GDT: Game #60: Blues @ Coyotes Stormtrooper Effect Edition

[JustOneB4IDie]

It's amazing how much bigger Miller looks in goal than Halak. I understand Jaro is giving up ~5 inches on Miller, but the contrast is very stark.

One of the reasons I wanted Miller here over Halak, he covers more net, gives the shooter fewer options.

Nice to see the Blues wake up in the 3rd and it was pretty awesome sight to see exploding for 4 goals after going goaless for 8 periods over a very good defensive minded team like the Coyotes in their building for the comeback win last night.

 

[Mike Liut]

Backes looks exhausted. They need to tell him to stay home on days off for a week or so.

 

[Mike Liut]

Maybe this will wake Hitch up and make him realize that you dont need to ***** with the lines every single game. Keep the lines consistent and keep players where they obviously belong. Put your best guys on the PP, not guys like Morrow and Ott. Get the weird Tony Larussa logic out of your head and coach the game the right way. Im getting really sick of him.

Truth. It gets so frustrating when coaches think they have to always tinker.

 

[Yoko Ono*]

Enjoyed watching Miller play I still can't watch with the sound on, Pang and Kelly make me ill but its nice to have a real goaltender in town.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Enjoyed watching Miller play I still can't watch with the sound on, Pang and Kelly make me ill but its nice to have a real goaltender in town.

Well, we can agree on that.

 

[BlueDream]

I like that Miller can actually track the puck.

Halak would literally be looking behind himself on over half the shots, he didn't seem to know where the puck was very often.

Miller is just a lot more talented. A lot more.

 

[jamers]

im seeing miller had a good game between the pipes but how is he at playing the puck? I dreaded watching halak and ells play the puck behind the net so a goalie who knows what hes doing back there would be nice.

I thought he handled the puck well but still just doesn't have that communication with our D yet.

He is average at playing the puck, I would say. Maybe a little above average with a defense that isn't atrocious (read: the Sabres). He ain't Brodeur though.

Where you will truly see him shine against other goaltenders is his positional play with his angles, saves where he plays the percentages, his confidence in challenging shooters to take away the net, and his knowledge and study of player's shooting habits and tendencies around the net. He does have the agility and speed to make jaw dropping saves on two on ones and the like, but when he is truly 'on', you will notice an economy of motion.

Finally, the dude fights through traffic like you wouldn't believe from his weight to make saves. You'd think someone who is that slender wouldn't be that way, but he is strong in net.

 

[LongLiveTheNote]

Maybe this will wake Hitch up and make him realize that you dont need to ***** with the lines every single game. Keep the lines consistent and keep players where they obviously belong. Put your best guys on the PP, not guys like Morrow and Ott. Get the weird Tony Larussa logic out of your head and coach the game the right way. Im getting really sick of him.

Seriously. It irks me that the lines get tweaked EVERY game it seems like. I feel like the players would like to consistently play with the same line mates because of the chemistry that develops and just knowing where certain guys will be.

 

[superblues]

It also irks me as a fan that Hitch likes to juggle the lineup so much, but from a coaching standpoint, what's the harm? The Blues are comfortably in the lead in the west, we are still the grind of the mid-season, and if the playoffs have shown us anything, thus team needs to be able to manage sudden injuries. What are players to do when their linemate is suddenly hurt? If Hitch juggles the lines now, there might not be perfect chemistry, but at least guys can get comfortable with each other before the pressure really hits.

 

[Celtic Note]

It also irks me as a fan that Hitch likes to juggle the lineup so much, but from a coaching standpoint, what's the harm? The Blues are comfortably in the lead in the west, we are still the grind of the mid-season, and if the playoffs have shown us anything, thus team needs to be able to manage sudden injuries. What are players to do when their linemate is suddenly hurt? If Hitch juggles the lines now, there might not be perfect chemistry, but at least guys can get comfortable with each other before the pressure really hits.

It's frustrating to watch us not ice our best lines, but this reasoning is why I am patient with hitch on that front.

It even goes beyond injuries. We know the Blues have gone cold in the playoffs before. Hitch needs his A, B & C plans ready and effective when/if those times hit. Right now he is trying to develop those into strategies that work rather than mere hopefuls.

Given we just got a new forward and subtracted another, now is a good time to see how to alter those plans.

 

[Mike Liut]

It also irks me as a fan that Hitch likes to juggle the lineup so much, but from a coaching standpoint, what's the harm? The Blues are comfortably in the lead in the west, we are still the grind of the mid-season, and if the playoffs have shown us anything, thus team needs to be able to manage sudden injuries. What are players to do when their linemate is suddenly hurt? If Hitch juggles the lines now, there might not be perfect chemistry, but at least guys can get comfortable with each other before the pressure really hits.

We are?

 

[2 Minute Minor]

I just wonder at what point Hitchcock has earned enough trust from the fans to not get up in arms when he does stuff like this. He clearly has reasons he's doing this, and I don't think he has any illusions about which lines work better.

One could argue that the team knew they were trading Stewart for a few weeks, and didn't want to upset the chemistry of a 2nd or 3rd line, so they put him on the 1st line with Backes. That's a line that has consistently played well with Schwartz cycling on and off, injuries to Steen, etc. There is little worry that the top line is going to struggle to put it together, so it was a good place to keep Stewart while trying to get everyone else going. (Of course, you could also argue that it was to showcase Stewart, but I think there are additional considerations besides that.)

Blues are poised to go on a run and win the Central. Catching Anaheim is not out of the question, but I wouldn't bet on it. Pretty much as long as they stay ahead of Chicago and Colorado, I think the Blues are in a good position. I'd also like them to stay ahead of all the Eastern teams, so that a hypothetical SCF has the Blues with home ice.

These complaints are like the threads where people want to trade off all the depth to ice the best possible starting roster. It ignores the detriment of losing all depth. The line juggling (if we should call it that) is part of getting ready for the post-season. I suspect he'll keep tweaking for a bit and then the Blues will settle in by the playoffs.

Part of this is also timing the crescendo to get the Blues peaking at the right time. Things get more serious after the trade deadline. We're nearly there. (Its conceivable the team has another move planned that would shed light on the current line combos as well.)