GDT: Hawks @ Blues "Shocking Confession Edition"

[Chojin]

Blues better figure this out. They're almost certainly going to make the playoffs, so now they need to get ready. Figure out what the hell happened to Bouw too; that guy has been hot garbage all year.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Blues better figure this out. They're almost certainly going to make the playoffs, so now they need to get ready. Figure out what the hell happened to Bouw too; that guy has been hot garbage all year.

Well, with Lehtera and Shattenkirk it could be a different game... Or perhaps not a game but a score.

 

[LGB51]

The Blues fans that whine and *****/complain after every loss, really make wanting to continue coming to this forum hard.

 

[Mzeppelin1]

anything less than a victory against chicago is a failure. plain and simple

 

[slappipappi]

Well, with Lehtera and Shattenkirk it could be a different game... Or perhaps not a game but a score.

I have Lehtera in a draft. He has 5 points in his last 15 games.

 

[execwrite]

I remain an Elliott supporter but he can't be throwing rebounds out into the slot. That was a killer today.

The loss of Shattenkirk is monumental. Until the Blues fix this power play they will struggle. Maybe Oshie on the right point?

 

[Thallis]

I have Lehtera in a draft. He has 5 points in his last 15 games.

Faceoffs were a big deal in the third this game. He may have not been on the scoresheet but could have still had a big impact today

 

[Stopsight]

I have Lehtera in a draft. He has 5 points in his last 15 games.

how many points do Kruger and Bickell have in the last 15 because their goals counted as much as Tarasenko's and Backes'

 

[PeterAngelo]

Late to the party, 3.30 am games will do that, but just wanted to chime in that whilst obviously disappointing to lose (especially to THAT team) I can't help but feel jazzed watching this team these days. And it is in large part due to 91 and 17. So fun having a couple of absolute 'money' players out on the ice. I fully envision both Tarasenko and Schwartz being the primary reasons behind our graduation to the deeper rounds of the playoffs, whenever that day arrives (hopefully in about 2-3 months).

 

[EastonBlues22]

And what about if we lose again?

<snip>

I think everyone here realizes there's a good chance we might lose a series against any given team. Heck, even the biggest favorites in a seven game series still historically lose to the underdog about 20-30% of the time. If we lost to LA, or CHI, or anyone, it shouldn't be shocking regardless of how disappointing it might be...97% of the teams in the league go home losers when it's all said and done.

It's perfectly reasonable to acknowledge that and/or be pessimistic about the Blues chances. With that said, even the most dour fans of competitive teams usually manage to enjoy something about their team's season as it unfolds.

For a select few around here, and I'm not including you in this category, it seems like the only pleasure they derive from this team is from being "right" when it fails...and they'll make sure to point that out at every convenient opportunity.

If someone is going to spend the whole season insisting to their fellow fans that the team is going to fail with the full intention of saying "I told you so." whenever it does, then they should be willing to step up and reap the fallout from that if the team doesn't.

 

[Blues88]

I thought it was a pretty solid game. Gunnarsson had a bad game in particular but his role on that first goal highlights the difficulty for any team, especially the Blues, to match up with them. Man for man, it's fairly even. We end up trading possession time with them throughout most games and because of the strength of team defense and first lines in particular, it becomes a depth battle.

The Blues have an active blue line by design. Where we run into trouble against Chicago is having a guy pinch and get stuck. Chicago is the most dangerous counter attack team in the league and we saw it in full effect, again, today. Once Gunnarsson flubbed the puck and was pinned, you had to no Krueger would create a chance. Little defensive mistakes like Oshie not picking up Hossa on the PP as they entered the zone....the Hawks very frequently exploit those chances. The margin for error is extremely thin when we play them.

A lot of positives though. That's the best group of forwards in the league and we were still able to pin them in their zone and sustain pressure. Tarasenko and Schwartz were very effective, once again, in a big game. SOB got on the board....Oshie, aside from the Hossa goal, has looked tremendous basically since he turned his season around. The lack of cohesion on the PP is a big concern, because it very simply shouldn't live or die by one player. Is what it is right now.

Mistakes happen. I do think this team has been able to manufacture offense at times in games where it just hasn't been able to in the past. That should bode well down the stretch. Would like to see them try to upgrade a winger at the deadline but all in all, no reason to lose cautious optimism.

 

[BlueDream]

I think everyone here realizes there's a good chance we might lose a series against any given team. Heck, even the biggest favorites in a seven game series still historically lose to the underdog about 20-30% of the time. If we lost to LA, or CHI, or anyone, it shouldn't be shocking regardless of how disappointing it might be...97% of the teams in the league go home losers when it's all said and done.

It's perfectly reasonable to acknowledge that and/or be pessimistic about the Blues chances. With that said, even the most dour fans of competitive teams usually manage to enjoy something about their team's season as it unfolds.

For a select few around here, and I'm not including you in this category, it seems like the only pleasure they derive from this team is from being "right" when it fails...and they'll make sure to point that out at every convenient opportunity.

If someone is going to spend the whole season insisting to their fellow fans that the team is going to fail with the full intention of saying "I told you so." whenever it does, then they should be willing to step up and reap the fallout from that if the team doesn't.

Fair enough. I agree with that. I do find it humorous that some posters literally hadn't appeared in weeks during the point streak.

I try to balance things. I'm excited about this Blues team as they are better than they've ever been since the Pronger and MacInnis days.

13-game point streak was great. Just sucks that when the Blues play Anaheim, LA, or Chicago you can mark down an 'L' for what seems like 90% of the time.

I would say the roster needs a few tweaks to get over the hump, but we've been making lots of tweaks over the past year and it's the same so I'm not even sure what the answer is anymore without completely destroying the core. Either way, Armstrong will either have a very busy offseason ahead of him, or a relatively calm one. Should be a fun ride either way to get some answers this postseason.

And, not that I would enjoy a second round defeat, but I could handle it better if we could just smash the Blackhawks in the first round (if we do matchup). Today's game definitely reminded me of everything I hate about that organization, mostly their fans.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Fair enough. I agree with that. I do find it humorous that some posters literally hadn't appeared in weeks during the point streak.

I try to balance things. I'm excited about this Blues team as they are better than they've ever been since the Pronger and MacInnis days.

13-game point streak was great. Just sucks that when the Blues play Anaheim, LA, or Chicago you can mark down an 'L' for what seems like 90% of the time.

I would say the roster needs a few tweaks to get over the hump, but we've been making lots of tweaks over the past year and it's the same so I'm not even sure what the answer is anymore without completely destroying the core. Either way, Armstrong will either have a very busy offseason ahead of him, or a relatively calm one. Should be a fun ride either way to get some answers this postseason.

And, not that I would enjoy a second round defeat, but I could handle it better if we could just smash the Blackhawks in the first round (if we do matchup). Today's game definitely reminded me of everything I hate about that organization, mostly their fans.

This is key. At some point all of us have been very critical of the team in some way, but it's how we are being critical. People like you, me, and most of the others are critical in certain areas, some the same and some are different, but it's more about highlighting an area that we think needs improving and offer a possible solution. The few others, just like to point out the problems and say I told you so to everyone else.

I doubt many of us believe this team is currently ready for a Cup, but at the same time, it shouldn't be all doom and gloom when Shattenkirk and Lehtera were both out.

 

[Captain America*]

The Blues just arent good enough right now to beat the best.

It sucks, and I don't know the answer on how to fix it.

Grit & determination

Not Peter-Pan hockey.

 

[KirkOut]

This is key. At some point all of us have been very critical of the team in some way, but it's how we are being critical. People like you, me, and most of the others are critical in certain areas, some the same and some are different, but it's more about highlighting an area that we think needs improving and offer a possible solution. The few others, just like to point out the problems and say I told you so to everyone else.

I doubt many of us believe this team is currently ready for a Cup, but at the same time, it shouldn't be all doom and gloom when Shattenkirk and Lehtera were both out.

Yep. Anybody who has been a fan of the team for even more than a year or so knows to expect soul crushing defeat and to not get their hopes up. But I (and probably most people) watch the the team because it's fun and we love hockey. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being critical of the flaws in the team. But if you never have any fun watching the game, what's even the point?

 

[Mike Liut]

The Hawks weren't that impressive today. If the Blues are healthy heading in the playoffs, they can take them in a series. Health will be the key. And not giving up weak goals

 

[Bluesin7]

The Blues just arent good enough right now to beat the best.

It sucks, and I don't know the answer on how to fix it.

So we beat Washington, Nashville, SJ x2, Tampa in the past (15? games) and we can't compete with the best..? Lol, please tell me you're kidding. It was a one goal game with a rival team, quit crying.

 

[Thallis]

So we beat Washington, Nashville, SJ x2, Tampa in the past (15? games) and we can't compete with the best..? Lol, please tell me you're kidding. It was a one goal game with a rival team, quit crying.

Only the losses count. We're supposed to go 82-0. Duh.

 

[Old Blueser]

Say all you want that our D pinching in is an issue but I am much more concerned that we always seem to be backing up when we play Chicago. Pinching in means we are being aggressive, that's our game. Backing up means we are scared and passive, and that's definitely not our game.

Difficult to quantify but I feel like Hawks players "rise to the occasion" when they play the Blues. I am not sure if comparable Blues players to Kruger and Bickell score those goals in those situations. The Blues have some players that seem to wilt a bit in these games (many of whom seem to have Swedish last names).

You can see which Blues "rise": Vladi, Schwartz, Oshie, Backes to name a few. Oshie in particular was great in this game, but we never got those clean shots at the net we were giving away at the other end.

Unfortunately none of our healthy D-men is likely to make that list any time soon.

 

[bleedblue1223]

On the pinching vs backup up topic, it's a tricky issue against Chicago. When a non-Pietrangelo or non-Shattenkirk pinch against Chicago, we will likely get burned bad. That happened a few times, and on a couple, Elliott couldn't bail us out. They are so quick on the counter, you just don't have time to recover, and you have to respect that.

Once they gain the zone in a settled situation, it's important not to give them too much space, and that's how we got burned last playoffs, they just had too much time and space on the puck and guys like Kane picked us apart.

Games against Chicago are all about the little details and limiting time and space, whichever team does that will win. Chicago did a great job in the 1st of containing Tarasenko and not so much in the 2nd, and we saw the result.

Now, going back to the first point, it's important for our Gunnarsson's and Jackman's to not get caught forward. Petro and Shatty are usually good at picking their spots and making good decisions with the puck, so they don't get burned as much, and Bouwmeester usually has his speed, so he can recover faster. Cole typically likes to hold the point and fire a slap shot, so he also usually won't get burned, now if only his bomb had some accuracy.

Chicago is just so good on the counter.

 

[Twisted Blue]

The Blues fans that whine and *****/complain after every loss, really make wanting to continue coming to this forum hard.

FIRE HITCHCOCK!

 

[Kshahdoo]

I have Lehtera in a draft. He has 5 points in his last 15 games.

A lot of people predicted he'd slow down after a good start on account of more games and more intensive hockey. But now he's been resting for a month, and I think we'll see rejuvenated Lehtera when he recovers from injury.

 

[BluesTraveller]

I didn't like the 2nd goal, we had three players backing-in all the way to the circles. Who had the puck? Not Kane, but Rundblad.

It was a game we could have had, we didn't. Not that big of a deal, we did just complete a 13 game point streak.

 

[Captain Creampuff]

Say all you want that our D pinching in is an issue but I am much more concerned that we always seem to be backing up when we play Chicago. Pinching in means we are being aggressive, that's our game. Backing up means we are scared and passive, and that's definitely not our game.

Difficult to quantify but I feel like Hawks players "rise to the occasion" when they play the Blues. I am not sure if comparable Blues players to Kruger and Bickell score those goals in those situations. The Blues have some players that seem to wilt a bit in these games (many of whom seem to have Swedish last names).

You can see which Blues "rise": Vladi, Schwartz, Oshie, Backes to name a few. Oshie in particular was great in this game, but we never got those clean shots at the net we were giving away at the other end.

Unfortunately none of our healthy D-men is likely to make that list any time soon.

Well missing Shattenkirk for our pinching situation is huge. This year nearly every time you see him or Petro step up they've been able to keep the offensive zone which either leads to more scoring chances or just overall possession time. Although I have noticed that JBo has been really tentative with his punches this year. He always seems like he wants to step up but always ends up backing off. I remember in past years he would use his long stick and great skating to turn the puck back over and make the better play. I don't think we even played well against Chicago, I've seen much better play from this team. I just want this team fully healthy when playoffs roll around.

 

[Meatwagon]

So we beat Washington, Nashville, SJ x2, Tampa in the past (15? games) and we can't compete with the best..? Lol, please tell me you're kidding. It was a one goal game with a rival team, quit crying.

What, am I not allowed to vent frustration about getting beat by the team that ended our season last year?

The Blackhawks are the best team in the NHL, period. And if the Blues plan on making it out of April, they will most likely have to go through Chicago.

What is the most frustrating thing about the Blues against the Hawks is the only way they can win is by catching the Hawks on an off night or by playing perfect, mistake free hockey. If this team has proven anything, is that right now, they are not capable of playing mistake free hockey.

I've been saying it all year, that the skill and SUCCESS of Frank and Schwartz has messed up this teams identity. They are stuck in between play hard nose "Blues" hockey(Hitchs words, not mine) and frankly, Pond hockey. They've proven that on any given night they can play with anyone, but I don't think they have proven they can win when they have too. Granted yesterday was a day game, and 7th game in 4 days, so there was fatigue. The winning streak was nice to see, but they beat a few good teams in overtime and bottom dwellers. It's not like they played 13 straight games against playoff bound opponents, which the Blues are barely over .500. That worries me.

I have given up any hope that the Blues will EVER ice their full squad, it just doesn't happen, ever. We will have some catastrophic injury right before the playoffs because we are the Blues and we can't have anything nice. So the constant excuse that injuries are why we lose, is tiresome. ALL teams face piles of injuries, it's a collision sport they happen. The Blues have to find ways to play through them and frankly it's a tired and easy excuse. If we were CBJ and had their string of injuries then sure we could use that as an excuse, but guess what they just gave the Blues a 7-1 beatdown. Laying this loss because we are missing Kirk, who most wanted to trade after his terrible playoffs against this same team and Lehtera who is fighting the grind of an NHL season for the 1st time is a losers mentality. Which abdicates responsibility of those who aren't hurt.

The Blues have real trouble against teams that can move the puck out of the D zone with 2 touches, which is what makes the Hawks so successful in the 1st place. The fact the Hitch can't draw up a game plan that put immediate pressure on the third man high in the slot in the D zone during a breakout is worrisome. It's not like this is some new tatic the Hawks all of the sudden started employing, they've been doing it for years and yet no adjustment has ever been made. It's like clockwork, the puck gets deep, the Blues put one man in on the puck carrier and with 2 passes, it's out of pressure and past the redline. It's maddening. If I can see it on TV, the people getting paid surely notice it, at least I hope they do. The blues need to put one man on the puck carrier and one man on the 3rd high man in the slot, thus taking away their easy outs and force a few turnovers.

I don't expect the Blues Togo 82-0, but I would expect that the team that ended their season would have a little tougher time ON THE ROAD. But I digress, they will continue to beat crap teams, win 55% of their games against playoff bound teams with the shootout and I guess I have to accept that this is all this team is capable of. I guess that's the life of a Blues fan.