2019 - 2020 St. Louis Blues - Defending the Cup - Part 2: The Depth from Within

[Vladys Gumption]

Mac definitely deserves to play over sanford. Although he’s offensively limited he’s s good fit for the fourth line. And I like his speed and willingness to get in and crash hard in there forcheck. He does a nice job of disrupted the opposing defense.

 

[simon IC]

sanford is only going to be successful in a purely offensive role

hes likely the best stickhandler on the team and one of the better passers

trying to get anything else out of him, not gonna work. hes clumsy and lazy. he needs to be played to his strengths or not played at all

I am not ready to completely give up on Sanford (or any player) becoming a more complete player. If you are correct in your evaluation, however, then Sanford needs to go. There is no room for that kind of player on the Blues, and I am glad of that.

 

[SneakerPimp82]

I don't want to see Thomas in the AHL unless he is out for longer than we expect and truly just needs a game or 2 to shake off rust in a legitimate conditioning stint. From a gameplay standpoint he has done nothing to tell me he doesn't belong in the NHL and I don't like allowing an injury to cost an otherwise NHL lock a roster spot AND money out of his pocket. He's living with the Tkachuks, he's settling into adulthood in St. Louis and he looked damn good in a 3rd line role at the end of last season. From an organizational standpoint (and a players in the locker room standpoint) an injury shouldn't ship him to the AHL.

With that said, I'm all for shopping Sanford around for a bit. If we can get a mid-late round pick for him then I'm all for that. But if there just isn't a market (and none develops), then I want to waive him in a month or so. I'm not in a rush on Kostin, so I'm completely on board with using the next month to try and get some type of asset out of Sanford (along with getting a larger sample size out of Blais, Fabbri and MacMac). I'm not sure that a market materializes for Sanford, but the potential of getting a 4th-7th round pick AND building a larger sample size on the other guys towards the end of the lineup is worth waiting unless the underlying numbers catch up to us and the wheels fall off.

There are things to be concerned about with the team play so far, but the first few weeks of the season are weird and are all about banking points and evaluating the question marks on your roster. We've banked 8 points in 6 games (109 point pace) and have played a relatively tough schedule. Now is the time for patience.

All of this. The whole shebang. That's how you spell shebang right?

 

[Ranksu]

Mac definitely deserves to play over sanford. Although he’s offensively limited he’s s good fit for the fourth line. And I like his speed and willingness to get in and crash hard in there forcheck. He does a nice job of disrupted the opposing defense.

MacMac isn't that good positionally sounded. I think that will come when he gets games under his belt. That would help him a lot and his linemates. To me he looks like Barbashev couple years back when he was chasing all the time and positionally bit bad. Now look what Barbashev has become.

 

[EastonBlues22]

All of this. The whole shebang. That's how you spell shebang right?

Indubitably

That's how you spell indubitably, right?

 

[Evocable Manager]

I hope to god Berube starts to experiment with the lines and shows some creativity. The team has been crap since the first game and our underlying metrics are among the worst in the league.

Todays game was a lot better until 19:54 of the 2nd period when the most atrocious, inexcusable goal I’ve ever seen went in. Even the game against Vancouver was looking fine until that bogus 5 on 3 was gifted to them. Regardless the team hasn’t put up a good 60 minute performance all year. Not one.

Not that I’m overly concerned because this is a top 5 roster in the league and undoubtedly the best team in the conference. But why is Berube so reluctant to change anything? He’s mixed up D-pairings and done nothing upfront.

Run something like:
Schwartz-Bozak-Schenn
Perron-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Fabbri-Thomas-Blais
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen

Then try something a little different on D
Dunn-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Parayko
Bortuzzo-Faulk

And for the love of god never start Allen again. That experiment has failed over and over again and the definition of insanity is repeatedly trying something that doesn’t work. Tampa Bay has like 4 backup caliber goalies who’ve played in the NHL I’m sure we can make something happen. Hell even call up Husso he can’t possibly be worse.

 

[simon IC]

I hope to god Berube starts to experiment with the lines and shows some creativity. The team has been crap since the first game and our underlying metrics are among the worst in the league.

Todays game was a lot better until 19:54 of the 2nd period when the most atrocious, inexcusable goal I’ve ever seen went in. Even the game against Vancouver was looking fine until that bogus 5 on 3 was gifted to them. Regardless the team hasn’t put up a good 60 minute performance all year. Not one.

Not that I’m overly concerned because this is a top 5 roster in the league and undoubtedly the best team in the conference. But why is Berube so reluctant to change anything? He’s mixed up D-pairings and done nothing upfront.

Run something like:
Schwartz-Bozak-Schenn
Perron-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Fabbri-Thomas-Blais
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen

Then try something a little different on D
Dunn-Pietrangelo
Gunnarsson-Parayko
Bortuzzo-Faulk

And for the love of god never start Allen again. That experiment has failed over and over again and the definition of insanity is repeatedly trying something that doesn’t work. Tampa Bay has like 4 backup caliber goalies who’ve played in the NHL I’m sure we can make something happen. Hell even call up Husso he can’t possibly be worse.

Bozak as the #1 C?

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I liked the idea of acquiring Faulk for peanuts, since he is an upgrade to the pieces the team parted with. But it doesn't seem like there was a definite plan on how to use him. I think Berube and Armstrong talked, and the end of the discussion was, "We could do X, Y or Z. We'll just try some stuff and see what works best." Where X, Y and Z are different guys playing on their off-sides.

I don't fault them for taking a chance like that, but it has created some disorganization in the early season defense. If they find the best option and then run with it, allowing guys to get comfortable, it could still end up being a really great move.

Having said all that, I think I like the Faulk/Dunn and the Parayko/Pietro pairings the best out of the iterations so far. For me it comes down to, I don't think of Parayko is the offensive threat that the other guys are. He can carry the puck, and he can snuff out the other team's possession. His game is harmed the least by being on his left. I hope this set of pairings is allowed to percolate for a while, and see what we've got.

But that leaves Bouwmeester with Bortuzzo/Gunnarsson as the 3rd pairing. I like sheltering Bouwmeester a bit. I appreciate greatly how he elevated his game in the playoffs, but we saw the writing on the wall in the regular season last year. I think its a lot more realistic that he struggles again this season with being overmatched at times. He should be on the 3rd pairing. Not having a better option than him on the left D is a bad sign for the health of the team. Is it Parayko and Dunn?

Studying how the team are organizing the defensive talent has been an interesting study so far, but I think they've hit on the best scenario for the time being.

 

[CoverYour5]

If Berube wants to keep the top line together, I would run:

Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Fabbri-Oreilly-Thomas
Blais-Bozak-Perron
Steen-Sunny-Bbshev

If Blais is too banged up to go, move steen up a line and insert Macmac.

 

[Evocable Manager]

If I’m reading this correctly:
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Steen-O’Reilly-Perron
Blais/Fabbri-Bozak-Thomas
Mac-Sundqvist-Barbashev

Tweaking the lines a little but Steen has certainly lost a step offensively so my confidence in that combination is rather meager. Thomas moving back up to the 3rd unit with Bozak is somewhat reassuring.

Bozak as the #1 C?

It’s not that black and white. Conceptually, a teams lined should be deployed with a legitimate purpose and structure around a scheme that fits with team winning games.
It may seem a little out of place for Bozak to be placed with Schwartz and Schenn but in what I suggested our best line is more likely to end up being the line with our two best forwards on it rather than the Bozak line. With the setup I proposed (I’m not suggesting it’s perfect or that it would work, but rather that it’d be encouraging to see some creativity and adjustment out of our coach) it gives us a checking unit, a primary scoring line, with one of the best defensive centers in the league on it, a secondary and tertiary scoring unit as well.

Berube could even go back further in time to the lineup that saw most of an 11 game win streak last season.

Schenn-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Bozak-Perron
Blais-Thomas-Fabbri
Steen-Sundqvist-Barbashev

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Steen being on the second line with the talent we have is some Hitch-like activity.

Fabbri and Thomas should be in top 6 roles to maximize their potential, because well, they’re skilled players. Not bottom six guys.

Put Tarasenko and O’Reilly back together, because that’s who Vladi plays best with, and 15/91 also had great chemistry before the injuries.

Blais and Perron should also stick together, and you could get a lot more out of the third line with them down there with Bozak.

Fabbri-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Schenn-Thomas
Blais-Bozak-Perron
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen

Defensively, depending on Gunnar or Bortz are in the lineup, I’d go with these

Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo
Dunn-Parayko
Bouwmeester-Faulk

or

Dunn-Pietrangelo
Parayko-Faulk
Bouwmeester-Bortuzzo


You can actually run four great lines and three great pairings in this hypothetical scenario.

 

[Blueston]

Steen being on the second line with the talent we have is some Hitch-like activity.

Fabbri and Thomas should be in top 6 roles to maximize their potential, because well, they’re skilled players. Not bottom six guys.

Put Tarasenko and O’Reilly back together, because that’s who Vladi plays best with, and 15/91 also had great chemistry before the injuries.

Blais and Perron should also stick together, and you could get a lot more out of the third line with them down there with Bozak.

Fabbri-O’Reilly-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Schenn-Thomas
Blais-Bozak-Perron
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen

Defensively, depending on Gunnar or Bortz are in the lineup, I’d go with these

Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo
Dunn-Parayko
Bouwmeester-Faulk

or

Dunn-Pietrangelo
Parayko-Faulk
Bouwmeester-Bortuzzo


You can actually run four great lines and three great pairings in this hypothetical scenario.

Blais is apparently banged up. Thomas is still getting up to game speed. Steen on line 2 isn’t long term solution but as short term fix not worst idea.

 

[Celtic Note]

@Stupendous Yappi
The defensive pairings with Faulk are challenging. Parayko on his off hand might be our best option for a guy who is able to transition. But, long-term I want Parayko on our shutdown pairing with a very strong other pairing. I think you have to break up Petro and Parayko to accomplish that.


Steen being on our second line? Not a fan of that idea. But, I doubt it will last long.

 

[Blueston]

@Stupendous Yappi
The defensive pairings with Faulk are challenging. Parayko on his off hand might be our best option for a guy who is able to transition. But, long-term I want Parayko on our shutdown pairing with a very strong other pairing. I think you have to break up Petro and Parayko to accomplish that.


Steen being on our second line? Not a fan of that idea. But, I doubt it will last long.

Agreed. Petro’s production went way up when Parayko took tough matchups. Playing them together makes for potentially great pair but not sure it maximizes our resources. Would be interested to see Parayko with Faulk.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

Blais is apparently banged up. Thomas is still getting up to game speed. Steen on line 2 isn’t long term solution but as short term fix not worst idea.

I just meant at full health. I’d have Steen with Bozak and Perron in that scenario, with Mac on the 4th line. Top 2 lines the same though.

 

[simon IC]

The more I think about it, the more it makes the most sense to me to put Faulk on his off-side. He is easily the weakest defensively of our RD, so he if is going to be a bit of a liability anyway, why not pair him with either Pietrangelo or Parayko and have those two, both of whom are excellent defenders, playing in the position that gives them the optimum chance to succeed? So :

• Faulk-Pietrangelo
• Bouwmeester-Parayko
• Dunn-Bortuzzo/Gunnarsson

OR :

• Bouwmeester-Pietrangelo
• Faulk-Parayko
• Dunn-Bortuzzo/Gunnarsson

Either that, or just let Faulk be the third pairing RD and make up playing time on the PP.

• Dunn-Pietrangelo
• Bouwmeester-Parayko
• Gunnarsson/Bortuzzo-Faulk

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Not sure what others have been seeing, but I thought last game was Steen’s best of the season. I doubt he can hold down a top6 spot for a long time, but I think he deserves and can function effectively in the top 6 for now. I also expect balanced minutes with that 3rd line, so it’s a little misleading.

 

[simon IC]

I don't have any issues at all with Steen occasionally moving up in the lineup. We all know it's temporary.

 

[MissouriMook]

I'd like to see more activation from our D tonight. Re-watching the three games we've won this season and the games we won late last season and in the playoffs, that seem to be a bigger part of our game plan and execution than it's been the last few games.

I'd also like to see a bit of a line shuffle, but I've been looking for this for a while. Assuming they hold Blais out tonight, how about...

Schwartz-Schenn-Thomas
Steen-O'Reilly-Perron
Fabbri-Bozak-Tarasenko
MacMac-Barbashev-Sunny

Dunn-Petro
Bo-Parayko
Bortz-Faulk

 

[TheGoldenGod]

 

[Brian39]

Not sure what others have been seeing, but I thought last game was Steen’s best of the season. I doubt he can hold down a top6 spot for a long time, but I think he deserves and can function effectively in the top 6 for now. I also expect balanced minutes with that 3rd line, so it’s a little misleading.

I thought Steen and Fabbri were the Blues two best forwards on Saturday and have zero problem with either moving up in the lineup. Steen won't be in the top 6 long term, but Blais being banged up is probably a good time to tinker.

Frankly, I'm confused by Fabbri's usage the last 2 games. He had a couple great shifts against Vancouver, gets robbed by Demko once and then scores a goal. And then he was promptly stapled to the bench and played about 3 minutes for the rest of the night. On Saturday, he again had a couple good shifts in the 1st period, then got stapled to the bench until Blais got hurt and he filled in on the 2nd line for pretty much the entire 3rd period.

I'm admittedly a big Fabbri fan and I'll acknowledge that I have spent the last 2 games mainly with an eye towards his progress. That probably leads to some bias, but it also means that I've been watching him away from the puck as much as possible on TV. I haven't seen any big glaring mistakes in the last couple games to merit benchings, especially since he has looked great in his early shifts each game.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

I’m with you Brian. I think Fabbri has earned more minutes, not less. I’m kind of confused to be honest. He was dangerous and created some good opportunities in both games and his reward is to sit? Doesn’t make much sense to me.

 

[SwivelSchwartz]

Love to see he’s mentally health enough to play again, but that’s stopped by at least 30 nhl goalies.

 

[Stealth JD]

D-pairings that make the most sense to me will accomplish the following:
Split Petro & Parayko
Split Dunn & Faulk
Split Bouw & Petro

Aside from that, I'm fine with any potential combinations. I'd probably be most inclined to play Parayko on his off-side of the three RHD. I think his game would suffer the least, since his physical skills are incredible. I almost wonder if the Blues shouldn't do some sort of round-robin with their 3 RHD where they all end up playing 2 periods on the right, one on the left...rotating with one another so that all three guys get enough exposure to it and are flexible for in the event of 'what if'.

As for Fabbri - he's simply not trusted. His ice-time is under 10-minutes per game. When the team is struggling, people are going to come out of the lineup. He's the logical candidate. Really bummed for the guy, but the writing is on the wall.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Blues hold players-only meeting in effort to get back on track

 

[STL BLUES]

Faulk and DP57 have good hockey sense. Faulk can pass a puck and DP57 can one time it better than anybody. Lazer beam of a shot.