GDT: Blues vs. Coy --ope!-- San Jose Sharks| 7pm, FSMW|

[Ranksu]

How did Gunnar played?

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

How did Gunnar played?

About as poorly as could be expected of him these days

 

[Blueston]

How did Gunnar played?

He looked fine with Scandella but got abused when he was out there with Krug. Which says a lot about all 3 I think.

 

[Thallis]

I would expect them to not rip their helmet off during play and stand there in net like a f***ing moron. The helmet will still protect you even if it's not tight but taking it off completely is absurd. We're literally talking about what could be the difference between life and death because you're relying on other people to notice your stupidity.

It provides a lot less protection if it's not secured and is still prone to falling off on its own with any hard lateral movement. In most cases, that will be when you're about to face a dangerous shot. It's also really easy for a ref to miss an unbuckled strap as opposed to the whole thing being off. Doing so when you aren't actively challenging a shot gives the ref and opposing players the most time to notice, providing the most safety to the goalie.

 

[TK 421]

How did Gunnar played?

My first thought seeing him out there was that Scandella was a nice young man to offer to carry Grandpa Gunnars groceries to his car for him. But then it became clear they put him in the lineup to play hockey and to not pee faster than Chief between periods.

 

[Stlblue50]

I thought the Blues played a good game with top notch effort for all but the 2nd period.

Still the Blues are never the same team without Schwartz. For those that have been following the team closely since Schwartz has been on the Blues, I know most would agree. The numbers back up what I’m saying...wins/losses/advanced stats/ect. The eye test is there too, with execution and effort usually looking off when he is out.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

I thought Scandella played really well - much better then what we saw earlier in the season. Hopefully this injury has been a nice reset for him and he can find a groove. Faulk has continued to impress the hell outta me. He is night and day a different player then last year. My god what confidence/comfort can do for you in professional sports - it's not like he forgot how to play hockey last year and it's not like he learned how to play hockey this year. It's all about him finding comfort in his place on the team and his role on the ice and man what a difference that has made. Fully healthy I think our Dcore can still carry us deep into the playoffs, especially with Binner playing the way he has. I haven't loved a lot of what I've seen from our forward core so far, but with as many big injuries they've had, you gotta grade on a curve.

I will reiterate this thought - Schenn looks totally lost without Schwartz. We're now up to three games and he's been a ghost. Yes, he scored a goal last night, I'm aware of that - but his overall play has been trash since Schwartz has been out. If we don't resign Schwartz we need to trade Schenn unless something drastic changes.

 

[Robb_K]

I thought the Blues played a good game with top notch effort for all but the 2nd period.

Still the Blues are never the same team without Schwartz. For those that have been following the team closely since Schwartz has been on the Blues, I know most would agree. The numbers back up what I’m saying...wins/losses/advanced stats/ect. The eye test is there too, with execution and effort usually looking off when he is out.

His play does a LOT for The Blues' gaining puck possession, and holding it. His spirited play also does a lot for the team's aggressive attitude towards giving their best effort on the ice. It's really tough for a player to "allow himself" to take to "take it easy" on the ice for short periods, when they see Schwartz going full bore all the time (only less when he's too tired to keep it up).

 

[Brian39]

I will reiterate this thought - Schenn looks totally lost without Schwartz. We're now up to three games and he's been a ghost. Yes, he scored a goal last night, I'm aware of that - but his overall play has been trash since Schwartz has been out. If we don't resign Schwartz we need to trade Schenn unless something drastic changes.

When he tied the game, my initial thought was "that is the first time I've noticed Schenn tonight." He was doing exactly what you want him to do on that tying goal and his shot is good enough that he can still positively contribute on those types of nights. But I agree with you that he has way too many of those nights without Schwartz to be worth $6.5M a year for another 7 years.

To be fair to him though, I think he can look better without Schwartz than we've seen in the past. Hoffman is not a good compliment to his style and I think that you can build a line with Schenn that brings out more of his strengths than we've seen so far. There is a very good argument that you shouldn't have to do that to get top 6 caliber play out of a $6.5M player, but my point is simply that if Schwartz walks and we keep Schenn, I expect better than we've seen so far.

Edit: I bring up the 2nd paragraph because he is almost certainly not wearing a different jersey next year. He has a full NTC. Even if he waived, it would only be for a handful of teams. That combined with the money/term left on the deal would mean we would be moving him for pennies on the dollar. I don't think he is a big enough problem without Schwartz to merit losing him for next to nothing (or nothing in the case of exposing him to Seattle).

 

[Blueston]

When he tied the game, my initial thought was "that is the first time I've noticed Schenn tonight." He was doing exactly what you want him to do on that tying goal and his shot is good enough that he can still positively contribute on those types of nights. But I agree with you that he has way too many of those nights without Schwartz to be worth $6.5M a year for another 7 years.

To be fair to him though, I think he can look better without Schwartz than we've seen in the past. Hoffman is not a good compliment to his style and I think that you can build a line with Schenn that brings out more of his strengths than we've seen so far. There is a very good argument that you shouldn't have to do that to get top 6 caliber play out of a $6.5M player, but my point is simply that if Schwartz walks and we keep Schenn, I expect better than we've seen so far.

Edit: I bring up the 2nd paragraph because he is almost certainly not wearing a different jersey next year. He has a full NTC. Even if he waived, it would only be for a handful of teams. That combined with the money/term left on the deal would mean we would be moving him for pennies on the dollar. I don't think he is a big enough problem without Schwartz to merit losing him for next to nothing (or nothing in the case of exposing him to Seattle).

You need to put players in position to succeed. If he is with Hoffman and Kyrou, that doesn't compliment his game. Schenn needs to be with at least 1 other guy who can play the heavy puck possession game he excels at. Perhaps Blais or Sanford or Sunny or even Clifford (among available players). You add Hoffman or Kyrou to that I think you see better results than having him with both those 2.

 

[MissouriMook]

Not to discount anyone's comments on Schenn relative to him missing Schwartz, because that can also be true, but I feel like Schenn's biggest battle right now is that he's not a true centerman. I think he belongs on the wing where his physicality plays better, and where his lesser skills in handling and dishing the puck aren't as noticeable. He hasn't clicked as much with Kyrou now that Schwartz is out, primarily because Kyrou can't rely on Schenn to find him in space, but also because Kyrou can't seem to get on the same page with him setting him up in the little "small ice" plays that Kyrou is so good at making. One particular play stood out last night where Kyrou set Schenn up for a golden opportunity to tee off and Schenn seemed like he had no idea how to handle the feed.

I agree that Schenn and Schwartz make a great pair, I just feel like Schenn is being misused in the middle of the ice based on what he's good at and what he isn't.

 

[Brian39]

You need to put players in position to succeed. If he is with Hoffman and Kyrou, that doesn't compliment his game. Schenn needs to be with at least 1 other guy who can play the heavy puck possession game he excels at. Perhaps Blais or Sanford or Sunny or even Clifford (among available players). You add Hoffman or Kyrou to that I think you see better results than having him with both those 2.

Blais was on his wing for a little over 6 minutes last night, which is about one shift less than Kyrou was. A number of forwards got around 2 minutes with him. Berube definitely didn't like what he saw and started trying new guys with Schenn to make something work. Some of that was a result of Barby getting hurt, but Blais/Schenn/Hoffman was our fifth most common group last night with 4 minutes together at 5 on 5.

 

[Blueston]

Blais was on his wing for a little over 6 minutes last night, which is about one shift less than Kyrou was. A number of forwards got around 2 minutes with him. Berube definitely didn't like what he saw and started trying new guys with Schenn to make something work. Some of that was a result of Barby getting hurt, but Blais/Schenn/Hoffman was our fifth most common group last night with 4 minutes together at 5 on 5.

With all of our injuries its a real challenge. Blais seems like stylistic fit but he's not very good.