GDT: Defending Stanley Cup Champs St. Louis Blues vs.Toronto| 6pm| Into The Great White North

[ezcreepin]

I haven't been able to watch all 3 games, but from the looks of it, Binnington has been able to rebound after having some rough patches of play, which is a great sign. I remember when Halak was brought in, they would hype him up and say he had a short memory and could reset very quickly after things got bad. Eventually they dropped this pregame nugget and said things like "gotta play defense" or "Use your defenders" or something like that, which I thought was funny because he was supposed to be this god like figure in Montreal for stealing them a series.

Fast-forward to 2019, and when people say Binnington has ice in his veins and can regroup quickly, I actually believe it. When you get scored on in 24 seconds against an offensive juggernaut like the Leafs, I fully expect the game to get out of hand quickly. Instead, the Blues regrouped and Binnington was both lucky and made great, timely saves. Very impressed with his start and confident in him moving forward.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Binnington looks like the same guy. He tracks the puck well, and never gives up on a stop. He's aggressive in his positioning. He continues to give up rebounds, but that's just the way it is and the defense know they have to clean it up. Its a style that works well when you trust your defense and vice versa. He doesn't get beat on those lackadaisical type of goals that Allen tends to give up, where you wonder what he was daydreaming about. I think he probably is really a .915 to .920 save percentage guy in the NHL. He hasn't seemed to lose one iota of his swagger, and the team's identity is enmeshed with that.

Halak was mercurial. I wanted to like him, but there were too many things going on in his head. The fact that he asked not to face the Blues immediately after his trade to Buffalo tells you everything you need to know about the guy. I want a goalie who is going to want to face those guys. They can still be your friends later, but where is your competitive fire?! I want the guy who is determined to show his former team they made a mistake. He didn't have that in him.

I think Allen is going to be comfortable in the back-up role. I bet we see a good year from him statistically. It would be nice to see for multiple reasons, not least of which is to keep his value in trade in a good place. But the points they earn with Allen in the net count the same as the points when Binnington is playing.

 

[DanM]

Thank you! We are super excited.

I, for one, have been a lifelong Leafs fan, so best of luck this season and see you in the Finals. (Hopefully)

I would love it!

 

[67Blues]

Binnington looks like the same guy. He tracks the puck well, and never gives up on a stop. He's aggressive in his positioning. He continues to give up rebounds, but that's just the way it is and the defense know they have to clean it up. Its a style that works well when you trust your defense and vice versa. He doesn't get beat on those lackadaisical type of goals that Allen tends to give up, where you wonder what he was daydreaming about. I think he probably is really a .915 to .920 save percentage guy in the NHL. He hasn't seemed to lose one iota of his swagger, and the team's identity is enmeshed with that.

Halak was mercurial. I wanted to like him, but there were too many things going on in his head. The fact that he asked not to face the Blues immediately after his trade to Buffalo tells you everything you need to know about the guy. I want a goalie who is going to want to face those guys. They can still be your friends later, but where is your competitive fire?! I want the guy who is determined to show his former team they made a mistake. He didn't have that in him.

I think Allen is going to be comfortable in the back-up role. I bet we see a good year from him statistically. It would be nice to see for multiple reasons, not least of which is to keep his value in trade in a good place. But the points they earn with Allen in the net count the same as the points when Binnington is playing.

Words of the day - enmeshed , mercurial

 

[Falco Lombardi]

Words of the day - enmeshed , mercurial

Mercurial is a spectacular word, expertly used here.

 

[Robb_K]

Same Schwartz from last regular season.

Saving himself for the playoffs!

 

[67Blues]

 

[Ranksu]

I think Allen is going to be comfortable in the back-up role. I bet we see a good year from him statistically. It would be nice to see for multiple reasons, not least of which is to keep his value in trade in a good place. But the points they earn with Allen in the net count the same as the points when Binnington is playing.

Those are just empty words and assumptions. We're more wiser when Allen play his first game(s) and than can re-evaluate his status.

 

[Brian39]

Berube clearly didn't trust our left side besides J-Bo last night. Faulk was Petro's partner for well over half of his shifts in the 3rd period. That's the 2nd game in a row where Petro, Parayko and Faulk have all played more minutes than any of our LHD. Gunnar played just 12:39 last night and looked outmatched. I like Gunnar a lot and am happy with the extension he signed last summer. With that said, I don't think he is capable of being Petro's partner against teams that have 2 fast and skilled forward lines.

I think we are going to see a ton of experimentation with our D pairs over the next month or two and unless Dunn can show something to Berube that he hasn't yet, Faulk is going to play on the left side a lot.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Those are just empty words and assumptions. We're more wiser when Allen play his first game(s) and than can re-evaluate his status.

OK, Hoss.

Or I was extrapolating from how Allen embraced the back-up role the last 10 months, and how he's carried himself in camp and in interviews so far. When you shit on Allen, you always seem to ignore his statistical performance ever since Binnington took over the starting role. I expect that to continue. I don't think it makes my words empty, but I agree we'll know it when we see it.

How is what I said any different than your forecasts for Mikkola?

 

[Ranksu]

OK, Hoss.

Or I was extrapolating from how Allen embraced the back-up role the last 10 months, and how he's carried himself in camp and in interviews so far. When you **** on Allen, you always seem to ignore his statistical performance ever since Binnington took over the starting role. I expect that to continue. I don't think it makes my words empty, but I agree we'll know it when we see it.

How is what I said any different than your forecasts for Mikkola?

Wow, I'm just gonna let this be.

 

[67Blues]

Those are just empty words and assumptions. We're more wiser when Allen play his first game(s) and than can re-evaluate his status.

 

[Philly Fanatik]

Blues’ play by play announcer has to be one of the best of this era!
Sounds exactly like his old man did...way back when!
Dan Kelly was one of the best EVER!

 

[execwrite1]

This is a team full of hockey players totally devoted to proving to the entire NHL that their Stanley Cup championship was no fluke.

Love it.

 

[Nathaniel Lauharn]

I haven't been able to watch all 3 games, but from the looks of it, Binnington has been able to rebound after having some rough patches of play, which is a great sign. I remember when Halak was brought in, they would hype him up and say he had a short memory and could reset very quickly after things got bad. Eventually they dropped this pregame nugget and said things like "gotta play defense" or "Use your defenders" or something like that, which I thought was funny because he was supposed to be this god like figure in Montreal for stealing them a series.

Fast-forward to 2019, and when people say Binnington has ice in his veins and can regroup quickly, I actually believe it. When you get scored on in 24 seconds against an offensive juggernaut like the Leafs, I fully expect the game to get out of hand quickly. Instead, the Blues regrouped and Binnington was both lucky and made great, timely saves. Very impressed with his start and confident in him moving forward.

One of the reasons I really grew to love Elliott is because Halak always seemed like a head case. One bad game would affect his next two or three and Elliott seemed to bounce back easier.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

One of the reasons I really grew to love Elliott is because Halak always seemed like a head case. One bad game would affect his next two or three and Elliott seemed to bounce back easier.

Elliott is easy to root for. He is a battler.

 

[STL BLUES]

Hopefully, some day we can all move beyond the rehabilitation of Jake Allen. That experiment ended last year. Very happy to see him ride the pine and play here and there for the sake of keeping him active and earning some of that fat paycheck. Of course he loves his new role.

 

[Shwabeal]

Of course he loves his new role.

I guarantee Jake hates his new job. No person with a competitive bone in their body would prefer to ride the bench and just cash a paycheck. I'm sure he'd much rather be out there competing and helping this team win games.

Just a silly thing to say.

 

[TheBluePenguin]

I guarantee Jake hates his new job. No person with a competitive bone in their body would prefer to ride the bench and just cash a paycheck. I'm sure he'd much rather be out there competing and helping this team win games.

Just a silly thing to say.

Yeah I agree, of course he wants to be a starter, who wouldn't. I think he will go somewhere and have a decent season next year. Then once he get comfortable he will drop again. He always plays better when his backup is pushing him.

 

[Brian39]

Yeah I agree, of course he wants to be a starter, who wouldn't. I think he will go somewhere and have a decent season next year. Then once he get comfortable he will drop again. He always plays better when his backup is pushing him.

I doubt he is ever a starter or in a situation where he can get "comfortable" ever again. The NHL as a whole is moving away from the 60 start goalie and he has proven that he can't handle that workload.

I think Jake Allen's future is being a Halak/Khudobin type of backup/1B. If he is elevated to 1A status, I think it will be for a team that utilizes it's backup/1B in 35 or so starts a la Carolina or the Islanders last year. I just can't envision him ever getting 50+ starts again barring a significant injury to his partner. He doesn't have the mental fortitude to handle an NHL starter's workload even though he has all the physical tools. Barring emergency, I just can't imagine a team hands him the exclusive keys to their season ever again.

I think he would enjoy that role. I also think that he enjoys his current role more than repeatedly getting booed/bronx cheered and imploding at home. But that is a pretty low bar and I have to expect that he will want a change of scenery after this season. We're still early into the year, but Binny has picked up right where he left off. I still want to see us manage Binny's workload in the 50-55 start range (like I want to see out of 95% of NHL starters), but it is pretty clear that Allen's role is to help manage Binny's workload and not to challenge for the job.

 

[Robb_K]

I guarantee Jake hates his new job. No person with a competitive bone in their body would prefer to ride the bench and just cash a paycheck. I'm sure he'd much rather be out there competing and helping this team win games.

Just a silly thing to say.

I agree. There are over a million players in organised hockey, who would love to play in The NHL, if they could play well enough to get there. The 1,000+ players in The NHL are the best (cream of the crop) of those million+. How could ANY of them have gotten to that elite level if competing at a high level wasn't their goal? Allen could NOT have reached The NHL, or even World Juniors tournament level, or even Canadian AAA level had he wanted just to bask in the glory of being in a high league, while sitting on the bench and just filling in for regulars. Anyone who has played a decently high level of organised sports would know that, and would have felt the same. You want to play the game because it is fun, and in your blood. It's a big part of your life. You want to play your best and watch yourself improve. Naturally, it's more gratifying at a higher level, because the competition is at a higher level, and more intense. So, it is more gratifying. No one wants to sit on the bench. You want to play - to help your team win, and because it is the reason why you are there. Why else would you be there, rather than doing something else for which you have more passion???

 

[STL BLUES]

The list is a mile long of professional athletes who burn out or turn away from the sport that got them to where they tasted the promised land. But, I respect the fact that thou shalt not say anything negative of a Blues player who may be beyond the experimental stage.

 

[Shwabeal]

The list is a mile long of professional athletes who burn out or turn away from the sport that got them to where they tasted the promised land. But, I respect the fact that thou shalt not say anything negative of a Blues player who may be beyond the experimental stage.

Yeah, cause that's totally what was said . You can say whatever negative things you want, but you're gonna get called out when its complete conjecture. You have absolutely no clue if Allen is "loving his job of riding the bench and cashing a paycheck." But yeah, I'm sure a guy that was willing to do whatever it took to help his team get a competitive advantage over their opponent during practices last postseason has "turned away from the sport." If he wasn't a competitor and didn't want to play hockey anymore, he'd retire and forego the money, he wouldn't still be here, its that simple.

 

[STL BLUES]

Brodeur tried... and now we have an awesome backup “practice” goalie.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Brodeur tried... and now we have an awesome backup “practice” goalie. View attachment 262555

Its pretty easy to imagine Binnington getting dinged up or having a rough stretch for a few weeks, and Allen getting the majority of the starts for a couple weeks going on a hot streak. We've seen him do that many times. A guy that's capable of that could really help his team, even without challenging for the starting position. As a back-up, he's going to get a significant amount of starts anyway. He's not a 'practice' goalie. He's going to get more starts than the proportion that fell to him last season when Binnington first came up. The Blues are going to manage things wisely and conserve Binnington for a full season. Why can't I root for Allen to succeed in that role?

There seems to be some splitting on this board, with regard to Allen. He has to be the worst goalie in the league for some posters. Its not OK to just acknowledge that he's a very competent back-up, maybe one of the best back-ups in the league. And if you took away every team's starting goalie, the Blues would be one of the teams that would be in a lot better shape than most teams.