The Blues in the second half of B2Bs

[Falco Lombardi]

12 wins in a row and 19-2 in the last 21.

I knew we were unusually good on them but it’s fairly flabbergasting to see just how good.

Anyone else floored by this? Wonder if there’s a reason for it and can we argue for B2Bs in the playoffs?

Click to read more...

 

[elkranio]

A bit OT but I'm fairly terrified because of our hot start. Something something regular season success.
Can we leave some in the tank till the playoffs time?

 

[Dbrownss]

A bit OT but I'm fairly terrified because of our hot start. Something something regular season success.
Can we leave some in the tank till the playoffs time?

Nothing directed at you but I hate this narrative. Are teams purposely supposed to be bad and "cruise"? I don't feel the Blues are expending any major energy in the games. The problem ive seen is just maintaining the intensity throughout the 82 game schedule. When your the top dog, your going to see everyone elses A game as they look at you as the measuring stick. I think its critical to get off to a hot start and bank those points.




As to the Blues rediculous record. Its funny considering there was a thread on the mains about banning B2Bs

 

[elkranio]

Nothing directed at you but I hate this narrative. Are teams purposely supposed to be bad and "cruise"? I don't feel the Blues are expending any major energy in the games. The problem ive seen is just maintaining the intensity throughout the 82 game schedule. When your the top dog, your going to see everyone elses A game as they look at you as the measuring stick. I think its critical to get off to a hot start and bank those points.

As to the Blues rediculous record. Its funny considering there was a thread on the mains about banning B2Bs

Nono I get you, I mean I dislike stull like "Don't score all your goals in one game" etc. I don't want them to lose on purpose of course. I am just uneasy. You know, the life of a Blues fan.

 

[Dbrownss]

Nono I get you, I mean I dislike stull like "Don't score all your goals in one game" etc. I don't want them to lose on purpose of course. I am just uneasy. You know, the life of a Blues fan.

Yep, that's why i try not to celebrate regular season success now. These guys are playing fantastic hockey though. The offense isnt solely based on Tarasenko. We have a legit top 6 finally. We just need to fix the 3rd line. I doubt thats a tall order for any GM. Before we were looking fir primary scoring help.......

 

[fishsandwichpatrol]

It seems every year that one or two teams have an insane first half and everyone gets bullish on the contender status and then they peter out by January and are clearly done for the year. Hopefully that's not us this year.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

I remember some of the early Hitchcock teams and Andy Murray teams. They could win games, but expended a lot of energy to outwork opponents, and it wasn't sustainable over a long stretch. I don't see anything about the current play style that is like that. I would think its the opponent that is going to get worn out if they played the Blues several times.

Pretty crazy how well they do on the back to back, but it speaks to mental toughness.

 

[Majorityof1]

Out of curiosity, how many times has Hutton played the 2nd of the back-to-backs? Cause this season, Nashville game aside, Hutt's got a lot in common with DJ Khaled. All he "does is win, win, win no matter what, got money on [his] mind, can never get enough, and every time [he] steps into the building, everyone's hands go up......and they stay there....". We have the best goalie in the NHL and he only plays on back-to-backs.

Kidding aside, having a strong back-up is definitely important for back-to-backs.

 

[Dbrownss]

Speaking of Hutton. He needs to be extended

 

[Majorityof1]

Speaking of Hutton. He needs to be extended

I'd be a bit surprised if he extended here. With Husso nearing ready, he won't get any term. With the leash Allen has, he won't get any games. Why would he re-sign rather than test the waters elsewhere?

Allen has let in 20 over the last 6.5 games, over 3 GAA in that span. He has a .875 save%. Hutton has gotten 1 start during that stretch and that was only due to a back-to-back. Hutton is 4-1, with a 1.59 GAA and .946 s%. If he has not earned more starts over the last 7, he isn't going to get more. I'm not saying it to trash Allen, but just to say that Hutton isn't going to get many games here. If he ends with numbers anywhere near what he has, he can get a fatter contract on a team that needs/will play him more.

 

[Dbrownss]

I'd be a bit surprised if he extended here. With Husso nearing ready, he won't get any term. With the leash Allen has, he won't get any games. Why would he re-sign rather than test the waters elsewhere?

Allen has let in 20 over the last 6.5 games, over 3 GAA in that span. He has a .875 save%. Hutton has gotten 1 start during that stretch and that was only due to a back-to-back. Hutton is 4-1, with a 1.59 GAA and .946 s%. If he has not earned more starts over the last 7, he isn't going to get more. I'm not saying it to trash Allen, but just to say that Hutton isn't going to get many games here. If he ends with numbers anywhere near what he has, he can get a fatter contract on a team that needs/will play him more.

Hutton is a career backup and he knows it, he's comfortable with it. The Blues goalie schedule is set from day 1. Allen has to really suck to lose a game. I'm actually happy we dont have the reward the goalie system anymore, Hated that. I can see it if Allen is just wore out and needs am extended rest. Now onto Husso....who says he's ready next year? Let him actually perform at a high level in the AHL. I havnt seen too much to indicate he's wasting his time in the AHL

 

[542365]

It's past the point of being purely a coincidence. There's something to it. Maybe too much practice/film time leads to overthinking, where on the second night of a back to back you're just playing hockey, not really thinking? I dunno. 21 games is a reasonably big sample size and the Blues just continue to do well. Having a youthful core certainly helps too. It's much easier to bounce back the next night at 25 than it is at 35.

 

[Bobby Orrtuzzo]

Now let's look at our record when there's more than 1 day of rest....it has to be among the worst in recent years

 

[Brian39]

Hutton is a career backup and he knows it, he's comfortable with it. The Blues goalie schedule is set from day 1. Allen has to really suck to lose a game. I'm actually happy we dont have the reward the goalie system anymore, Hated that. I can see it if Allen is just wore out and needs am extended rest. Now onto Husso....who says he's ready next year? Let him actually perform at a high level in the AHL. I havnt seen too much to indicate he's wasting his time in the AHL

I doubt that Hutton truly believes that he is a career backup and nothing more (assuming that by backup you mean a guy who will start fewer than 20 games barring injury). Allen is on pace for 65 starts and has been kept on that pace through a bit of a rough patch. It is pretty clear that we don't intend on using the backup more than 20 times. Hutton is almost certainly not a starting goalie in the NHL, but there is a damn good chance that he could be a quality 30-35 start guy for a team who isn't fully confident in their #1. There is a market for that type of "high end" backup that pays better than we are currently paying Hutton. If he finishes this year as one of the better backups in the NHL, he could probably bank an extra $400-600k per year on a 2 year deal than what we will want to pay a guy who plays fewer than 20 games a year.

With Husso coming up, I doubt we want to commit 2 years to Hutton (if we even want to keep Husso in the AHL next year). I also doubt that we are eager to pay a backup $1.5+ mil when Husso would be about $600 k cheaper.

I'd like to have Hutton back and I agree that I like our current set up where Allen is the guy and isn't expected to fight off his backup for starts. But even if it is better for Allen and/or the team, I'm sure Hutton would like to be in a position where he can earn more starts. I think it is unlikely he will take a pay cut to pass up a situation like that and I doubt the Blues will want to pay market value (or slightly overpay) to keep a backup that we intend on using sparingly. Hutts has been great, but I'd be surprised if he gets extended. I think we'll let him get his raise elsewhere, sign some interchangeable vet for about $1 mil and hope Husso wins the backup job in camp.

 

[Majorityof1]

Thanks Brian. My thoughts to a T. Saved me the job typing it up, and probably said it better than I could have to boot.

 

[Renard]

12 wins in a row and 19-2 in the last 21.

I knew we were unusually good on them but it’s fairly flabbergasting to see just how good.

Anyone else floored by this? Wonder if there’s a reason for it and can we argue for B2Bs in the playoffs?

I'm shocked at that statistic. I assume that we are going to lose the second game of B2B, unless the other team played the night before too.

 

[PiggySmalls]

I have said in the past his biggest knock has always been his rebound control. I know it is a small sample size so far this season but his control has been outstanding. It is tough for me to say it is Alexander that has found something to help it or something else that Carter has done. But I hope he keeps it up.

 

[Dbrownss]

I doubt that Hutton truly believes that he is a career backup and nothing more (assuming that by backup you mean a guy who will start fewer than 20 games barring injury). Allen is on pace for 65 starts and has been kept on that pace through a bit of a rough patch. It is pretty clear that we don't intend on using the backup more than 20 times. Hutton is almost certainly not a starting goalie in the NHL, but there is a damn good chance that he could be a quality 30-35 start guy for a team who isn't fully confident in their #1. There is a market for that type of "high end" backup that pays better than we are currently paying Hutton. If he finishes this year as one of the better backups in the NHL, he could probably bank an extra $400-600k per year on a 2 year deal than what we will want to pay a guy who plays fewer than 20 games a year.

With Husso coming up, I doubt we want to commit 2 years to Hutton (if we even want to keep Husso in the AHL next year). I also doubt that we are eager to pay a backup $1.5+ mil when Husso would be about $600 k cheaper.

I'd like to have Hutton back and I agree that I like our current set up where Allen is the guy and isn't expected to fight off his backup for starts. But even if it is better for Allen and/or the team, I'm sure Hutton would like to be in a position where he can earn more starts. I think it is unlikely he will take a pay cut to pass up a situation like that and I doubt the Blues will want to pay market value (or slightly overpay) to keep a backup that we intend on using sparingly. Hutts has been great, but I'd be surprised if he gets extended. I think we'll let him get his raise elsewhere, sign some interchangeable vet for about $1 mil and hope Husso wins the backup job in camp.

Well neither of us can truely answer what he wants.... does he want 20 games and the chance for a championship ring or does he want to play am extra 10 games on what most likely is a cup team. Idk.....thats his call. Imo if Hutton costs an extra 1m over 2yrs to stay in Stl, then that should be a path strongly considered. I'll take that over the hopes Husso steps up and out plays someone else. Too much hope is being placed on Husso.

 

[Oberyn]

I really like Hutton, he's been good whenever he's called to play and seems like a great personality off the ice as well. He'll have a media job once he retires, without a doubt. That said, he doesn't really have a future here with Husso on the horizon. I'd be surprised if the Blues extended him.

 

[Majorityof1]

Well neither of us can truely answer what he wants.... does he want 20 games and the chance for a championship ring or does he want to play am extra 10 games on what most likely is a cup team. Idk.....thats his call. Imo if Hutton costs an extra 1m over 2yrs to stay in Stl, then that should be a path strongly considered. I'll take that over the hopes Husso steps up and out plays someone else. Too much hope is being placed on Husso.

Keep in mind, Hutton has made $5.4M over 8 years in his career. He is already 31. If he keeps his numbers, he could earn 75% or more of his previous career earnings over the next two years. While he could technically afford to turn that down, it would be very hard to do so. Players at that level don't usually leave money on the table for a cup. That is more something you hear star players do when we are talking a million or two out of $50M career earnings, plus endorsements. In a cap world, you can't spend that extra Mil on a 20-game goalie. We technically could as Jake is relatively cheap for a 60+ game starter, but we'd get more bang for our buck spending it elsewhere in the lineup.

 

[Brian39]

Well neither of us can truely answer what he wants.... does he want 20 games and the chance for a championship ring or does he want to play am extra 10 games on what most likely is a cup team. Idk.....thats his call. Imo if Hutton costs an extra 1m over 2yrs to stay in Stl, then that should be a path strongly considered. I'll take that over the hopes Husso steps up and out plays someone else. Too much hope is being placed on Husso.

You started off your assessment by proclaiming that he is a backup and is comfortable with it. Obviously none of us can read his mind, but there are very valid reasons why that statement is likely not true. Maybe winning a Cup in a baseball cap outweighs a raise and more responsibility, but that is far from a given and most pro athletes would rather play than sit.

I disagree about Hutton being worth the extra $500k in cap hit each year. I'm not putting a ton of hope on Husso. Even if Husso busts out completely and doesn't make the roster in the next two years, I think that money is better spent on the rest of the lineup. If you are playing your backup less than 20 games a year, you are talking about maaaybe 5 points in the regular season standings between Hutton and your average backup. Over the next 2 years, this team should comfortably make the playoffs with or without those points. At the same time, we are going to see a heck of a cap crunch. The focus should be on building the best playoff team and skimping half a mil on your backup goalie to put into your skaters is better asset management IMO. Having the possibility of Husso being a stud is icing on the cake, not the rationale behind going cheap on your p>

 

[Dbrownss]

Keep in mind, Hutton has made $5.4M over 8 years in his career. He is already 31. If he keeps his numbers, he could earn 75% or more of his previous career earnings over the next two years. While he could technically afford to turn that down, it would be very hard to do so. Players at that level don't usually leave money on the table for a cup. That is more something you hear star players do when we are talking a million or two out of $50M career earnings, plus endorsements. In a cap world, you can't spend that extra Mil on a 20-game goalie. We technically could as Jake is relatively cheap for a 60+ game starter, but we'd get more bang for our buck spending it elsewhere in the lineup.

It's up to what he wants and values, I can't answer that. What I will say is Hutton is a rock of a backup. If he can be had for less then 2m, then he needs to stay for another season or 2. I used 2m as the very highside. Thats 900k over what he's making now.

 

[Dbrownss]

You started off your assessment by proclaiming that he is a backup and is comfortable with it. Obviously none of us can read his mind, but there are very valid reasons why that statement is likely not true. Maybe winning a Cup in a baseball cap outweighs a raise and more responsibility, but that is far from a given and most pro athletes would rather play than sit.

I disagree about Hutton being worth the extra $500k in cap hit each year. I'm not putting a ton of hope on Husso. Even if Husso busts out completely and doesn't make the roster in the next two years, I think that money is better spent on the rest of the lineup. If you are playing your backup less than 20 games a year, you are talking about maaaybe 5 points in the regular season standings between Hutton and your average backup. Over the next 2 years, this team should comfortably make the playoffs with or without those points. At the same time, we are going to see a heck of a cap crunch. The focus should be on building the best playoff team and skimping half a mil on your backup goalie to put into your skaters is better asset management IMO. Having the possibility of Husso being a stud is icing on the cake, not the rationale behind going cheap on your p>

He's said as much in an interview

 

[TheDizee]

hutton needs to be getting more starts than he has been getting. hes playing at a higher levelright now than jake.

 

[Ranksu]

How much I love Husso, he isn't NHL back-up ready yet, maybe call-ups, but nothing more. Not give Hutton at least 1-year deal would be horrendous managenemt job by Army. If Allen would injured we would run with Husso and Binnington?

Sign Hutton at least 1-year and give Husso opportunity to call-ups. Husso isn't even #1 goaltender in AHL, just bench boy this season. Blues have done great job by delay his developement. So lets not rush things with him when he hasn't get change to play the games yet in NA.