Twisted Blue
Registered User
Was at the game and it was AWESOME!
Some points:
Team looked loose in warmups, smiles on faces and tapping pads etc., definitely got a good vibe before the game and not worried about locker room environment or leadership. Schwartz was making the rounds and doing a lot of the joking with teammates when not going through drills.
4th liners earned their pay today as they got under the Wild's skin, Ott was just staring down Wild players during warm-ups while resting one arm on the bench for a good 3-5 minutes, didn't break his gaze or say a word the entire time. He is back in playoff mode like last year, unbelievable how much he can raise his game. (I thought Goc had a poor game though)
Getting the lead in the 1st was HUGE! Wild had to play more aggressive and that led to better opportunities for the Blues.
Petro and Shatty are studs, J-Bo is playing the worst hockey of all our defensemen, Michalek slow but steady and Jax was fine, but definitely made some outlet passes that left me scratching my head, at least he didn't score the game winner eh? I really would like to see Bortuzzo play.
Jake played well but still not disciplined in lateral movement. Over extends himself on saves and then struggles to recover from bad positioning. His aggressive style works to cut down angles on the first shot, but still plenty of room for improvement in technique. At least he never gets caught too deep in the net.
Backes and Oshie played better than most of you are giving them credit, Oshie seems to be gripping the stick a little tight when opportunity knocks, but he is also creating some opportunities so hopefully it equals out. Backes saved a goal and played great defensively, just didn't generate a lot of good scoring chances, but had Jaskin and Ott on his line a lot so anything he can generate is just a bonus.
Really don't get the mental lapses in play that allowed the Wild to seize momentum for long stretches. Icing the puck when other options were available, forwards bailing out of the zone before d-men have possession and not making themselves available for an outlet pass, not getting the puck in deep to get a change once gaining the center line or making bad turnovers when stood up at the blue line.
Honestly, all the problems the Blues had in the third were because they were tired. Hitch needs to pay more attention to line changes and keep shorter shifts. When we play with energy, we look great, but our team is not capable of playing at that pace for a full 60 and it has been evident all season. High possession time with cycling the puck takes lots of energy and does not necessarily lead to good scoring opportunities. Only good thing is that the Wild also got tired trying to defend the Blues and ran out of gas late in the third period. Also the Blues did a great job preventing the Wild from good odd man rush opportunities.
Had a blast and Let's Go
Some points:
Team looked loose in warmups, smiles on faces and tapping pads etc., definitely got a good vibe before the game and not worried about locker room environment or leadership. Schwartz was making the rounds and doing a lot of the joking with teammates when not going through drills.
4th liners earned their pay today as they got under the Wild's skin, Ott was just staring down Wild players during warm-ups while resting one arm on the bench for a good 3-5 minutes, didn't break his gaze or say a word the entire time. He is back in playoff mode like last year, unbelievable how much he can raise his game. (I thought Goc had a poor game though)
Getting the lead in the 1st was HUGE! Wild had to play more aggressive and that led to better opportunities for the Blues.
Petro and Shatty are studs, J-Bo is playing the worst hockey of all our defensemen, Michalek slow but steady and Jax was fine, but definitely made some outlet passes that left me scratching my head, at least he didn't score the game winner eh? I really would like to see Bortuzzo play.
Jake played well but still not disciplined in lateral movement. Over extends himself on saves and then struggles to recover from bad positioning. His aggressive style works to cut down angles on the first shot, but still plenty of room for improvement in technique. At least he never gets caught too deep in the net.
Backes and Oshie played better than most of you are giving them credit, Oshie seems to be gripping the stick a little tight when opportunity knocks, but he is also creating some opportunities so hopefully it equals out. Backes saved a goal and played great defensively, just didn't generate a lot of good scoring chances, but had Jaskin and Ott on his line a lot so anything he can generate is just a bonus.
Really don't get the mental lapses in play that allowed the Wild to seize momentum for long stretches. Icing the puck when other options were available, forwards bailing out of the zone before d-men have possession and not making themselves available for an outlet pass, not getting the puck in deep to get a change once gaining the center line or making bad turnovers when stood up at the blue line.
Honestly, all the problems the Blues had in the third were because they were tired. Hitch needs to pay more attention to line changes and keep shorter shifts. When we play with energy, we look great, but our team is not capable of playing at that pace for a full 60 and it has been evident all season. High possession time with cycling the puck takes lots of energy and does not necessarily lead to good scoring opportunities. Only good thing is that the Wild also got tired trying to defend the Blues and ran out of gas late in the third period. Also the Blues did a great job preventing the Wild from good odd man rush opportunities.
Had a blast and Let's Go
