GDT: Blues @ Wild 10/10/15 8 PM ET

[Majorityof1]

I don't know that he is descending, I would say more that his shortcomings are not being hidden on the top line by our other top guys. I think he needs to realize his roll and take a hard look at that "C" on his jersey and stop playing like a moody teenager.

All that said, I have Backes on my jersey and think he is a huge part of this team.

This. Backes current line is absolutely terribly constructed for offensive play. It has no speed, no creativity and nobody to carry the puck. Before Backes had Steen as a shooter and Oshie as a playmaker on that line. He could go to the net and create screens/tips or get open looks when D's favored Steens shot. Now he has to drive the play offensively and he just isn't built for that type of game. He is still really solid defensively. His line is getting the tough match-ups and starts. Yet he hasn't given up a ES goal (not sure if he was on ice for PP goals). As a shut--down line center who can provide some offensive spark with the right line-mates, there is none better.

 

[Mike Liut]

Maybe Backes and Schwartz need to be paired together

Schwartz - Backes - Jaskin
Fabbri - Lehtera - Brouwer

 

[medkit]

I think all of our secondary scoring needs to revolve around Schwartz. If he can produce better with Backes, then pair them, add Brouwer, and run the top 6 more top heavy. Schwartz has formed a good line with Backes for stretches in the past.

 

[Dbrownss]

Thanks for the well wishes mate. We knew it was coming, but it still sucks.

A couple of thoughts:

Losing Fabbri is a significant blow to this team. We desperately need his speed and creativity. Brouwer has no business playing on a line with Schwartz and Lehtera. I don't know if Jaskin did something to put himself in the dog house, but his usage seemed very limited to me in a game where we could have used a guy bulling his way to the net. I don't see why Jaskin is playing with Backes in the first place, they have zero chemistry.

Parayko looked pretty solid. I'd like to see him use that huge cannon of his more, especially against teams that clog the middle. Just blast away man, they will either get tired of the onslaught, or it will eventually bang on someone and go in. NHL dedication or not, if you shoot 100 MPH, people will eventually get out of the way.

Gunnarsson has looked pretty underwhelming to start the year. He's had some steady play in the past, but frankly, if he's not the #4 guy, we don't need him taking up a spot. I'd much rather have Lindbohlm progressing in his spot at the NHL level.

As for the person who was trying to compare Gunnarsson to Backes in terms of people complaining about letting them walk with no return, they are vastly different. Backes, as we seem to all toot about, is a "Selke caliber center capable of 30 goals." This is a much much harder position to fill/more valuable asset then a "bottom 4" or lower tier #4 d-man. Letting Backes walk away for nothing is terrible asset management. Letting Gunnarsson walk away for nothing is vastly different, as, at best, I could see us getting a 2nd for him from a desperate team. Backes should be worth at minimum a top 6 ceiling forward prospect and a 1st.

Allen had a solid game, he made some big saves for us. I don't really blame him for any of those goals, it might have been nice for him to track the puck on the third goal a bit better, but that's nitpicking.

At the end of the day though, I put this loss on Hitch. We still can't seem to figure out how to beat this team's system, even though it's pretty straightforward.

You don't trade Backes because he might walk unless you plan to just fold your cards and call it a season. Backes only moves if managment feels this team isn't going anywhere. Gunnarsson....he has Edmundson and Lindbohm breathing down his neck, Maybe even Parayko. While it's nice to have a Gunnarsson for depth...if your favoring rookies over him. His ship has sailed. I'm sure he'll at least be given the benefit of the doubt till the end of Oct. If he's still bad then, move on. If you move Backes cuz dats good asset management, who takes the heavy defensive assignments? Lehterä...no thank. Stastny....wasting away our new top line.

 

[Thallis]

I think all of our secondary scoring needs to revolve around Schwartz. If he can produce better with Backes, then pair them, add Brouwer, and run the top 6 more top heavy. Schwartz has formed a good line with Backes for stretches in the past.

We're far better off relying on jaskin for scoring than brouwer.

 

[Celtic Note]

This is a drum that should be beaten all year long. Not being able to beat teams that run a collapsed zone D is one of the more baffling realities of this team. We're far too spaced out when attempting to go for the throat. Our play off the wall is built to beat 1-1 coverage -- we end up wasting a ton of time running everything from the wall when teams (like Minny) are giving us that ice anyway.

This is exactly what I mean Hitch has no offensive strategy. He can't develop anything outside of perimeter play.

 

[Celtic Note]

This is where I feel they need to put Fabbri (if healthy, Rattie if not) with Backes and Brouwer, and Jaskin with Lehtera and Schwartz.

Agreed.

 

[Celtic Note]

We're far better off relying on jaskin for scoring than brouwer.

Agreed. Jaskin is the better offensive player.

 

[Gullibull]

I'm having trouble seeing how losing Fabbri is such a huge loss like some posters are saying. He's a fast puck-hound, but he doesn't have much possession time. He's only had a few shots on net (including pre-season). He hasn't shown much (in the 4 games that've been aired) to warrant him being a difference-maker. He scored on a great pass from Lehtera in game 1, but I don't see him as some offensive catalyst like some of you do. I just don't understand why some of you feel our offensive depth is doomed because Fabbri is injured...

 

[LGB51]

What the hell took Allen so long to at least turn his ****ing head the other way on that third goal? The goal goes by him to the opposite side, and he lollygags on the other side of the net, barley even moving. Barely even tried to get to the other side of the net before it was in, and he had plenty of time.

I really don't see what a lot of you see in Allen, imo he's not any mentally tougher than Elliot. And just as prone to lapses in play that lead to weak goals. Neither of the Blues current goaltenders are good enough, to make a actual playoff run. Gonna have to wait on Oplika before we finally have a actual #1 starter.

 

[EastonBlues22]

The puck went off the near side (right) post.

Allen looked over his right shoulder for the puck to see if it was at the near side of the net or behind him, which is the first place he should have looked since most of the pucks that hit the near post from that angle end up in one of those two places (or in the net).

Unfortunately, it took a low percentage kick out at a shallow angle to the far side. By the time he realized where it was, it was too late. One of his teammates needed to let him know where the puck was to help him out.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

This is exactly what I mean Hitch has no offensive strategy. He can't develop anything outside of perimeter play.

Yep.... He has the tools to do it now with Backes, Brouwer, and Jaskin...but is incapable of opening a tool box as a coach. One observation....Parayko does need to get his shot down. 100 mph or not. It's too high. Not much opportunity to tip it. He is a freakin' monster though...geez. Lineman on skates. Like to see him drop the mitts in the early going just to let other teams know that it will happen, if you press my buttons. How long until these line combos are scrapped? How long until the reckless forechecking is scrapped? (with no one in the crease I might add) Hopefully, Hitch coaches himself out of a job early. Should've beat the Wild last night. We're the better team and got outcoached. He did not adjust to the Wild's game plan, which hampered our ability to create quality rather than quantity offense. I would call it dense offense as it really is low percentage of outcome, unless a drastic mistake occurs. Wild held true to their box, so....outcoached.

 

[PerryTurnbullfan]

The Blues played a very sloppy mistake filled game. They didn't deserve to win this game. The Wild got a few lucky bounces, and had 2 grievous penalty offences not called (The hit on Fabbri, and the high stick to Backes' face. The Wild also didn't deserve to win.

I hope The Blues start playing better on the rest of this road trip. I like Bortuzzo's energy, shot and physical game. But he's too slow as a skater, and too slow in reaction time to defend against all but team's 4th liners. He's a liability on the ice. I hope Lindbohm will be brought up as soon as possible, and Bortuzzo will get few games in this season. I know he's on a one-way contract, so that's not going to happen. But, I hope he's in the press box most of the season. Gunnarsson could have played better, but even Shattenkirk and pietrangelo made several errors and poor plays. Many of the forwards did, as well.

I like the new strategy of attacking more, and taking more chances on offence, But, The Blues also fell back into old habits of cycling the puck along the boards too much, and not moving into the centre of the zone, and not moving enough without the puck. Backes looked awfully slow. I hope Fabbri only had a bruised arm, and will be back next week. The Blues need his scoring skill and speed, and tenacious puck-hounding.

I agree with all of this Robb.

 

[BlueOil]

Hard to blame Allen for any of the goals last night. First one was a terrible defensive breakdown from Shattenkirk and Gunnarson. It was stoppable, but Allen's high glove still needs work. Again, can't really blame him when the team falls apart in front of the net. Second one was just bad luck for Bouwmeester. Third one Allen could've played better, but the puck bounced weird and no one but the Wild seemed to follow it.

Team couldn't get into any rhythm and never really settled into their game. Missed a lot of chances too that would've really turned the game around. I was watching at a bar so I wasn't watching closely, but our passing seemed to be much worse than the previous game. Minny seems to still be in our heads.

Parayko played pretty good defensively. Bort looks like he needs several more games to get up to speed, missing time in the pre-season didn't help.

Offensively, still want to see the Blues trying to get traffic in front of the net. Still seeing a lot more perimeter play. No need to be shy once you cross the blueline, we're aiming for the net aren't we?

 

[rumrokh]

I thought the Blues played well enough to win on any given night, but still weren't impressive. Luck is going to happen for and against them, but they didn't get enough guys on the inside and didn't get enough good shots. Other than Tarasenko, Blues forwards seem very tentative to shoot and even when they're all around the net, aren't positioning themselves well for rebounds.

Gunnarsson had a couple good plays, but mostly sucked. Bortuzzo was a passenger and got beaten badly by a couple dekes. I liked Bouwmeester's game. Shatty was okay. Parayko is better than I dared hope and I love the way he and Pietrangelo are jumping into the play so far. It's only a matter of time before the forward lines gel a bit more and they learn to work better with defensemen who move up like that.

Allen wasn't as good as Elliott was, but he was still good.

Overall, an annoying loss in a very winnable game, but there was just enough good that I'm optimistic about the road trip. The injury to Fabbri is the only thing bad enough to be worth dwelling on.

 

[Blueshockey21]

The people freaking out over the Backes line lack of production, I think need to realize that to me it seems like the blues are adopting more of a traditional team look. Top 2 offensive lines provide much of the scoring. The third line is a checking line whos pure job is to shut down the other teams offensive line and provide energy through physicality which so far has happened.

In regards to the hit, I believe it was actually Porter who hit him a little late and high but I could be wrong, I'll have to go back and watch the replay because I noticed Fabbri skate right over to the bench after it. If its anything more than a game I would like to see Rattie up, playing on the second line with Lehtera and Schwartz. It would allow Schwartz to go to his regular wing and still give us three players on the second line with high offensive skill.

 

[Majorityof1]

The people freaking out over the Backes line lack of production, I think need to realize that to me it seems like the blues are adopting more of a traditional team look. Top 2 offensive lines provide much of the scoring. The third line is a checking line whos pure job is to shut down the other teams offensive line and provide energy through physicality which so far has happened.

That line has a potential 20-30 goal scorer, a proven 20-30 goal scorer and a proven 20 goal scorer. That is at least 60 goals of scoring potential that we are wasting by having them in a pure shut-down role. The best thing about Backes is he can play shut-down and still produce offensively. However, he needs the right linemates to do it, not 2 other guys a lot like him. Its not going to hinder the defensive aspect of that line much to have a guy with speed on the line. Someone like Schwartz or Fabbri can capitalize on the turnovers Backes creates by turning them into rushes. A player like that can also create his own shots, allowing the other two big guys to create havoc in front of the net.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

That line has a potential 20-30 goal scorer, a proven 20-30 goal scorer and a proven 20 goal scorer. That is at least 60 goals of scoring potential that we are wasting by having them in a pure shut-down role. The best thing about Backes is he can play shut-down and still produce offensively. However, he needs the right linemates to do it, not 2 other guys a lot like him. Its not going to hinder the defensive aspect of that line much to have a guy with speed on the line. Someone like Schwartz or Fabbri can capitalize on the turnovers Backes creates by turning them into rushes. A player like that can also create his own shots, allowing the other two big guys to create havoc in front of the net.

I've long wanted Backes to play with Fabbri, but I question whether Hitch trusts Fabbri enough to use him there.

 

[Vladdy the Impaler]

So can we just package Gunnarson ASAP? He is almost the most worthless player on the roster at this point, quickly approaching Ott levels of futility.

 

[Majorityof1]

So can we just package Gunnarson ASAP? He is almost the most worthless player on the roster at this point, quickly approaching Ott levels of futility.

If he is worthless, why would a team trade assets for him?

 

[Stopsight]

I wanna know what primal god the Wild are sacrificing their goats to to get the bounces they do against the Blues.

 

[Kshahdoo]

That line has a potential 20-30 goal scorer, a proven 20-30 goal scorer and a proven 20 goal scorer. That is at least 60 goals of scoring potential that we are wasting by having them in a pure shut-down role. The best thing about Backes is he can play shut-down and still produce offensively. However, he needs the right linemates to do it, not 2 other guys a lot like him. Its not going to hinder the defensive aspect of that line much to have a guy with speed on the line. Someone like Schwartz or Fabbri can capitalize on the turnovers Backes creates by turning them into rushes. A player like that can also create his own shots, allowing the other two big guys to create havoc in front of the net.

So 60 goals. It's less than 1 GPG, and it looks like you expect them scoring every game.

 

[Majorityof1]

So 60 goals. It's less than 1 GPG, and it looks like you expect them scoring every game.

Did I say they need to score every game? No, I didn't. But they need to look capable of scoring every game. They don't even really look to be getting good offensive chances outside of the empty netter. It's two games in, sure, and things can change. But they do not look promising offensively in any way. One of those games was also against an Edmonton team with a terrible defense.

Tarasenko's line only has 3 goals which is good, but not lights out. However, they look dangerous every shift. I can remember several plays they were out there where I felt the other team was extremely lucky to not have been scored on. The entire rest of the team does not look dangerous on most shifts, especially the Backes line. There aren't any plays at all with the Backes line where I think the other team got lucky. Quite the opposite, Brouwer as lucky that roller went in the empty net. Those 3 don't mesh offensively and it is obvious if you watch the game. It doesn't matter if they don't score in a game, but they have to look capable of scoring. They don't.

 

[Dbrownss]

They really need to slide Schwartz or Fabbri on that line. Jaskin doesn't look nearly as effective either. We saw it in TC, so I'm sure the idea is on the back burner.

 

[bishop12]

any updates on Fabbri?