Half-Assed GDT: Blues Caps: Hello Oshie! Care For a Home and Home?

[Blueston]

That's mostly because he isn't on special teams and this was a penalty fest. His 5v5 TOI wasn't too far behind other Blues D (ahead of Krug FWIW).

Go look up Kessel's advanced stats, they were stellar. Disagree that he wasn't noticeable. Thought Kessel had good gaps, was very solid defensively (particularly in front of the net), and generally made smart decisions with the puck offensively.

not really disagreeing, at some point our play in general was so bad it was hard to watch. so if nothing terrible happened it kinda faded into background. after seeing his advanced stats last game i just assumed they weren't good this one, but i haven't seen them yet.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Woof. Just woof. We came out totally flat against a team we should at least be competitive with. I think the new coach bump has officially worn off.

Leddy and Parayko were terrible tonight. All three goals with them on the ice were off terrible defensive play. You'd have better results getting a couple of orange cones at Menards for 10 bucks and just throw them at the faceoff dots then have those two guys play.

And WTF is all this love over Parayko? I still see a guy that can't seem to shake a forecheck with his legs/frame, nor make reasonable passes up the ice unless he's completely unmolested. Yea he's big and he has a good stick. That's nice. But seriously count how many times he just smacks the puck up off the boards/glass compared to making a real pass - then break that down by pressured vs. non-pressured. The second a person is even near him he loses all composure. Watching him try to carry the puck out from behind the net leads to an off-the glass backhand around 70% of the time.

Peru is a f***ing midget. Like, it was hilarious watching him try to defend tonight. There was a moment where he was legit a stick length behind a guy and was slashing on his bottom hand like it was lacrosse. TJ Oshie was out muscling Peru off the puck. Jeesus.

I think I might need to stop watching games for a bit. I can't remember the last game we played where we even looked competitive. This team is f***ing dogshit. Bring up Bolduc and Dean for all I care, at least I can get excited watching prospects learn to play in the NHL. Fire our entire defensive unit, Brayden Schenn, and Armstrong into the f***ing sun at this point.

 

[BlueDream]

And WTF is all this love over Parayko? I still see a guy that can't seem to shake a forecheck with his legs/frame, nor make reasonable passes up the ice unless he's completely unmolested. Yea he's big and he has a good stick. That's nice. But seriously count how many times he just smacks the puck up off the boards/glass compared to making a real pass - then break that down by pressured vs. non-pressured. The second a person is even near him he loses all composure. Watching him try to carry the puck out from behind the net leads to an off-the glass backhand around 70% of the time.

It’s only because the bar is SO low for our defense these days. The Blues are such a pathetic team that any defenseman that doesn’t look like one of the worst players in the league will get praise now.

It’s sad but that’s the reality. I remember the days when Lord Voldemort was our #1 d-man and was actually a top 5 D in the league. That was worth getting excited about, and we’ve fallen so far from that.

But now, all Parayko has to do is play somewhat decently and you’ll have JR and the rest of the St. Louis media talking about how “incredible” he has been this season, despite the numbers not backing it up. And I feel bad for Parayko, he gets tough usage and has no help on this team. But it’s still kinda laughable to read.

 

[TheDizee]

still cant believe they fired chief instead of armstrong lol

 

[Reality Czech]

It’s only because the bar is SO low for our defense these days. The Blues are such a pathetic team that any defenseman that doesn’t look like one of the worst players in the league will get praise now.

It’s sad but that’s the reality. I remember the days when Lord Voldemort was our #1 d-man and was actually a top 5 D in the league. That was worth getting excited about, and we’ve fallen so far from that.

But now, all Parayko has to do is play somewhat decently and you’ll have JR and the rest of the St. Louis media talking about how “incredible” he has been this season, despite the numbers not backing it up. And I feel bad for Parayko, he gets tough usage and has no help on this team. But it’s still kinda laughable to read.

Blues fans still don't seem to get that team defense requires all 5 guys to do their job. It's not all on the 2 d-men to stop everything. You could have 6 all-stars on the blue line and still lose if your team can't keep possession, turns the puck over constantly and misses assignments all game. Obviously our defense is well below average right now, but putting all the blame on the d-men is not really fair. When the Blues were a top 5 defensive team we also had a corps of hard-working forwards that helped shut down the other team's chances and was very good at cycling and maintaining sustained pressure in the O zone. Reading fan comments it seems like Blues fans expect the 2 d-men on the ice to stop all 5 opponents by themselves.

Just because Parayko had a horrible game last night doesn't mean he hasn't been playing well most of this season. Not sure what "numbers" you're talking about, but advanced stats aren't the end all be all. People who have been watching hockey all their lives can recognize the difference between good and bad players....well, most of the time. Petro is on a 4-goal, 37-point pace and has been a - player on a great team most of the year, so not sure he's the savior many believe he is.

I think I might need to stop watching games for a bit. I can't remember the last game we played where we even looked competitive. This team is f***ing dogshit. Bring up Bolduc and Dean for all I care, at least I can get excited watching prospects learn to play in the NHL. Fire our entire defensive unit, Brayden Schenn, and Armstrong into the f***ing sun at this point.

I guess you missed the recent 12 games stretch where we beat some good teams and went 8-4? Maybe you should take a break if you're this upset over a loss. I thought Blues fans wanted the team to be bad to get a higher draft pick. Some even said they hope we lose. Well, guess those people are getting their wish. Congrats.

It's been apparent for awhile that this is a one-line team. If the top guys aren't playing well, we have almost no chance to win games. At least Walker has been playing well since his call-up. Hopefully fans will give him one of the three stars this time because he got robbed after scoring a goal in his first game back with the team. If the rest of our team played with the heart Walker does, we'd be in a lot better shape.

 

[BlueDream]

Blues fans still don't seem to get that team defense requires all 5 guys to do their job. It's not all on the 2 d-men to stop everything. You could have 6 all-stars on the blue line and still lose if your team can't keep possession, turns the puck over constantly and misses assignments all game. Obviously our defense is well below average right now, but putting all the blame on the d-men is not really fair. When the Blues were a top 5 defensive team we also had a corps of hard-working forwards that helped shut down the other team's chances and was very good at cycling and maintaining sustained pressure in the O zone. Reading fan comments it seems like Blues fans expect the 2 d-men on the ice to stop all 5 opponents by themselves.

You clearly didn’t even read my post because this rant shows that you missed the point completely.

People who have been watching hockey all their lives can recognize the difference between good and bad players....well, most of the time. Petro is on a 4-goal, 37-point pace and has been a - player on a great team most of the year, so not sure he's the savior many believe he is.

Ok so if a player leads a team in ice time throughout the entire regular season and playoffs, and that team ends up winning the Stanley Cup, is that player good or bad? I’ll wait for your answer on that.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

I realize that smurfs are blue Doug Armstrong, that doesn’t mean they need to be Blues….especially on defense or pass and never shoot or whatever that position is referred to anymore.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

And WTF is all this love over Parayko? I still see a guy that can't seem to shake a forecheck with his legs/frame, nor make reasonable passes up the ice unless he's completely unmolested. Yea he's big and he has a good stick. That's nice. But seriously count how many times he just smacks the puck up off the boards/glass compared to making a real pass - then break that down by pressured vs. non-pressured. The second a person is even near him he loses all composure. Watching him try to carry the puck out from behind the net leads to an off-the glass backhand around 70% of the time.

Parayko will play a few good games - and to be fair, he'd been pretty good for a little while - and then have a game (or two ... or more) where as you mentioned, an orange cone from Menards would be more useful. But it's that stretch where he plays really good - not great, not "damn, that's Norris Trophy caliber play" great, just pretty good - that gets everyone excited yet again about what maybe he could be.

Peru is a f***ing midget. Like, it was hilarious watching him try to defend tonight. There was a moment where he was legit a stick length behind a guy and was slashing on his bottom hand like it was lacrosse. TJ Oshie was out muscling Peru off the puck. Jeesus.

I have been a long-time advocate for trading Perunovich before his flaws become apparent and everyone else in the league figures it out. With every game he plays, his flaws become a worse and worse-kept secret. Making it worse: he telegraphs just about every 140-foot pass he makes, and he's more interested in making those on the breakout than he is the simple 35-foot pass to a teammate. And, teams are starting to catch on to what he's doing. He's a high-risk player whose defense might as well be shadow dancing; on a team where playing team defense is necessary, he fits like a large square peg into a small round hole.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Petro is on a 4-goal, 37-point pace and has been a - player on a great team most of the year, so not sure he's the savior many believe he is.

Vegas became a different team when Shea Theodore went down. Petro was 1-8-9, +4 in 15 games until then; he's 1-8-9, -4 in 25 games since. Vegas was 14-4-2 with Theodore, they're 12-10-3 since and that's with wins in the last 2 games.

That said, even with his play this season I'd still take him over Krug, even after accounting for salaries; I could make the argument that Pietrangelo could still elevate the level of play of whoever's paired with him, while I think we all know Krug will never do that.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

On cruise control for off season.

Hit the links, gents.

 

[stl76]

not really disagreeing, at some point our play in general was so bad it was hard to watch. so if nothing terrible happened it kinda faded into background. after seeing his advanced stats last game i just assumed they weren't good this one, but i haven't seen them yet.

I’ve been watching Kessel closely the past couple games and he’s had his ups and downs. Thought he was genuinely good this game and stood out numerous times in a positive way.

The rest of the game tho…woof

 

[Blueston]

Vegas became a different team when Shea Theodore went down. Petro was 1-8-9, +4 in 15 games until then; he's 1-8-9, -4 in 25 games since. Vegas was 14-4-2 with Theodore, they're 12-10-3 since and that's with wins in the last 2 games.

That said, even with his play this season I'd still take him over Krug, even after accounting for salaries; I could make the argument that Pietrangelo could still elevate the level of play of whoever's paired with him, while I think we all know Krug will never do that.

Not to relitigate this, but it’s worth noting that Petro is 34. This is I believe his 4th season in Vegas. He isn’t the player he once was. Which is why we were nervous about how much he would be making for next few years. Which was legit concern. But Vegas won a Cup and we suck, so obviously they are happy they signed him bc they don’t win without him. And we have cheaper guy who isn’t very good. So that sucks. And we lost out on opportunities last few years. So they were right and we were wrong.

But, and this is I think key, Petro as he is today would not make us a good team now. And he likely wouldnt still be difference maker by time we are good again. so we can lament what we lost, but as we look forward we need to find next Petro not last one.

 

[TheDizee]

Not to relitigate this, but it’s worth noting that Petro is 34. This is I believe his 4th season in Vegas. He isn’t the player he once was. Which is why we were nervous about how much he would be making for next few years. Which was legit concern. But Vegas won a Cup and we suck, so obviously they are happy they signed him bc they don’t win without him. And we have cheaper guy who isn’t very good. So that sucks. And we lost out on opportunities last few years. So they were right and we were wrong.

But, and this is I think key, Petro as he is today would not make us a good team now. And he likely wouldnt still be difference maker by time we are good again. so we can lament what we lost, but as we look forward we need to find next Petro not last one.

this team needs a Jbo + a captain Creampuff + another legit scorer + Kyrou shipped out to be contenders

 

[Celtic Note]

Not to relitigate this, but it’s worth noting that Petro is 34. This is I believe his 4th season in Vegas. He isn’t the player he once was. Which is why we were nervous about how much he would be making for next few years. Which was legit concern. But Vegas won a Cup and we suck, so obviously they are happy they signed him bc they don’t win without him. And we have cheaper guy who isn’t very good. So that sucks. And we lost out on opportunities last few years. So they were right and we were wrong.

But, and this is I think key, Petro as he is today would not make us a good team now. And he likely wouldnt still be difference maker by time we are good again. so we can lament what we lost, but as we look forward we need to find next Petro not last one.

I agree that he would not make use a good team alone because our offense as assembled is a one line team. There is an incredible amount of work to do all over the roster, aside from goalie.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

On cruise control for off season.

Hit the links, gents.

Don't hit me. I bruise easy.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

Not to relitigate this, but it’s worth noting that Petro is 34. This is I believe his 4th season in Vegas. He isn’t the player he once was. Which is why we were nervous about how much he would be making for next few years. Which was legit concern. But Vegas won a Cup and we suck, so obviously they are happy they signed him bc they don’t win without him. And we have cheaper guy who isn’t very good. So that sucks. And we lost out on opportunities last few years. So they were right and we were wrong.

But, and this is I think key, Petro as he is today would not make us a good team now. And he likely wouldnt still be difference maker by time we are good again. so we can lament what we lost, but as we look forward we need to find next Petro not last one.

I agree, my intent was not to start an argument for the 27,007th time. And I agree, the concerns over dropping 8 years on him and his play dropping off were [still are] completely valid. And I also agree, swapping Krug for Pietrangelo doesn't make this team some 27-12-5 juggernaut rolling through the West. Just like swapping Binnington for Chuckie Sideburns doesn't move the needle much if any either. The flaws on this team run so much deeper, and they're not getting fixed easily or any time soon.

My point was that simply looking at Pietrangelo's stats in isolation, with no other context, misses other things going on with Vegas that impact his play - and even with that impact, he's still a better defenseman than Krug is and $2.3 million or so doesn't make up for that difference. [Discussion on roster construction of this team with another $2.3 million tied up in Pietrangelo reserved for some other thread.]

 

[BlueOil]

the team defense and the guys assigned to be defenders aren't great at stopping the other team

the power play working would keep them in so many more games

 

[Drubilly]

the 27,007th time

Nice

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I'm surprised Neighbours didn't suspended for his disgusting, predatory, career ending check he laid into Tom Wilson last night.