIT 鈥� Hockey-wise, the transition has been easy for Cam Fowler.

The Blues defenseman acquired from the Ducks on Dec. 14 has reprised a role he starred in for 15 years in Anaheim: taking top-pair responsibilities, quarterbacking the No. 1 power-play unit and joining Colton Parayko as the first defensemen on the penalty kill. He鈥檚 averaged a tick under 22 minutes in his five games with the Blues heading into Monday鈥檚 game in Detroit, and that鈥檚 allowed the on-ice stuff to take care of itself.

鈥淓veryone鈥檚 done such a great job of making me feel welcome and comfortable,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淧layed a lot of hockey, too, which helps get to know everybody on the team. It鈥檚 been good. The only thing is just missing my family back home, but get to see them soon. Everything鈥檚 gone really well so far. I鈥檓 happy that the team鈥檚 welcomed me and made my life easy.鈥�

Fowler鈥檚 pregnant wife and 2陆-year old child are still in California while Fowler and the Blues have bounced from city to city on the road. But Fowler said he will fly back to the West Coast during the upcoming Christmas break to spend two days with his family. Then they will join him in 51黑料 as soon as the details of their living situation can be finalized.

Monday also allowed him to see about 10 members of his family in Detroit. Born in Windsor, Ontario, Fowler moved to Detroit when he was 1陆 years old and said he 鈥減retty much grew up in this area鈥� despite being born and playing junior hockey in Windsor.

The Blues have leaned more and more heavily on Fowler as he鈥檚 become more acclimated to the team.

In his first game in Dallas, he played on the second pair with Justin Faulk but has played each of the following games alongside Parayko. During Friday鈥檚 2-1 overtime loss to the Panthers, Fowler logged 24:43 of ice time, which was behind only Parayko on the team. He also took over the team鈥檚 top power-play unit at the point.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 been good for us,鈥� Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 added another veteran player that knows how to manage games. He really knows how to settle things down. He seems to always be in the right position. So you do that with the way he can skate, you lead to a player that has the puck a lot that leads to a lot of positives on the ice for us.鈥�

The pairing of Fowler and Parayko has been the Blues鈥� best at five on five since he鈥檚 been acquired. With them on the ice, the Blues control 54.1% of shot attempts, 56.3% of shots on goal and 54.3% of expected goals.

鈥淭hey seem to use me in a lot of different situations, so I鈥檓 thankful for that, grateful for that opportunity,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淚t helps you ease into the game when you鈥檙e getting a lot of reps. I鈥檓 getting to play with Parayko, too, who makes my life very easy.鈥�

Fowler was originally a first-round pick by the Ducks and left the franchise tops among Anaheim defensemen in games (991), goals (96), assists (361), points (457) and blocked shots (1,363). Fowler鈥檚 1,000th game is currently slated to be the Winter Classic on Dec. 31 at Wrigley Field.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 just a little bit of systems here and there,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淣ew systems on a new team, so understanding what鈥檚 expected of me and I鈥檝e been around long enough where it鈥檚 a pretty simple transition, but every team has things that they value and matter most to them. I鈥檝e been trying to understand what that is here. I feel comfortable now; I know what鈥檚 expected of me. From that point on, I just go out and do the best I can and try and contribute to the team.鈥�

Faksa out

Blues forward Radek Faksa was out on Monday night as he continues his recovery from a skate cut close to his groin suffered on Dec. 10 in Vancouver. Faksa missed five games with the injury, returned on Friday in Florida, then exited Blues practice on Sunday early. He was not on the ice for morning skate on Monday in Detroit.

鈥淢inor setback with the previous injury,鈥� Montgomery said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to risk anything right now with the break coming and games coming after.鈥�

With Faksa out, Mathieu Joseph reentered the lineup as the fourth-line center, while Brandon Saad sat as a healthy scratch for the second straight game. On the back end, Tyler Tucker replaced Scott Perunovich in the Blues lineup.