The 2015-2016 Blues Discussion Thread - Part VI

[BlueDream]

The path through the WCF looks more appealing playing Dallas and Chicago than LAK and Anaheim. Lots of tough teams in the West again this year.

At the beginning of the year it didn't look too bad with some of those teams struggling but yeah now it's a war zone again.

The Blues are screwed.

 

[Overkamp]

At the beginning of the year it didn't look too bad with some of those teams struggling but yeah now it's a war zone again.

The Blues are screwed.

If you take all of these teams below..

Chicago
Dallas
St. Louis
Anaheim
LA
San Jose

We likely are the number five or even sixth best team on this list. Meh. Of all the years the Blues have struggled to turn it up, I just don't see how all of a sudden something magical is going to go off in the players heads..or that the coach will make any kind of adjustments.

 

[Renard]

If you take all of these teams below..

Chicago
Dallas
St. Louis
Anaheim
LA
San Jose

We likely are the number five or even sixth best team on this list. Meh. Of all the years the Blues have struggled to turn it up, I just don't see how all of a sudden something magical is going to go off in the players heads..or that the coach will make any kind of adjustments.

You need to find some reason for optimism. Otherwise, you are just torturing yourself in following the Blues. I'm not trying to be a wise guy, and I know our chances in the playoffs are small, but if you have no hope, its pointless to follow the team.

 

[Mike Liut]

There is more to hockey than the playoffs. I enjoy watching the regular season just as much. 6 months of Blues playing 3x per week is great. I love when it's game day.

 

[jura]

I love when it's game day.

especially in the 2nd round

 

[joshyhockey26]

There is more to hockey than the playoffs. I enjoy watching the regular season just as much. 6 months of Blues playing 3x per week is great. I love when it's game day.

Game days are always the best days

 

[carter333167]

If you take all of these teams below..

Chicago
Dallas
St. Louis
Anaheim
LA
San Jose

We likely are the number five or even sixth best team on this list. Meh. Of all the years the Blues have struggled to turn it up, I just don't see how all of a sudden something magical is going to go off in the players heads..or that the coach will make any kind of adjustments.

To be fair, those are also the best teams in the league minus one or two from the east. Being 4 or 5 on that list isn't so bad and anything can happen in a PO series. Moreover, our future projection is probably just as strong as most any team in the league (assuming a little luck in development and adding one to two pieces over the next 1-2 years).

In sum, the WC is tough.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

If you take all of these teams below..

Chicago
Dallas
St. Louis
Anaheim
LA
San Jose

We likely are the number five or even sixth best team on this list. Meh. Of all the years the Blues have struggled to turn it up, I just don't see how all of a sudden something magical is going to go off in the players heads..or that the coach will make any kind of adjustments.

The only team the Blues haven't won against this year on that list is the Sharks. And they have a winning record against all the rest except for the Hawks, which is tied 2-2.
Chicago 2-2-0
Dallas 3-1-0
Anahein 1-0-1
LA 2-1-0
SJ 0-2-0

I honestly believe the Blues could be any of them in a 7 game series as long as our big guys likes Tarasenko and Pietrangelo play well.

 

[TheDizee]

sharks dont scare anyone and they wont be coming out of the pacific anyways. their goaltending is worse than ours

 

[Overkamp]

The only team the Blues haven't won against this year on that list is the Sharks. And they have a winning record against all the rest except for the Hawks, which is tied 2-2.
Chicago 2-2-0
Dallas 3-1-0
Anahein 1-0-1
LA 2-1-0
SJ 0-2-0

I honestly believe the Blues could be any of them in a 7 game series as long as our big guys likes Tarasenko and Pietrangelo play well.

What has been their record against those teams the last two or three years during the regular season?

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Anyone want to talk about Jaskin's recent struggles?

He's been making mistakes, yes, but they've been huge mistakes that could cost a game. Assuming Steen returns and an otherwise healthy roster minus Ott (for now) what role is there for Jaskin? I think there's a decent chance he will be a scratch in and out of the line-up by the time the playoffs start.

Is there any reason to expect him to be a positive contributor this post-season? At this point I see him as a total passenger who is struggling to be effective.

 

[Dbrownss]

Anyone want to talk about Jaskin's recent struggles?

He's been making mistakes, yes, but they've been huge mistakes that could cost a game. Assuming Steen returns and an otherwise healthy roster minus Ott (for now) what role is there for Jaskin? I think there's a decent chance he will be a scratch in and out of the line-up by the time the playoffs start.

Is there any reason to expect him to be a positive contributor this post-season? At this point I see him as a total passenger who is struggling to be effective.

He needs to go back to Chicago. He's a good player and can be a dominant one, but he's not that player right now

Schwartz Lehtera Tarasenko
Fabbri Stastny Brouwer
Steen Backes Berglund
Upshall Brodziak Reaves

He doesn't displace any of them

 

[2 Minute Minor]

He needs to go back to Chicago. He's a good player and can be a dominant one, but he's not that player right now

Schwartz Lehtera Tarasenko
Fabbri Stastny Brouwer
Steen Backes Berglund
Upshall Brodziak Reaves

He doesn't displace any of them

I could see him in for Reaves on the 4th line, but not consistently. And if Ott truly does return as a player I think that's the end of Jaskin's ice time since he'd be much better at the role than Jaskin is.

 

[Oberyn]

I see a lot of faults in Jaskin that will keep him from being a consistent contributor in the NHL. He's not a good skater, and hasn't shown any significant improvement in this area. His hands are subpar, opposing defensemen have an easy time poking the puck away from him. For a big guy, he seems to get knocked off the puck quite easily. His hockey IQ is questionable, he's not very adept at pulling his head up and surveying the situation. Instead, he tries to force the puck wide on the defender or just flings a poor shot at the net.

He is a pretty good net front presence though and is solid at banging home rebounds, but he doesn't do that often enough to warrant a regular spot in the lineup.

 

[Brian39]

If you take all of these teams below..

Chicago
Dallas
St. Louis
Anaheim
LA
San Jose

We likely are the number five or even sixth best team on this list. Meh. Of all the years the Blues have struggled to turn it up, I just don't see how all of a sudden something magical is going to go off in the players heads..or that the coach will make any kind of adjustments.

I think Chicago and LA are clearly at the top of that list and I can reasonably see putting Anaheim ahead of us at the moment. However, I think we are (at worst) tied with Dallas and San Jose. Neither of these teams has done anything to distance themselves from the Blues and neither has shown an ability to get it done in the playoffs. Dallas was getting decent goaltending early in the year, but the Niemi/Lehtonen tandem has really struggled in 2016 and I don't have faith in either of them over a 7 game series. San Jose is the only team in the league with a worse reputation for playoff choking than the Blues.

I'd pick the Blues over the Stars and Sharks every day in a playoff series. We have better goaltending and D than both of those teams and I trust that in the playoffs more than offense.

 

[Robb_K]

sharks dont scare anyone and they wont be coming out of the pacific anyways. their goaltending is worse than ours

That wouldn't be difficult to accomplish, as The Blues' goaltending is, at least, among the top third, if not top quarter of all NHL teams.

 

[Mike Liut]

Jaskin needs to spend the entire off season lifting weights and power skating.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

I'm to the point that I want Backes tried with Tarasenko for a while. Backes can create more time and space for Tarasenko by just being a wrecking ball in the middle.

 

[carter333167]

I can't decide what's up with Tank but he doesn't look very effective right now.

 

[BlueOil]

I'm to the point that I want Backes tried with Tarasenko for a while. Backes can create more time and space for Tarasenko by just being a wrecking ball in the middle.

I would welcome this.

Put Stasny on the shutdown line and put Backes with Tarasenko.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I'm to the point that I want Backes tried with Tarasenko for a while. Backes can create more time and space for Tarasenko by just being a wrecking ball in the middle.

So something like this with the full roster?

Steen-Backes-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Stastny-Brouwer
Berglund-Lehtera-Fabbri
Ott-Brodziak-Upshall
Reaves, Paajarvi

 

[joshyhockey26]

I see a lot of faults in Jaskin that will keep him from being a consistent contributor in the NHL. He's not a good skater, and hasn't shown any significant improvement in this area. His hands are subpar, opposing defensemen have an easy time poking the puck away from him. For a big guy, he seems to get knocked off the puck quite easily. His hockey IQ is questionable, he's not very adept at pulling his head up and surveying the situation. Instead, he tries to force the puck wide on the defender or just flings a poor shot at the net.

He is a pretty good net front presence though and is solid at banging home rebounds, but he doesn't do that often enough to warrant a regular spot in the lineup.

Not to mention it's obvious he's been in the doghouse the past few games.hes rarely used in the third period currently.i still think he will be in our top 9 at some point but yea,it's still a work in progress.

 

[TheDizee]

That wouldn't be difficult to accomplish, as The Blues' goaltending is, at least, among the top third, if not top quarter of all NHL teams.

not when the playoffs roll around. when game 1 starts we will be at the bottom of the goalie totem pole until they prove otherwise.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

not when the playoffs roll around. when game 1 starts we will be at the bottom of the goalie totem pole until they prove otherwise.

I don't think we've ever seen bad goaltending in the playoffs. I think this board goes a little hard on the goalies come playoff time, but its clear that scoring is the problem.

 

[BlueMagic]

Only actually bad goaltending we've had in the playoffs the past 4 years has come from the "missing piece" aka Ryan Miller.