2014-2015 Central Division Standings

[Falco Lombardi]

Well we will see what Minnesota fans think at the end of the season when they might have beaten us once all year.

Read a stat that said the Blues have won like 15 of 17 from the Wild. Not sure if that's true, but it sure feels like it.

EDIT: Every fan base does this in every sport, but I'll never get statements like: "Team X got a big upgrade in player Y, but I still think they seriously regress".

 

[Majorityof1]

I don't agree with it, but you can make an argument that our goaltending got weaker and hence the team did. Also, keep in mind that most people have no idea who Lehtera and Lindstrom are. So their additions are not considered very much. To a lot of people it is Stasny in and Sobotka out. With the criminal under-rating of Stasny and the over-rating of Sobotka based on intangibles and gumption, that can be minimized. Then with Miller gone, people could ignore how good Ells has been for us and call it a huge loss....

Or the more likely, they are just idiots.

 

[Dbrownss]

Even if we removed Lehterä and lindstrom...our top 6 is still right up there with the best of them. Berglund - Ott - Jaskin would probably be the 3rd line. Not the greatest but not terrible either.

As for our goal tending... what else is there? Miller was a flop and way overpaid in FA, there weren't any elite goalies available to "upgrade". Yet somehow we downgraded by sticking with our statistically best goalie that already plays well behind the team. I don't take the inconsistency argument anymore, especially after watching quick/rask/lundy this year. That's not ment as a comparison btw

 

[Falco Lombardi]

If you only look at the names, sure the goaltending downgraded.

But even as one of the Elliott "haters", it's hard to argue you downgraded when you look at Miller's numbers here and the contracts that him and Elliott signed this offseason.

 

[BlueDream]

Read a stat that said the Blues have won like 15 of 17 from the Wild. Not sure if that's true, but it sure feels like it.

EDIT: Every fan base does this in every sport, but I'll never get statements like: "Team X got a big upgrade in player Y, but I still think they seriously regress".

Yeah. That's about as dumb as fans projecting a team to have injury problems. How can anyone seriously predict that? Unless the team is just filled with guys like Carlo Colaiacovo and Martin Havlat, it's all chance and just plain dumb.

But yes the Blues own the Wild and will continue to do so since they are miles better than them.

 

[CaseyJones]

I was an Elliot hater up until last season when he was more reliable than Halak. I had to eat crow and concede that Elliot was a better choice than Halak, especially after seeing how Miller never got his mojo going. Being wrong sucks. That being said, I think the Wild will come in third. I guess that means they're not going to do very well since I'm always wrong about this stuff. XD

 

[542365]

It's not even that the Blues are that much better(the Blues are better, but not by as much as the head to head records indicate), it's that we are a match up nightmare for the Wild in the same way the Kings are a match up nightmare for the Blues.

 

[SirPaste]

I don't get all the hype about the Wild, they have some good players but don't scare me at all. I think the Stars and Avs will be better

 

[Note Worthy]

It's not even that the Blues are that much better(the Blues are better, but not by as much as the head to head records indicate), it's that we are a match up nightmare for the Wild in the same way the Kings are a match up nightmare for the Blues.

If one of the scenarios works out and we get matched up with them in the playoffs that would be amazing.

 

[Dbrownss]

I'm too spiteful to have real discussions with them. A good friend of mine is a wilds fan....so even off the Internet they are irrational. He was getting all bent out of shape when we were arguing the other day and said "WELL what have the Blues done against the wild!!!! We made it to the 2nd round and you didnt!!!" My reply..."the wild have won like 1 game in the last couple years against STL" and "you were eliminated by the same team with a healthy roster as opposed to the 75% capable Blues."

On this forum, in the main and their forum they are over rating their team. They are very solid but so was STL last season...it wasn't enough. In best defensive forward and best 1-2 punch threads. They had koivu ahead of backes, in the other one several had grandlund-koivu ahead of Stastny and Backes. Stastically and the eye test just don't back that up

 

[542365]

I don't get all the hype about the Wild, they have some good players but don't scare me at all. I think the Stars and Avs will be better

I don't understand it either. It seems we got through this every year with them, at least since they signed Suter and Parise. They signed Vanek, a very good player in his own right, Granlund, Nino, Zucker, Haula, Brodin and the rest of their young guys should continue to get better, but I feel like they don't understand other teams have some really good young players too. Schwartz and Tarasenko will only get better this season, Teravainen and Saad will get better, Mackinnon will likely get a LOT better, and he's already pretty damn good, along with Barrie, Landeskog, Duchene etc. Nuke will get better in Dallas, as will Seguin, both of whom were already damn good players. The division as a whole has a lot of really good young players that continue to improve. It seems a lot of their belief is coming from their young guys, but the rest of the division had a better roster before their young guys improved, and have young guys of their own.

 

[TK 421]

I don't understand it either. It seems we got through this every year with them, at least since they signed Suter and Parise. They signed Vanek, a very good player in his own right, Granlund, Nino, Zucker, Haula, Brodin and the rest of their young guys should continue to get better, but I feel like they don't understand other teams have some really good young players too. Schwartz and Tarasenko will only get better this season, Teravainen and Saad will get better, Mackinnon will likely get a LOT better, and he's already pretty damn good, along with Barrie, Landeskog, Duchene etc. Nuke will get better in Dallas, as will Seguin, both of whom were already damn good players. The division as a whole has a lot of really good young players that continue to improve. It seems a lot of their belief is coming from their young guys, but the rest of the division had a better roster before their young guys improved, and have young guys of their own.

Leaf syndrome. I hear it's very contagious in hockey mad markets and obviously leads to delusions. Damn hope fueling unrealistic expectations. I kicked a 20 plus year bout with it a couple years ago.

 

[HighNote]

If one of the scenarios works out and we get matched up with them in the playoffs that would be amazing.

It would have been basically a pass into the third round of the playoffs last year had we beaten the Hawks.

Unless they put up a good fight like they did with the Avalanche.

 

[Daley Tarasenkshow]

1. Hawks
2. Blues
3. Avs
4. Wild
5. Nashville
6. Dallas
7. Winnipeg

Dallas will struggle IMO.

 

[Robb_K]

I wonder if the person who voted The Blues for 7th place thought their goaltending and defence would fail? Or, he just doesn't like to see empty vote columns. Even with their goaltending being worse than expected, and a rash of injuries to key players, I can't see them finishing lower than 2nd. It's the playoffs I'm worried about (although I'm SURE they will win the First Round.

 

[Dbrownss]

I wonder if the person who voted The Blues for 7th place thought their goaltending and defence would fail? Or, he just doesn't like to see empty vote columns. Even with their goaltending being worse than expected, and a rash of injuries to key players, I can't see them finishing lower than 2nd. It's the playoffs I'm worried about (although I'm SURE they will win the First Round.

Upset rival fan

 

[Note Worthy]

I wonder if the person who voted The Blues for 7th place thought their goaltending and defence would fail? Or, he just doesn't like to see empty vote columns. Even with their goaltending being worse than expected, and a rash of injuries to key players, I can't see them finishing lower than 2nd. It's the playoffs I'm worried about (although I'm SURE they will win the First Round.

Upset rival fan

You can look.

It was Multimoodia

 

[Dbrownss]

You can look.

It was Multimoodia

I had no idea, I'm always on my phone

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Upset rival fan

Multimoodia is a lot of things, but mostly just a Blues fan who is trying to have a bit of fun with the serial futility that our existence has encompassed so far.

 

[ManyIdeas]

Blues are going to fold and release all players at the midpoint of the season.

Where's that option?

 

[TheOrganist]

I think the Blues win the division this year. The organizational depth is better than Chicago and we're gradually closing the gap in talent. We're only two seasons removed from most of the core group winning a division with four 100 point teams. This is the best group of skaters and most complete team we've iced in many, many years. They have the ability to win games in many different ways now and the margin of error is bigger than at any point since the early 2000 teams. The Blues aren't grinding out 2-1 wins anymore. We also matchup better with our divisional foes as opposed to the Pacific.

 

[Multimoodia]

I wonder if the person who voted The Blues for 7th place thought their goaltending and defence would fail? Or, he just doesn't like to see empty vote columns. Even with their goaltending being worse than expected, and a rash of injuries to key players, I can't see them finishing lower than 2nd. It's the playoffs I'm worried about (although I'm SURE they will win the First Round.

Upset rival fan

I explained my reasoning quite well I thought.

The chances, I admit, are less than 100% but they are still strong enough that the logic is nigh unassailable.

 

[Multimoodia]

Multimoodia is a lot of things, but mostly just a Blues fan who is trying to have a bit of fun with the serial futility that our existence has encompassed so far.

You should hear some of those other things. I have a list of ex-employers and ex-girlfriends who will happily burn your ear each for an hour or better about all of the things wrong with me. I'm told some of it is amusing.

Tangentially related to this:
So interestingly (for me) as of five or so years ago I had to start getting my blood pressure checked every 6 months so I can keep flying around the world and swear at computers. I have no idea why my organization requires this (other than for giggles at some of my more...unhealthy...colleagues) just that they do.
It so happens that my blood pressure check has been changed two years ago to be once in January and once in July. I went yesterday and was informed by my doctor a curious note: my blood pressure in summer is much, much lower than it has been in the winter.
Previous years the testing cycle had been once in May and once in November. May used to be the highest. The doctor's conclusion was that I must really look forward to and enjoy summer and it relaxes me once it arrives.

I didn't have the heart (pun unintended but that doesn't make it any less unfortunate) to tell him that the Blues are more to blame for that. Especially the May part.

 

[Dbrownss]

I explained my reasoning quite well I thought.

The chances, I admit, are less than 100% but they are still strong enough that the logic is nigh unassailable.

I didn't know I could look and see who voted what. The locker room scenario is plausible.

 

[Majorityof1]

I didn't know I could look and see who voted what. The locker room scenario is plausible.

How do you see? I can see it before I vote. I just click see results and it shows me. But once I vote, it doesn't show it and I can't click see results.

Edit: Never mind, I figured it out. Just click the number of people who voted for any of the choices.