GDT: Blues @ Kings

[LGB51]

If your argument is that Binnington should have started instead, I disagree with you strongly. Its not a publicity stunt if Brodeur is one of the most reasonable options that was out there. Bryzgalov was a possibility, but he's openly admitted that he didn't keep in shape or skate.

I agree Brodeur wasn't good enough, but I don't think the Blues passed up some obviously better option. And hopefully, Elliott should be back soon.

Not Binny, Allen should have started again. Teams like Nashville, Chicago, LA & Anaheim Brodeur has no business starting against anymore. Allen gave up a soft goal to LA on Tuesday, but he also righted the ship, and slammed the damn door on them. There isn't any reason I can think of why he shouldn't have started again, with a day of rest in between. At least no reason that makes a lick of sense to me.

I believe we win last night, with either Elliot (healthy) or Allen in the net. If one good thing came from starting Marty last night, it might be Hitch seeing with his own eyes, the type of opponent he absolutely can't start Brodeur against.

 

[DeuceNine]

Not Binny, Allen should have started again. Teams like Nashville, Chicago, LA & Anaheim Brodeur has no business starting against anymor. Allen gave up a soft goal to LA on Tuesday, but he also righted the ship, and slammed the damn door on them. There isn't any reason I can think of why he shouldn't have started again, with a day of rest in between. At least no reason that makes a lick of sense to me.

I believe we win last night, with either Elliot (healthy) or Allen in the net. If one good thing came from starting Marty last night, it might be Hitch seeing with his own eyes, the type of opponent he absolutely can't start Brodeur against.

I think this latter part is key. Like many of us, Hitch has a soft spot for Marty and we all want him to excel. This game will inform Hitch of who he objectively should and shouldn't play him against. Perhaps in "guaranteed points" games like Carolina, possibly Buffalo, Islanders and Oilers etc just to gave Jake a rest until Ells comes back. Having said that, if goalies like Brodeur could play 70+ games and win Cups back in the day, there's no reason why Allen with today's better training and nutrition couldn't still shoulder the vast majority until Ells gets back.

IMO, the bigger issue long-term is how we handle Elliott. Brodeur is inherently expendable, and he knows that. But right now, Ells has been called and has earned the starter's role. By all means -- health as key -- he should regain the crease for the playoffs. We all love Marty and given the circumstances it's great fun to have him in the Note. I think he has another Cup in his veins, but last night may have given some us a dose of reality just a little.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Its not good for the team to entertain the idea of keeping all 3 goalies, assuming a fully healthy Elliott. They're going to need to either trade or put Brodeur on waivers. I hope someone grabs him, because I think he could still help a few teams and be able to win some games.

He's not as bad as the Kings made him look, but he's also not as good as Elliott. I'm not worried about Allen starting too many games from a physical standpoint. Its the mental consequences. He's already shown up and down play. If you want to have him develop bad habits the best way to do that is to overplay him right now.

I appreciate what Brodeur has provided for this team. He deserves nothing but respect. I truly hope he is able to get to 700, but I don't expect it to be with the Blues. If I were in charge of a team that looks to be sellers at the deadline, I'd try to entice Marty to come inject some excitement. He can get some starts (even as the back-up) and a chance to add to his wins total, and the team gets something to get a little excited about in a disappointing season.

 

[LGB51]

Besides the initial letdown of watching the Kings take the lead in the 3rd, I felt good about these last 2 games. Because they proved they could hang and even defeat the Cali teams, something they couldn't muster last year.

The thing that sucks most, we finally get more posters to make the board more active (which is suppose to be a good thing) but it's mostly been negative craziness.

 

[Blues88]

I agree with this.

The STL line is guilty of some of this. Lehtera had a drop pass at center ice that led to an easy zone entry and dangerous chance.

Oshie's drop pass inside the Blues offensive zone (to no one) led directly to a goal last night. In the past Hitchcock is pretty severe about that kind of play, and you'd here about it. He seems to have mellowed, and prefers to let the team leaders police those kinds of mental errors. But I feel like they've drifted too far from smart play at a time when they have a lead in the game. You need to be willing to trade occasional plays like that if you want goals like Lehtera's drop pass goal (the game of his hat trick) where Vlad dropped it to him in the slot. But up 3-0 is not the time you need to make a play like that.

These are mental lapses and pretty easy to change. The flow of play at even strength is generally pretty strong, though, and that's very promising.

And this is the important part in my view. We have a good blend of physicality and skill now, perhaps the best balance we've had in years. Managing the puck in our zone and on exits will likely clean up the issue and make us that much harder to play against.

I'm happy to see the coaching staff take a more lenient stance if that is indeed what's happening because those lapses are fixable. We finally have injected some creativity in the line up and it's paying off, especially on the PP. Shatty's goal last night was a good example of the type of puck movement we all wished hard for in prior years. Gap closures have been so so, but again, we know they are capable of completely nullifying entries and moving it back up ice quick. I'd like to see the forecheck stay consistent because that has been key to puck disruption and scoring chances.

What I'm most excited about is Backes over the past 3-4 games. He looks vintage out there. He impacts a game so much from a physical standpoint, and he's arguably the best board player we have. Wins so many puck battles and just is a pill to play against. We need him at that level.

 

[Blues88]

And concerning Marty, yes, it's been nice to see him here. He's such an asset with puck movement and the effect he can have on the PK outside of the crease. I do agree that they'll need to move him if they value Allen long term.

I think last night sort of encapsulated Marty perfectly (at least the aging legend Marty). There were some goals where a more traditional butterfly tender would have had a better chance, and may have even stopped the eventual goals, but he really does still have a knack for nullifying great chances. Very feast or famine at this stage, but it's been entertaining as hell. That poke check on Carter last night, while resulting in incredibly bad luck, was skillful and ballsy. He even got a blocker on the ensuing Gaborik shot! His stop on Williams point blank and Doughty's wrister (bad gap coverage by our D) in the third were huge saves. Can't fault him for the bouncer....

Pang's made light of it and it is a bit of a trend. Petro does screen the goalie. That Muzzin goal, while a great shot, he shouldn't have that opportunity there. Oh well.

 

[Stopsight]

It was a fun game to watch except the whole losing thing. I Knew the outcome of the game as soon as the kings made it 3-1, and I had a lot of time to accept it. I was still a bit mad until the Dwight King goal, that was a nice way of the universe saying "this is not your day, Blues. Let it go"

I think we are in a much better position vs. the Kings than we have been the past few years, particularly when we have Schwartz, Gunnar and Elliott healthy.

 

[Meatball]

Fully healthy I like our chances, but we're going to eventually have to learn to play through that heavy forecheck. When they were taking themselves out of position in the first, we looked good. After the Kings started playing their game, we got rattled.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Fully healthy I like our chances, but we're going to eventually have to learn to play through that heavy forecheck. When they were taking themselves out of position in the first, we looked good. After the Kings started playing their game, we got rattled.

I sure wouldn't hate seeing Chicago and LAK get matched up in the first round. Not one bit.

 

[Note Worthy]

I sure wouldn't hate seeing Chicago and LAK get matched up in the first round. Not one bit.

With our luck that will never happen.