GDT: R1, G3| Blues vs. Wild| 8:30pm| BSMW, TNT|

[BlueOil]

woof

blues can play way better and I hope we see that sunday

 

[Thallis]

Krug Leddy and Bortz? 2 top 4 and one 3rd pairing? Hmmm yeah that’s bottom three….and if you read my post; Two of those D are our best puck movers. SMH

Leddy, Bortz, and Scandella are all bottom pairing defensemen regardless of what we're asking them to do. Krug going down is a bigger problem, but losing him for a game also shouldn't be the difference in a series.

 

[HighNote]

Scandella was the only defenseman that played well. You can argue Rosen was ok.

One of the worst games I've seen from Faulk in a while, Parayko was bad, Mikkola was arguably the worst player on the ice for us.

Schenn came to play. O'Reilly and Perron were good for the most part. Thomas looked like our best forward overall, but nobody really had a great game besides maybe Schenn. Not sure what's up with Saad but it looks like he's not even trying out there. I saw Tarasenko skate hard once, so that was pretty exciting. Can't blame Husso much, although it would have been nice to get another big save or two to make it a game. Odd-man rushes galore for the Wild, and they're mostly preventable.

Onward to game 4. Let's see how the Blues play in a game that's almost certainly a must win. Let's hope Krug isn't seriously hurt and that Leddy can return. If not, we're in trouble based on how our defense is currently playing.

 

[mk80]

The big problem we have is that while we can all acknowledge and have talked much about our defense being half the Springfield Thunderbirds and shorthanded. The last two games, we really haven't seen (much of) the St. Louis Blues up front.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

I had the score spoiled for me (I can't watch the games live on streaming without cable), so I just saw the highlights; if you can call them that?

The defense is terrible, and the forward scoring prowess has just dissipated.

They might blow this series in 5 if they keep going the way they are.

 

[Louie the Blue]

If losing your bottom 3 defenders are the difference between winning and losing in round 1, your team is fundamentally flawed.

Regardless of how good Leddy, Krug, and Borutzzo, they are still serviceable D and the Blues playing 5 D 2 games in a row is a huge problem.

I think you gotta go Binnington next game.

I don't. Aside from the second goal, I thought Husso settled down and gave the team a chance to compete. The Wild were getting some seriously solid looks in the 1st and 2nd which could've made it a lot worse than 2-0 or 3-0.

I also have no faith in Binnington for the rest of the season-next year's a different story (give him the off-season to reset)

 

[Stealth JD]

Yep - as tough as it's gone for Husso lately, he's still a better option than Binnington. Maybe down 3-1 you play Binner to look for a spark, but Husso hasn't been to blame for much, besides having some bad luck. This defense, healthy or not, was the clear weakest link in their pursuit of playoff success. Those links are failing and it's an awfully heavy lift for the remaining guys to get the train back on the tracks. There was zero margin for error coming in with this group, and the injuries have made an already tall task even taller.

 

[Louie the Blue]

Yep - as tough as it's gone for Husso lately, he's still a better option than Binnington. Maybe down 3-1 you play Binner to look for a spark, but Husso hasn't been to blame for much, besides having some bad luck. This defense, healthy or not, was the clear weakest link in their pursuit of playoff success. Those links are failing and it's an awfully heavy lift for the remaining guys to get the train back on the tracks. There was zero margin for error coming in with this group, and the injuries have made an already tall task even taller.

I honestly don’t even think the defense has been the past two games.

The issue’s the forwards.

 

[Stealth JD]

I honestly don’t even think the defense has been the past two games.

The issue’s the forwards.

Defense is giving up too many prime chances and not getting the pucks to the forwards effectively. Forwards aren't doing much to help but the Wild are simply winning the battle of wills. They're going hard to the scoring areas and creating better chances than they're allowing.

 

[jimmythemick]

Scuttlebutt/Rumor mill has Krug out for the rest of the playoffs with a torn MCL. I'm not a doctor, team associate or anything so not trying to write this off as fact.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Scuttlebutt/Rumor mill has Krug out for the rest of the playoffs with a torn MCL. I'm not a doctor, team associate or anything so not trying to write this off as fact.

That whole spasm of Blues reckless hitting after going down 2-0 early in the 1st was stupid. The Wild stayed composed and we lost another D man.

So stupid.

Good luck, Wild.

 

[jimmythemick]

Leddy and Bortuzzo stepped out on the ice about 10 minutes ago.... Im not a praying man, but anyone want to throw one out?

 

[Blueston]

We still have cross and Tucker that we can recall, so our d can still afford couple more injuries.

 

[stl76]

Scuttlebutt/Rumor mill has Krug out for the rest of the playoffs with a torn MCL. I'm not a doctor, team associate or anything so not trying to write this off as fact.

Say it ain’t so, Jimmy. Say it ain’t so.

 

[shpongle falls]

Man if Krug is done the Blues are toast, this bad luck with injuries is unreal.

 

[Sushiko]

We still have cross and Tucker that we can recall, so our d can still afford couple more injuries.

Yeah… I don’t really think we can afford anymore. Admire your optimism though.

 

[Blueston]

Yeah… I don’t really think we can afford anymore. Admire your optimism though.

It’s fatalism masquerading as sarcasm.

 

[Chet Manly]

They had 3 PP opportunities and were also chanting it repeatedly well before the EN as well.

Are you hoping that the Enterprise Center is respectfully quiet with the occasional golf clap tonight? Fans being excited about their team winning is pretty far from bush league. Acting like the fans should have remained reserved about the outcome because you didn't like the officiating is ridiculous. The sing-songy Gooooooaaaaaaaal-iiiiieeeeee chant is one of the most common chants league wide and is a staple to try and get under the skin of an opposition goalie who is off his game. One of my fondest childhood memories is hearing "Beeeeeeeeeeeeel-fooouuuuur" echo through the old Arena. If that chant is bush league then every team in the league is bush league.

I meant a man down the entire game, as in literally only 17 players on the bench for over 2/3's of the game. Remember Bortz getting hurt in the first period?Remember him not coming back?

Never once did I mention officiating.

 

[GoldenSeal]

We still have cross and Tucker that we can recall, so our d can still afford couple more injuries.

Yeah we’re not done just yet. Regroup and try it again.

Yeah… I don’t really think we can afford anymore. Admire your optimism though.

True but we’re ready for it. Will the call-ups be ready to go is the real question.

Man if Krug is done the Blues are toast, this bad luck with injuries is unreal.

Krug being out changes the dynamic and that’s usually boded well for us, not bad. When the team is against the wall is when they play their best hockey.