GDT: Defending Stanley Cup Champ St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg | Home Cooking|

[mike1320]

I don't think Maroon, Edmundson or Fabbri being out has anything to do with it. Teams go into funks and the Blues are in one now for sure. It's concerning but not the time for panic. We're missing our most dangerous goal scorer and I know we pretty much have been all season but it was bound to catch up to us.

 

[The Note]

The Blues are first in the west and fourth in the entire league (with some games in hand, but still). They've largely avoided funks until now, but it's an 82 game season, and they are going to happen. No one was pining for Maroon or Edmundson when they won 16 of 21 or whatever that crazy stretch of winning was.

 

[mike1320]

The Blues are first in the west and fourth in the entire league (with some games in hand, but still). They've largely avoided funks until now, but it's an 82 game season, and they are going to happen. No one was pining for Maroon or Edmundson when they won 16 of 21 or whatever that crazy stretch of winning was.

But we should sit Binnington for 2 months and trade off Sanford because he's hot right now. LOL

 

[BlueDream]

I don't think Maroon, Edmundson or Fabbri being out has anything to do with it. Teams go into funks and the Blues are in one now for sure. It's concerning but not the time for panic. We're missing our most dangerous goal scorer and I know we pretty much have been all season but it was bound to catch up to us.

Except it’s not even concerning. Not even a little bit.

The Blues have played at an elite level for a straight calendar year before hitting a slump. It’s literally impossible to avoid and we are still missing 2 extremely key pieces in Sundqvist and Tarasenko.

Our fanbase is just really unrealistic I guess.

 

[Blueston]

Call me paranoid, but I am beginning to wonder if the team chemistry has been badly altered from last season. Maroon, Edmundson and Fabbri out, Faulk and DLR in. It might look good on paper, but I am seriously beginning to wonder.

Don't think that is it. We were great for good part of season. All seasons have lulls. And when you are comfortably in first it's hard to maintain intensity, especially when you know you have another gear. We just need to focus a bit more.

 

[BlueDream]

Call me paranoid, but I am beginning to wonder if the team chemistry has been badly altered from last season. Maroon, Edmundson and Fabbri out, Faulk and DLR in. It might look good on paper, but I am seriously beginning to wonder.

Huh? They are in first place. What honestly are you expecting, to go 79-3 this year?

Let's face it,

Nobody is afraid of us. We need to bring it every game...

What teams are you afraid of?

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The lead over Colorado is gone, if you acknowledge the games in hand. But the Blues are pretty much locked into the top 3 in the division. My guess is Colorado goes on a tear, takes the lead, then starts to fizzle a bit at the end. It should be a good division race, and I’d prefer to let Dallas and Colorado play each other, but it’s nice to not swear entry to the playoffs. I’m more concerned about the Blues ending the year playing well than I am in what spot in the standings they end up with.

 

[Stlblue50]

Lay off the negative nancies guys, it’s been a tough 12+ months for them. They were living the high life watching the Blues struggle last year and then their lives got turned upside down

 

[Oberyn]

I thought the Blues played a pretty good game but goaltending was the real letdown. The 1st and 3rd goals can never go in and Binnington should know that. On the other end of the rink, Hellebuyck made some fantastic saves to keep his team in it. I don't understand the moaning and griping, the Blues outshot and outplayed the Jets for the most part and some of you are acting like the Jets dominated the Blues. Fun fact, a team can play well and not get the intended results. Hellebuyck stood on his head for the 2nd game in a row against the Blues, props to him on that.

 

[Blanick]

I thought the Blues played a pretty good game but goaltending was the real letdown. The 1st and 3rd goals can never go in and Binnington should know that. On the other end of the rink, Hellebuyck made some fantastic saves to keep his team in it. I don't understand the moaning and griping, the Blues outshot and outplayed the Jets for the most part and some of you are acting like the Jets dominated the Blues. Fun fact, a team can play well and not get the intended results. Hellebuyck stood on his head for the 2nd game in a row against the Blues, props to him on that.

I agree with all of this and will add in that maybe Allen should get a little more of the net heading into the playoffs. Let me be clear though this is not me saying that I have lost faith in Binnington or that he has lost the net, he just doesn't have it RIGHT NOW. I think a part of that might be how much hockey he has played in the last 13 months. The kid might just need a reset.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Huh? They are in first place. What honestly are you expecting, to go 79-3 this year?


What teams are you afraid of?

We are better than we have been for the last 6 weeks, but someone could argue Colorado and Dallas are better teams and that’s just in the West.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

“Since Dec. 27, he has a 3.26 goals-against average and .880 save percentage. And in the past six games, Binnington has allowed three or more goals in each game, going 2-3-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .860 save percentage.” -Korac

It’s February 7th now guys. He’s been the worst goalie in the NHL for the last 6 weeks. We can be concerned about the goaltending.

They should build a statue for him for what he did last year. But maybe he was indeed a flash in the pan. I mean he came out of nowhere.

 

[Brian39]

The lead over Colorado is gone, if you acknowledge the games in hand. But the Blues are pretty much locked into the top 3 in the division. My guess is Colorado goes on a tear, takes the lead, then starts to fizzle a bit at the end. It should be a good division race, and I’d prefer to let Dallas and Colorado play each other, but it’s nice to not swear entry to the playoffs. I’m more concerned about the Blues ending the year playing well than I am in what spot in the standings they end up with.

Acknowledging games in hand doesn't mean you pencil a team in to win all of those games. They would have to go 3-0 in their games in hand to tie us in points. For the season, they have earned 1.27 points per game. If they do that in their games in hand (and we round up), they would be 2 points behind us.

We have squandered and opportunity to run away with the division, but we are still leading the West by points percentage.

 

[Brian39]

“Since Dec. 27, he has a 3.26 goals-against average and .880 save percentage. And in the past six games, Binnington has allowed three or more goals in each game, going 2-3-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .860 save percentage.” -Korac

It’s February 7th now guys. He’s been the worst goalie in the NHL for the last 6 weeks. We can be concerned about the goaltending.

They should build a statue for him for what he did last year. But maybe he was indeed a flash in the pan. I mean he came out of nowhere.

I've been vocal that the Blues did not screw over Binner by keeping him in the AHL as long as they did, because he wasn't all that impressive in his early 20s. But it is not true that he came out of nowhere. He posted a .926 over a 15 month stretch in the AHL with 2 different AHL teams. He performed as you would expect an NHL-ready goalie to perform in the AHL for an extended period of time and then got his NHL chance. Where he then continued to put up elite numbers for another 60+ games in his first year.

He also hasn't been the worst goalie in the NHL over the last 6 weeks. He has a better SV% than 10 other guys in that stretch (including Holtby, Hart, Hutton, Howard and Dubnyk). At 5 on 5, he has a better GSAA than Freddy Andersen, Holtby, Howard, Quick, Hart and Koskinen. He hasn't been good enough, but he also hasn't been worst in the league.

I'd be starting Allen more than we are currently starting him right now, because why spend the money on a high end backup to not use him when your starter struggles? But I'm also not concerned about Binner long term. He doesn't have it right now, which is a thing that happens to the vast majority of guys in the first hundred or so games of their career. He's started 95 NHL games in the last 13 months and 7 days (playoffs and regular season combined). The next highest in the league is 85. He's played almost 12% more games in the last 13 months than the 2nd highest workload in the league. Ease his workload and let him work on his game in practice. It was obvious last night that he is overthinking and isn't playing playing based on instinct. The worst thing we can do is keep throwing him out there when he is struggling to find confidence and likely gassed. Use your $4.35M backup with a season-long .925 to let your starter find his game.

 

[mike1320]

I've been vocal that the Blues did not screw over Binner by keeping him in the AHL as long as they did, because he wasn't all that impressive in his early 20s. But it is not true that he came out of nowhere. He posted a .926 over a 15 month stretch in the AHL with 2 different AHL teams. He performed as you would expect an NHL-ready goalie to perform in the AHL for an extended period of time and then got his NHL chance. Where he then continued to put up elite numbers for another 60+ games in his first year.

He also hasn't been the worst goalie in the NHL over the last 6 weeks. He has a better SV% than 10 other guys in that stretch (including Holtby, Hart, Hutton, Howard and Dubnyk). At 5 on 5, he has a better GSAA than Freddy Andersen, Holtby, Howard, Quick, Hart and Koskinen. He hasn't been good enough, but he also hasn't been worst in the league.

I'd be starting Allen more than we are currently starting him right now, because why spend the money on a high end backup to not use him when your starter struggles? But I'm also not concerned about Binner long term. He doesn't have it right now, which is a thing that happens to the vast majority of guys in the first hundred or so games of their career. He's started 95 NHL games in the last 13 months and 7 days (playoffs and regular season combined). The next highest in the league is 85. He's played almost 12% more games in the last 13 months than the 2nd highest workload in the league. Ease his workload and let him work on his game in practice. It was obvious last night that he is overthinking and isn't playing playing based on instinct. The worst thing we can do is keep throwing him out there when he is struggling to find confidence and likely gassed. Use your $4.35M backup with a season-long .925 to let your starter find his game.

Get your facts outta here! It's time to panic!

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Acknowledging games in hand doesn't mean you pencil a team in to win all of those games. They would have to go 3-0 in their games in hand to tie us in points. For the season, they have earned 1.27 points per game. If they do that in their games in hand (and we round up), they would be 2 points behind us.

We have squandered and opportunity to run away with the division, but we are still leading the West by points percentage.

I don’t consider a 2 point difference significant at this stage of the season. It’s a 1 game swing either direction. I wasn’t saying they are literally tied.

 

[Brian39]

Get your facts outta here! It's time to panic!

Outside of your sarcastic hyperbole about sitting Binner for 2 months, no one is panicking about him.

 

[Brian39]

I don’t consider a 2 point difference significant at this stage of the season. It’s a 1 game swing either direction. I wasn’t saying they are literally tied.

So would you say they are...leading?

 

[mike1320]

Outside of your sarcastic hyperbole about sitting Binner for 2 months, no one is panicking about him.

I wasn't the one who suggested sitting him for 2 months...

Maybe sit Binnington until the playoffs start?

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

So would you say they are...leading?

I feel like you’re being pedantic here, but to expand my thought, I think Colorado is likely to win at a higher clip than what they have. I think the more accurate expectation is that they’ll get more points from their games in hand. They’re hot right now.

The point of my comment was to note that the Blues no longer have a cushion to rest on. It’s been spent. You can quibble with my forecast, but we are talking about a 1 game swing at this point, when you were recently fantasizing about a 10 point lead.

Yet if Colorado is suddenly ahead of the Blues in the official ranking, some one this forum will be shocked. I’m noting it’s pretty close right now, and likely to happen if current trajectories continue. I’m not a wizard.

 

[BlueDream]

We are better than we have been for the last 6 weeks, but someone could argue Colorado and Dallas are better teams and that’s just in the West.

Ok. And I can make a very convincing argument that we are still better than those 2 teams. And I can make an argument that we’re better than Pittsburgh, Tampa, Boston etc too. It goes both ways.

I really just don’t understand what people expect. Perfection will never happen.

 

[MissouriMook]

I don't know how everyone else feels, but this idea of "just get in" doesn't sit very well with me, even if it does with the players and coaches. I would much rather face a wild card team in Round 1 and then the winner of a series between COL and DAL with home ice advantage than to have to face one of them in Round 1 and then, hopefully, the other in Round 2 but without home ice advantage. Winning the division means something to me.

 

[JoshFromMO]

I don't know how everyone else feels, but this idea of "just get in" doesn't sit very well with me, even if it does with the players and coaches. I would much rather face a wild card team in Round 1 and then the winner of a series between COL and DAL with home ice advantage than to have to face one of them in Round 1 and then, hopefully, the other in Round 2 but without home ice advantage. Winning the division means something to me.

There was only a 10 point separation between Central leader and WC2. The WC slot was the also the only western team to take st Louis to 7 so if that was the opening round who knows if the run has the same ending

 

[Stlblue50]

I don't know how everyone else feels, but this idea of "just get in" doesn't sit very well with me, even if it does with the players and coaches. I would much rather face a wild card team in Round 1 and then the winner of a series between COL and DAL with home ice advantage than to have to face one of them in Round 1 and then, hopefully, the other in Round 2 but without home ice advantage. Winning the division means something to me.

Winning the division will be huge. Unless something unexpectedly changes, it will be a 3 team battle and just like last year. If the Blues don’t win the division then the 1st round will be very tough. The pacific division is a joke but it doesn’t matter much with this newish format. I would easily put the top 3 in the central over Vegas and then after that it gets real pathetic in the pacific

 

[ChicagoBlues]

Acknowledging games in hand doesn't mean you pencil a team in to win all of those games. They would have to go 3-0 in their games in hand to tie us in points. For the season, they have earned 1.27 points per game. If they do that in their games in hand (and we round up), they would be 2 points behind us.

We have squandered and opportunity to run away with the division, but we are still leading the West by points percentage.

That’s right. The Avs have three games in hand, but they would be likely go 2 & 1 in those 3 games for a 4 point make-up.

The Blues are still ahead.