GDT: Defending Stanley Cup Champs St. Louis Blues vs. Chicago |The Rivalry Continues|

[Dbrownss]

We heard that about Copley too.

I dont remember it being said about Sanford, but I do remember Copley. I dont watch Vrana enough to get a read on how he plays but his stats say he's the superior player. Outside of his scoring, Sanford has been having an impact, that's what I wanted to see out of him

 

[bleedblue1223]

I think a lot of the Sanford backlash at the time was also knowing that we could've had Hall or Drouin, but Shattenkirk rejected extensions. Funny that it's reasonable that Sanford could be better than Drouin.

 

[MissouriMook]

Scandella is covering the pass to Dach, Faulk is alone in front with only one threat to worry about which is Saad. Look at Faulk's stick positioning, what exactly is he covering? The Blues are on the PK so Barbashev and Sundqvist are covering the point men, if they drop that low then the point is wide open and we just saw the Hawks score back to back PP goals due to the points being wide open.

I'm not even trying to hate on Faulk, I think he's looked a lot better since his first 20 games or so, but Faulk is covering a ghost in this scenario.
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Not trying to be difficult or prolong the discussion over this one play, but there is a lot here I simply don't agree with.

1. Scandella is covering the pass to Dach, but he has also been left in the unenviable position of covering the pass to Saad as well.

2. Prior to either of the stills you posted, Faulk was much further over to the far post, taking away a pass to that point. That's not "covering a ghost" that is getting caught in transition, which you and others have pointed out is likely due to poor communication.

3. If Sunny and Barbie were truly "covering the point men" they would both be further out, which would actually be more disastrous. They're not positioned to defend a point shot and they're not positioned to prevent a pass to the point. They're just there.

4. You referred to Faulk as "covering a ghost", but who are Sunny and Barbie really covering? I contend that the answer is "no one", which to me is the biggest failure of this coverage. Any pass back to the point is almost certainly going to go off the wall or via Dach, giving either of them time to turn and press their point man and further process and decide what to do next. Both of them have the play right in front of them and both can clearly see that until Faulk starts to move from the far post back to the top of the crease (too late as it turns out) Saad is completely uncovered. Again, probably bad (or no) communication, but in my view one of those two has to drop lower and either put a body on Saad or at least get in a position to tie up his stick. Faulk being on the far post was the only option to prevent a clean pass back to the far point man (Barbie could not have reached even a direct pass from behind the net without shifting even further out) and Faulk only left that preventative position when Strome clearly committed to moving the puck out from the other side. About the only thing I think I can fault Faulk with here is not processing the fact that, as a left shot, Strome was about 90% going to move the puck back out on Scandella's side and the other 10% would have required Strome to take the time to adjust his positioning to make a pass back to the other point, giving the defense time to react and adjust. In that sense, he could have covered Saad and (maybe) had enough time to react if Strome reverses to an outlet on the other side or a move above the goal line, but Sunny and Barbie are literally doing nothing else in these frames so I feel like one (or both) of them should have covered the net front.

 

[Brian39]

Scandella is covering the pass to Dach, Faulk is alone in front with only one threat to worry about which is Saad. Look at Faulk's stick positioning, what exactly is he covering? The Blues are on the PK so Barbashev and Sundqvist are covering the point men, if they drop that low then the point is wide open and we just saw the Hawks score back to back PP goals due to the points being wide open.

I'm not even trying to hate on Faulk, I think he's looked a lot better since his first 20 games or so, but Faulk is covering a ghost in this scenario.
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Immediately before those stills Strome starts cutting to the other side of the goal (Faulk's side) and Faulk is very obviously moving to cut off his path for an attempted wrap around or a pass to the point on that side. Strome stops behind the goal specifically because he recognized Faulk eliminating his ability to make that pass or cut to the front of the net.

Faulk should absolutely not just stand in the slot and watch a Hawks player drive the net. That's absurd. Barby was way too high to be able to do a damn thing about Strome, so Faulk correctly moved down low.



Are you seriously suggesting that Faulk was not moving in the exact opposite direction prior to those screenshots or were you intentionally leaving it out? Either way you are laughably incorrect that Faulk is "alone in front of the net with only one threat to worry about." You don't have even a basic understanding of PK strategy if you believe that it is Barby's job to chase down to the goal line after a puck carrier.

 

[Brian39]

Yeah it’s pretty obvious Faulk should have covered Sadd. There was no other hawk remotely close to him. Going off memory, it looked like he thought the puck carrier was going to his side of the net.

He’s been playing scared in his own zone and most of his outlet passes are horrible. If he continues to play like this then he should be rotated in/out during the playoffs like Eddy n Bortz were last year.

It looked like that because that is exactly what was happening. Strome was going to his side of the net and stopped specifically because Faulk slid down low to prevent it. If Faulk stays on Saad, Strome is 1 on 1 against Binner from a high percentage area with time.

 

[Brian39]

We got a 5th this year in the Faulk deal as well, so that needs to be included as part of the trade tree.

I'm not sure what to think about the situation with Schwartz. I think signing him to an extension this summer and needing to protect him next summer would be bad, but there is a chance that he walks as a UFA for nothing if you don't. My Spidey Senses are tingling on this situation that he could be an out-of-nowhere trade at the draft to acquire a 1st rounder to use on a targeted prospect. That would kill two birds with one stone in freeing up cap space for a Petro deal and getting a premium player in the 2020 draft. Right now Buffalo, Montreal and Minnesota are tracking around the 9-11 pick that I think he could return, and I think you could make a case that any of those three could use him. There is also the opportunity to trade him for a comparably valued LD, but doing so doesn't likely free up any cap space or address the player protection issues for the 2021 Expansion Draft.

Totally forgot about that 5th. I edited accordingly.

 

[Stlblue50]

It looked like that because that is exactly what was happening. Strome was going to his side of the net and stopped specifically because Faulk slid down low to prevent it. If Faulk stays on Saad, Strome is 1 on 1 against Binner from a high percentage area with time.

Lol he was not committed to going there until Faulk made a move. It was a tiny head fake and it would have taken Strome forever to get all the way over there

 

[Brian39]

Lol he was not committed to going there until Faulk made a move. It was a tiny head fake and it would have taken Strome forever to get all the way over there

He picks up the puck above the goal line 6 feet away from Binner's glove-side post. He immediately takes a couple quick strides to pivot and move from above the goal line to below the goal line and from 6 feet off the post to directly behind the net. Some head fake.

No one said he was taking the puck to the other side with 100% certainty. He obviously was comfortable stopping that progress and making a play from the near post. But that decision is made because his angle on the other post had been cut off by Faulk. Faulk got there early enough to cut off his passing lane to the point and any attempt to the front of the net from Binner's blocker side post. Acting like Faulk was just doing nothing and had no reason to be anywhere besides checking Saad is ridiculous.

 

[Stlblue50]

No one said he was taking the puck to the other side with 100% certainty. .

Dude you just said he was in your last post to me. Are you stoned lol?

 

[Brian39]

Dude you just said he was in your last post to me. Are you stoned lol?

Can you not read? Feel free to quote where I said that.

He was going that way and then stopped when Faulk moved down. That's all I said. Which is exactly what happened, as I described.

 

[Oberyn]

Immediately before those stills Strome starts cutting to the other side of the goal (Faulk's side) and Faulk is very obviously moving to cut off his path for an attempted wrap around or a pass to the point on that side. Strome stops behind the goal specifically because he recognized Faulk eliminating his ability to make that pass or cut to the front of the net.

Faulk should absolutely not just stand in the slot and watch a Hawks player drive the net. That's absurd. Barby was way too high to be able to do a damn thing about Strome, so Faulk correctly moved down low.



Are you seriously suggesting that Faulk was not moving in the exact opposite direction prior to those screenshots or were you intentionally leaving it out? Either way you are laughably incorrect that Faulk is "alone in front of the net with only one threat to worry about." You don't have even a basic understanding of PK strategy if you believe that it is Barby's job to chase down to the goal line after a puck carrier.

Yes, Faulk moves to cut off the path for an attempted wrap around which is the correct play. Strome then stops and moves the puck to his forehand so he's most likely going to make a play to either Dach or Saad. Scandella has the Dach avenue covered and Faulk doesn't react quick enough to cut off the opening to Saad, his stick work on that play was quite delayed. That's just the way I see it, this isn't even me picking on Faulk as I've clearly stated that the PK as a whole failed miserably. If that means I don't have "even a basic understanding of PK strategy" then so be it.

 

[Oberyn]

Not trying to be difficult or prolong the discussion over this one play, but there is a lot here I simply don't agree with.

1. Scandella is covering the pass to Dach, but he has also been left in the unenviable position of covering the pass to Saad as well.

2. Prior to either of the stills you posted, Faulk was much further over to the far post, taking away a pass to that point. That's not "covering a ghost" that is getting caught in transition, which you and others have pointed out is likely due to poor communication.

3. If Sunny and Barbie were truly "covering the point men" they would both be further out, which would actually be more disastrous. They're not positioned to defend a point shot and they're not positioned to prevent a pass to the point. They're just there.

4. You referred to Faulk as "covering a ghost", but who are Sunny and Barbie really covering? I contend that the answer is "no one", which to me is the biggest failure of this coverage. Any pass back to the point is almost certainly going to go off the wall or via Dach, giving either of them time to turn and press their point man and further process and decide what to do next. Both of them have the play right in front of them and both can clearly see that until Faulk starts to move from the far post back to the top of the crease (too late as it turns out) Saad is completely uncovered. Again, probably bad (or no) communication, but in my view one of those two has to drop lower and either put a body on Saad or at least get in a position to tie up his stick. Faulk being on the far post was the only option to prevent a clean pass back to the far point man (Barbie could not have reached even a direct pass from behind the net without shifting even further out) and Faulk only left that preventative position when Strome clearly committed to moving the puck out from the other side. About the only thing I think I can fault Faulk with here is not processing the fact that, as a left shot, Strome was about 90% going to move the puck back out on Scandella's side and the other 10% would have required Strome to take the time to adjust his positioning to make a pass back to the other point, giving the defense time to react and adjust. In that sense, he could have covered Saad and (maybe) had enough time to react if Strome reverses to an outlet on the other side or a move above the goal line, but Sunny and Barbie are literally doing nothing else in these frames so I feel like one (or both) of them should have covered the net front.

You can read my response to Brian39 if you want but not really inclined to start a whole argument on this.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

This play is getting to sound like the Zapruder film!

 

[fishsandwichpatrol]

too many men on the grassy knoll

 

[m1a2lt]

While I don't recall fans being so high on Rattie, I agree 100% with what you said about Sanford. When people decide they don't like a player, they will look for any little thing to roast him for. Like many players, Sanford is a bit of a late bloomer and has had some unfortunate injuries that stunted his development. But hopefully his recent surge will remind people to keep a more open mind about players in the future. Some guys just need more time and experience. He's starting to look like a damn good all-around player. Pierre was so over the top with his praise of Sanford, it was almost comical.

Few other observations:

Despite getting two assists, it seems like Perron has been "off" lately. We're lucky that Sanford has done so well because DP57 is in a funk. We need our sniper back! (Both of them)

Really pleased to see Kyrou start to assert himself. Him, Thomas and Sanford were our most dynamic forwards last night, along with ROR. The kids are alright!

For all the talk of possibly sitting Steen and/or Bozak, let's not forget they are two of our top PKers and defensive forwards. No way Blais is playing over those guys in the playoffs.

Last but not least, let's lay off Faulk a bit shall we? If he's getting this much heat after a game where he had a huge goal and was +3, then it's clear this guy just can't get a fair shake from fans who've already made up their minds about him. Sound familiar?

I've thought both him and RoR have been off since being separated; they seem to have a bromance going on seem to feed on each other. I like the new lines but think this one was a mistake to break up (for more than one game). This said, I only got to listen to the game instead of watching and missed the lines so maybe Perron was put back with RoR.

 

[MissouriMook]

Yes, Faulk moves to cut off the path for an attempted wrap around which is the correct play. Strome then stops and moves the puck to his forehand so he's most likely going to make a play to either Dach or Saad. Scandella has the Dach avenue covered and Faulk doesn't react quick enough to cut off the opening to Saad, his stick work on that play was quite delayed. That's just the way I see it, this isn't even me picking on Faulk as I've clearly stated that the PK as a whole failed miserably. If that means I don't have "even a basic understanding of PK strategy" then so be it.

I think you're still ignoring the elephant in the room in that Sunny and Barbie were doing nothing at the time. It shouldn't be on Scandella and Faulk to defend five guys all by themselves. Either Sunny or Barbie should have moved down to eliminate Saad as an option because he was the immediate threat once Strome reversed behind the net because Faulk took away everything on that side of the ice. Scandella can't take away two passing lanes (Saad and Dach) without overcommitting to Strome, which takes him below the goal line and leaves a 4-on-3 out front. Faulk was committed to preventing Strome from going back to the far point or to moving above the goal line for a wraparound or a clearer East-West pass. Once that threat was neutralized, he's coming back to the other side to help Scandella.

Sunny and Barbie were in no position to prevent a pass back to either point, so what exactly were they doing with the most urgent threat (Saad) right in front of them? Ultimately, killing penalties is about taking away options for the PP and forcing them into turnovers or low percentage shot attempts from low danger areas. I don't know how anyone can lay blame at Faulk's feet for eliminating all options on one half of the ice when there were three other guys available for the other side and the net front, none of which got the job done.

 

[mike1320]

 

[Meatball]

All hail Saint Parayko.