GDT: Blues vs. Kings| 'Tis But A Scratch| 8:30pm, NBCSN|

[mk80]

Somehow the Kings missed a completely empty net... maybe the most perplexing thing about this game

 

[AjaxManifesto]

3 game losing streak.

Vegas and Colorado have nothing to fear.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

How are we better at 6on5 than 5on4?

 

[Celtic Note]

How are we better at 6on5 than 5on4?

Desperation

 

[Ranksu]

Krug is playing exactly as he has been portrayed. Thankfully he has moments where he elevates his game.

Faulk... I'm sorry, but Faulk came in much better than advertised. He's made a believer out of me, and while he's no Pie, he's our boy and he's proving he belongs.

What has hurt the team has been the almost overnight loss of Team Culture. The franchise won the Cup two seasons ago and now the team acts and plays as if it never existed. The loss of Pie, JayBo, Steen, Allen and yes, Pat Maroon has hurt the team's culture. The signings Army made were quick and almost acts of desperation that has left us with a mercenary in Hoffman and players like Krug and Faulk who have no team culture to embrace and Faulk has been solid and very good for us.

If not for the injuries, we'd have a team right now who will give up a lot more SOG due to lack of skillsets but can overload with goals due to the stacked forward lines in front of a netminder who is probably the most mentally strongest netminder we've ever had. And I'm ok with all of that.

What this team REALLY needs isn't for players to get traded or fired, but these boys need to go back and find their own Gloria. That's a tradition that should never have been retired. It was a tradition of winning, of success and you don't ever retire that.

You can ask why on first place you break down winning formula?

 

[Vincenzo Arelliti]

Scandella:

 

[simon IC]

Krug is playing exactly as he has been portrayed. Thankfully he has moments where he elevates his game.

Faulk... I'm sorry, but Faulk came in much better than advertised. He's made a believer out of me, and while he's no Pie, he's our boy and he's proving he belongs.

What has hurt the team has been the almost overnight loss of Team Culture. The franchise won the Cup two seasons ago and now the team acts and plays as if it never existed. The loss of Pie, JayBo, Steen, Allen and yes, Pat Maroon has hurt the team's culture. The signings Army made were quick and almost acts of desperation that has left us with a mercenary in Hoffman and players like Krug and Faulk who have no team culture to embrace and Faulk has been solid and very good for us.

If not for the injuries, we'd have a team right now who will give up a lot more SOG due to lack of skillsets but can overload with goals due to the stacked forward lines in front of a netminder who is probably the most mentally strongest netminder we've ever had. And I'm ok with all of that.

What this team REALLY needs isn't for players to get traded or fired, but these boys need to go back and find their own Gloria. That's a tradition that should never have been retired. It was a tradition of winning, of success and you don't ever retire that.

Well said. You nailed it.

 

[simon IC]

You can ask why on first place you break down winning formula?

To be fair, JayBo and Steen were not Armstrong's fault. Just an unfortunate circumstance.

 

[Ranksu]

To be fair, JayBo and Steen were not Armstrong's fault. Just an unfortunate circumstance.

Well we have Jbo and Steen reblacements.

 

[mk80]

Scandella:

I just spit out my drink lol

 

[Ridge1982]

Fair to say the Blues made a deal with the Devil two years ago and he came back to collect big time ?

 

[simon IC]

Well we have Jbo and Steen reblacements.

I hope you are being sarcastic. Steen replacements? Sure. Absolutely. Bouwmeester replacement? Nuh-uh. Nobody on the present roster comes even close.

 

[Ranksu]

Top line play over +20 min at night. No wonder they are gas out.

Krug must be livid why he sign with Blues. No more sheltered icetime, no more best o-zone starts. Only PK and hardest opponents and d-zone starts.

 

[stl76]

These games are getting tough to watch. We need to get healthy ASAP.

 

[GoldenSeal]

You can ask why on first place you break down winning formula?

While I'm pretty upset with Army, he had nothing to do with JayBo or Steen being retired out. Everyone, including me, wanted Allen gone. Pietrangelo is a polarizing decision. Hoffman is a mercenary whose departure I will not grieve. Maroon could have been had for much less, but everyone wanted a skilled player from the minors in his place and while I was upset with that, we found that we got some really talented, hard-working kids with real skills who are getting a chance to shine and I'm happy with that.

I ask why because with what we have now, we should be playing better than we are and I can't say if it's an issue with the way Chief is calling the plays or if there's an issue in the locker room or what. I'm saying culture because of what I see, but that doesn't make me right.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Remember kids....we didn't make the playoffs the year before we won the whole thing

Shit happens.

This team has some bad luck for injuries coupled with too many young guys not stepping up to the opportunity before them.

 

[Ranksu]

I hope you are being sarcastic. Steen replacement, sure. Absolutely. Bouwmeester replacement? Nuh-uh. Nobody on the present roster comes even close.

Well Steen in Cup run wasnt that game changer. Good yes, but MacMac can take his spot in 4th line.

Jbo, well we have Mikkola who is promising. He is still handcuffed playing low minutes while Krug and Faulk are playing +25min at night. Dimish midgets d-zone starts and give more icetime to Mikkola and Bortuzzo who can defend. Give every o-zone starts to Krug and Norris. Maybe they have then fresh legs.

 

[stl76]

Yeah I'm calling huge stinking pile of bullshit on all this amorphous "culture" talk. Everything is going wrong at the moment and we are losing games. Injuries and not getting any bounces currently, it's really that simple.

 

[Ranksu]

This team would real Stanley cup contender with this d-core

X - Pietro
Mikkola - Parayko
Dunn - Bortuzzo

X = who knows to defend

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

When half your lineup is out injured, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out why the results on the ice aren’t up to expectations.

Binnington can carry a heavy load, but Husso needs to start some games. He has to show he’s capable (to himself as well as the rest of us) and Binnington needs to not be driven into the ground.

 

[Ranksu]

While I'm pretty upset with Army, he had nothing to do with JayBo or Steen being retired out. Everyone, including me, wanted Allen gone. Pietrangelo is a polarizing decision. Hoffman is a mercenary whose departure I will not grieve. Maroon could have been had for much less, but everyone wanted a skilled player from the minors in his place and while I was upset with that, we found that we got some really talented, hard-working kids with real skills who are getting a chance to shine and I'm happy with that.

I ask why because with what we have now, we should be playing better than we are and I can't say if it's an issue with the way Chief is calling the plays or if there's an issue in the locker room or what. I'm saying culture because of what I see, but that doesn't make me right.

Well ofc its difference if you are missing from locker room. Pietrangelo, Steen, Jbo, Maroon, Allen.

Now there is midgets yapping how to play game with their small heads with low hockey IQ.

 

[Blueston]

Fair to say the Blues made a deal with the Devil two years ago and he came back to collect big time ?

I’m okay with that.

 

[GoldenSeal]

I’m okay with that.

IF the Blues made a deal with the Devil for ONE Cup, the hell kind of deal did the Oilers make to win... umm... ehhh... NEVERMIND!

 

[Thallis]

Even if this skid is mostly due to injuries, our placement in the standings is really worrisome when you look at our April schedule.

 

[Reality Czech]

While I'm pretty upset with Army, he had nothing to do with JayBo or Steen being retired out. Everyone, including me, wanted Allen gone. Pietrangelo is a polarizing decision. Hoffman is a mercenary whose departure I will not grieve. Maroon could have been had for much less, but everyone wanted a skilled player from the minors in his place and while I was upset with that, we found that we got some really talented, hard-working kids with real skills who are getting a chance to shine and I'm happy with that.

I ask why because with what we have now, we should be playing better than we are and I can't say if it's an issue with the way Chief is calling the plays or if there's an issue in the locker room or what. I'm saying culture because of what I see, but that doesn't make me right.

You make good points, my only comment is that it takes time to create a team "culture." You can't just expect guys to immediately fill huge roles like Steen, Petro and J-bo, so fans probably should have expected a period of adjustment. From what I've heard in interviews, Steen may have been the loudest voice in the room and a guy that set the tone for the rest of the team. Personally I never understood why they didn't think Maroon was worth a $1 million a year to stay because he was also huge for team chemistry and a great teammate.

But I can't really blame Army much. He went out and acquired two of the top UFAs on the market, and while we can argue whether those are the right players for this team, no one should question his commitment to win. At some point players need to step up and create a winning culture, as you said. Injuries or not, why can't they play with the same tenacity that the Kings showed these past two games? It just looked like the Kings wanted it more and that shouldn't happen. We had chances to get in the game (two posts, Sanford shooting instead of passing to Poganski), but the overall effort just wasn't there.

That being said, I can't be too hard on a team that has suffered so many injuries and key departures. Our top 3 d-men from the Cup team are gone or injured, and our offense is at half strength. People focus on Tarasenko, Schwartz and Thomas but even losing someone like Bozak is huge, because of all the little things he does. Objectively, the current lineup is a playoff bubble team on paper at best. But it would be nice to see them play with some fire and pride and that needs to start with the veterans like ROR, Perron and Schenn.