GDT: Defending Stanley Cup Champs St. Louis Blues vs. Sharks | Mikkola's debut game.

[shpongle falls]

God I miss watching Breaking Bad.

 

[Note Worthy]

God I miss watching Breaking Bad.

It's on Netflix.

 

[DeuceNine]

Funniest thing I've seen you post

 

[CoMoBlues]

Funniest thing I've seen you post

Some may not like him, but we all have to admit, his gif game is very strong.

 

[542365]

Couture is week to week with an ankle injury?! He immediately grabbed his knee, and it looked like he clearly went knee first into the boards. Weird that he hurt his ankle on the play. Really sucks to see either way, but I think an ankle injury is less problematic than a knee for a hockey player, no? Obviously depends on the severity, but I feel like the boot in modern skates can help support a bum ankle while a bum knee is pretty rough.

 

[AVictoryDive]

Couture is week to week with an ankle injury?! He immediately grabbed his knee, and it looked like he clearly went knee first into the boards. Weird that he hurt his ankle on the play. Really sucks to see either way, but I think an ankle injury is less problematic than a knee for a hockey player, no? Obviously depends on the severity, but I feel like the boot in modern skates can help support a bum ankle while a bum knee is pretty rough.

From what is reported he’s expected to be out for 6 weeks with a fractured ankle. Ankle injuries can be as tricky as shoulder injuries as far as recovery goes

 

[DoubleK81]

From what is reported he’s expected to be out for 6 weeks with a fractured ankle. Ankle injuries can be as tricky as shoulder injuries as far as recovery goes

But still way better than a high ankle sprain, those can take months to recover from. Either way, not good for a Sharks team that doesn't have a 1st rounder in a year where they're in the basement after signing EK to an albatross of a contract. It blows my mind how some think Doug Wilson is one of the best GM's in the league.

 

[Reality Czech]

We didnt really and id almost prefer brouwer over sanford.

Walker de larose and kostin all should be played over sanford and walker isnt even on the roster right now despite number of injuries weve had. Id also prefer jordan nolan who is also in san antonio.

There are plenty of other options that at worst dont give much if a dropoff.

Wow, the Sanford hate has reached delusional levels. Nolan, really?

I understand that Sanford isn't ideal, but just maybe coach knows what he's doing? I think it's better for our team to keep Barby and Sunny together, and with Mac they form an excellent fourth (more like third) line. Steen, Bozak and Thomas are clicking as well, so that leaves an open spot with ROR and Perron. Having Sanford in that spot isn't killing us. It's probably better to have him with two experienced, solid defensive players where he won't be exposed so much.

Either way, they have been trying different combinations so don't think people need to keep complaining about Sanford after every single game. He actually had some good shifts vs. the sharks but people only focus on the negative with him. It's getting old.

 

[542365]

Sanford was relatively fine against the Sharks, but he was abhorrent against the Knights. Like maybe the worst individual game for any player on the team this year. The only performance that rivals it is Pouliot’s game against Pittsburgh, where he was justifiably benched and exiled to San Antonio shortly after. Sanford, by contrast, was given a spot on the best line on the team. THAT’S what’s getting old. It’s not like Steen where he has the contract and the great career to justify keeping him in the lineup despite poor play. He has nothing to justify it. He should be our 14th forward, play only when absolutely necessary.

 

[The Note]

I’ll be unable to do the GDTs the next couple days as I’m the best man in a wedding. So if anyone else wants to pick up the slack, feel free!

 

[Ranksu]

I’ll be unable to do the GDTs the next couple days as I’m the best man in a wedding. So if anyone else wants to pick up the slack, feel free!

Have fun at wedding I can host this wedding at here.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Sanford was relatively fine against the Sharks, but he was abhorrent against the Knights. Like maybe the worst individual game for any player on the team this year. The only performance that rivals it is Pouliot’s game against Pittsburgh, where he was justifiably benched and exiled to San Antonio shortly after. Sanford, by contrast, was given a spot on the best line on the team. THAT’S what’s getting old. It’s not like Steen where he has the contract and the great career to justify keeping him in the lineup despite poor play. He has nothing to justify it. He should be our 14th forward, play only when absolutely necessary.

Blais’ return will displace Sanford. He’s fighting for a healthy scratch spot when this lineup is healthy. But he skates a lot better than Brouwer and has more offensive potential than DLR, etc. His defensive numbers last year were very favorable.

I bet Blais inserts directly into that slot when he’s ready, and that Berube is trying to keep the other lines intact for chemistry.

 

[MissouriMook]

I’ll be unable to do the GDTs the next couple days as I’m the best man in a wedding. So if anyone else wants to pick up the slack, feel free!

Did someone say "Wedding"?

 

[542365]

Blais’ return will displace Sanford. He’s fighting for a healthy scratch spot when this lineup is healthy. But he skates a lot better than Brouwer and has more offensive potential than DLR, etc. His defensive numbers last year were very favorable.

I bet Blais inserts directly into that slot when he’s ready, and that Berube is trying to keep the other lines intact for chemistry.

That's reasonable enough, but I'd still rather play the best players. Sanford is not one of our 12 best forwards even without Tarasenko and Blais. It's not for a lack of talent, though. He has more natural skill than several forwards on this team, they just compete so much harder than he does. That's when he can be a total detriment, when he just doesn't compete. He turns pucks over and then doesn't back check nearly hard enough to make up for it. He stick checks rather than using his 6'4 frame. It's just brutal to watch some nights.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Did someone say "Wedding"?

 

[Blueston]

That's reasonable enough, but I'd still rather play the best players. Sanford is not one of our 12 best forwards even without Tarasenko and Blais. It's not for a lack of talent, though. He has more natural skill than several forwards on this team, they just compete so much harder than he does. That's when he can be a total detriment, when he just doesn't compete. He turns pucks over and then doesn't back check nearly hard enough to make up for it. He stick checks rather than using his 6'4 frame. It's just brutal to watch some nights.

It's not about 12 best forwards. It's about the best 12 forwards. The lines have worked best when we keep the core pairs (ROR & Perron, Schwartz & Schenn, Bozo & Thomas, Barby & Sunny) intact. So need to fit remaining forwards around that. Kyrou seems to be working with S&S, Steen surprisingly seems to be meshing with Bozo & Thomas, Mac Mac is great fit on BS line. So you need somebody who can play with ROR & Perron. Tank or Blais are great options but hurt. DLR isn't offensive enough, Brouwer seems unlikely, so Sanford may not deserve it but he fits there. And he generally plays much better on ROR line than he does anywhere else. So until we get reinforcements (and Blais could be back this month) we are stuck with Sanford in spot he didn't really earn and probably doesn't deserve but that really seems like best option now.

 

[GoldenSeal]

I love living in an age where we're the defending champions and LA, SJ, CHI and DET are dumpster fires. Poetic af.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I love living in an age where we're the defending champions and LA, SJ, CHI and DET are dumpster fires. Poetic af.

Back to back Cup wins would be the one thing to make it sweeter. An undeniable period of dominance that no one can rewrite into a fluky run.