Post-Game Talk: Series Discussion: Stars @ Blues

[Stealth JD]

It's Dallas, make it country.

I guess that earlier Stars fan didn't notice that 90% of the fans earlier in the thread preferred to play the Preds. Few Blues fans are thrilled to play the Stars.

We've contained Seguin pretty well in the past, can that continue? The Stars have a lot better second line than they had the last time we played them. Then again, so do the Blues. I think this series will come down to defense and goaltending, to be honest. Would like to pick the Blues in 6, but I can see this one going either way. The way this season has gone I feel like we're playing with house money. LGB!

dude was a ghost in 2016.

 

[ChillWill1]

Here is how I see the team.

Here is Dallas line up from Game 6

Benn - Seguin - Radulov
Dickinson - Hintz - Zuccarello
Cogliano - Faksa - Comeau
Dowling - Spezza - Pitlick

Lindell - Klingberg
Heiskanen - Polak
Oleksiak- Lovejoy

Ben Bishop

Our Line up

Perron-O'Reilly-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Schenn-Sundqvist
Maroon-Bozak-Thomas
Fabbri-Barbashev-Steen

Pietrangelo-Gunnarsson
Parayko-Bouwmeester
Dunn-Edmundson

Binnington

Currently no real injuries for us.

Stars have Stephen Johns (Who I believe done for season) & Janmark (Day to Day)

Comparing top 6 lines. Blues hold a slight edge. While I think Dallas has better top line, our 2nd line is much better IMO which leads to slight edge for us.

Forwards depth overall. Blues hold a slight edge here.

Top 4 dman. Even

Dman depth Even

Goalie Slightest edge to Stars only since Bishop has been this far and has a track record.

I believe Dallas will be the team more interested in matching lines up against us

I am guessing

Seguin line vs O'Reilly line
Faksa line vs Schenn line
Hintz line vs Bozak line
Spezza line vs Barbashev line


My original prediction was Blues in 5 on NHL bracket.

Thought now is Blues in 6.

Ι’ll take our Russian over their Russian.
ROR vs Seguin- Seguin is the better offensively but ROR is more of an all around center. So it’s just about even. Of course the as$ wipe Benn is better than Perron but obviously ROR makes Perron a better winger so I think our top line and their top line is pretty even. The Seguin line is just hot right now. Our top 6 is better especially if Schwartz and Schenn can get back that chemistry they had last year.

 

[67Blues]

No draft, but tryouts are open.

PTOs.

 

[bluesfan94]

Dallas fans: Blues D and Goaltending sucks, Dallas in 5 if it isn’t a sweep.

Also Dallas fans: Blues fans are cocky and arrogant.

 

[Sushiko]

Got a note from my kid's hockey team that does food stand at Enterprise. Note from Levy Food said games are Thursday/Saturday.

Well damn I’ll be at work
But blues win more when I’m at work so ok let’s do this blues.

 

[Sushiko]

Damn...I'm assuming that means game 2 will be Saturday and I have a wedding to attend. Guess I'll be getting the crappy phone updates for that one...

Who plans a wedding during the playoffs lol
Yeah I’m at work so I have to do updates too

 

[Sushiko]

Oh wow I went to the main board thread. One guy is already talking about the next round and how they will need to watch to see who they play next, Colorado or the winner of vegas/sharks
Wow what a jinx and arrogant indeed
Maybe they’ll talk about who they want to face in the east for the final

 

[bleedblue1223]

Oh wow I went to the main board thread. One guy is already talking about the next round and how they will need to watch to see who they play next, Colorado or the winner of vegas/sharks
Wow what a jinx and arrogant indeed
Maybe they’ll talk about who they want to face in the east for the final

And yet we are the arrogant, cocky ones lol.

 

[elkranio]

- Do I look cocky?
- Yes
- There's your answer

 

[mk80]

Dallas is very even team for us. This won't b easy for either team. Their top line is better than ours in my opinion but if we shut them down, we take away the bulk of their scoring. I think opening at home after that Game 6 against the Jets will get the Blues fired up. Overall I'd say we win this in 6-7!

 

[BlueDream]

Jets fan here, hope you guys take out Dallas, they are one of the dirtiest teams in the NHL. Whatever you guys do dont let up on that fore check, its very effective. Your going to need to protect Binn better then you did against the jets. Dallas's break out is far far more effective then the Jets vaunted "beer league rim around the boards." If they generate speed that top line is terrifying.

You guys have that defensive game to beat them thats for sure. I wish you all the best, as long as you guys or the Avs make it to the Stanley cup final im a happy guy, (ok honestly happier if it was the jets but beggars cant be choosers).

Bishop isnt that daunting as his mobility is suspect especially in close. The rebounds will be there.

I have you guys in 6 games. Good luck!

You guys wanna come back and play us again in round 2? Dallas fans are annoying.

 

[Stealth JD]

Blues were amazing from January on...but the one team that still gave them fits during that spell was the Stars. Granted, most of those games took place with key forwards missing or on no rest, but it would be foolish to take that club lightly. They're playing better than Winnipeg has at any point this season, and it's no surprise that the 3 teams left standing from the Central are the Blues, Stars and Avs - teams who needed to go on a tear just to ensure they made the playoffs. Dallas' defense makes Winnipeg's look like excrement, and these two clubs are more or less mirrors of one another. I do think the Blues have more depth at all positions, but the Stars have the high-end pieces to compensate. Should be fascinating.

Blues in 7.

 

[LETSGOBLUES88]

Who plans a wedding during the playoffs lol
Yeah I’m at work so I have to do updates too

Could we get with the NHL and push this to Friday? I love my Blues but Avengers Endgame opens Thursday night!

 

[Brockon]

Haha I am in Mexico next weekend for a wedding. Hopefully the NBC sports app works down there, I'm not sure if they have CNBC Deportes. It might be me and a dozen other Bluesiers crowded around someone's smartphone.

A fan's gotta do what a fan has to do man! I'd be lying if I said I've never sat down in a corner at Timmies to bum free WiFi to stream a game before my internet got set up at home...

 

[Brian39]

Blues were amazing from January on...but the one team that still gave them fits during that spell was the Stars. Granted, most of those games took place with key forwards missing or on no rest, but it would be foolish to take that club lightly. They're playing better than Winnipeg has at any point this season, and it's no surprise that the 3 teams left standing from the Central are the Blues, Stars and Avs - teams who needed to go on a tear just to ensure they made the playoffs. Dallas' defense makes Winnipeg's look like excrement, and these two clubs are more or less mirrors of one another. I do think the Blues have more depth at all positions, but the Stars have the high-end pieces to compensate. Should be fascinating.

Blues in 7.

I watched every second of the Blues/Jets series and about 90% of the Jets/Stars series. I have to disagree wholeheartedly to this.

The Jets played very, very good hockey for 80+% of the series and got adequate play from Hellebuyck. The Stars had spurts of amazing play but long stretches where they looked flat and got outplayed by the Preds. But Bishop was out of his mind. The Preds out shot the Stars 218-200 on the series (excluding empty nets) and we're probably talking about a game 7 Wednesday if the Preds hadn't put up a goose egg on the PP.

Dallas' 5 on 5 xGF% in the playoffs is 13th among the 16 playoff teams. Their 5 on 5 expected goals against is dead last in the playoffs and by a large margin. I don't see how the Dallas D "makes Winnipeg's look like excrement" when the Jets xGA was 10.16 through 6 games while the Stars' was 14.83. Dallas' numbers improve when you include special teams, but we are still talking an xGF% of 10th (Jets were 11th) and an xGA of 15th (Jets were 8th).

Dallas is hot right now and they are a team whose top end talent have the ability to convert at a high rate. Their goalie is the best in the world right now and has a track record to suggest that will continue. I expect a tough, long, nasty series. But they are absolutely not playing like this well oiled machine that makes a (pretty damn good) Jets team look like garbage by comparison.

Swap Bishop and Hellebuyck and we are probably talking about Jets vs Preds in round 2.

 

[mk80]

Seguin - Benn - Radulov are serious scoring threats on the top line, and had some great shifts against the Preds. Containing that line is a key to this series.

 

[Stealth JD]

I watched every second of the Blues/Jets series and about 90% of the Jets/Stars series. I have to disagree wholeheartedly to this.

The Jets played very, very good hockey for 80+% of the series and got adequate play from Hellebuyck. The Stars had spurts of amazing play but long stretches where they looked flat and got outplayed by the Preds. But Bishop was out of his mind. The Preds out shot the Stars 218-200 on the series (excluding empty nets) and we're probably talking about a game 7 Wednesday if the Preds hadn't put up a goose egg on the PP.

Dallas' 5 on 5 xGF% in the playoffs is 13th among the 16 playoff teams. Their 5 on 5 expected goals against is dead last in the playoffs and by a large margin. I don't see how the Dallas D "makes Winnipeg's look like excrement" when the Jets xGA was 10.16 through 6 games while the Stars' was 14.83. Dallas' numbers improve when you include special teams, but we are still talking an xGF% of 10th (Jets were 11th) and an xGA of 15th (Jets were 8th).

Dallas is hot right now and they are a team whose top end talent have the ability to convert at a high rate. Their goalie is the best in the world right now and has a track record to suggest that will continue. I expect a tough, long, nasty series. But they are absolutely not playing like this well oiled machine that makes a (pretty damn good) Jets team look like garbage by comparison.

Swap Bishop and Hellebuyck and we are probably talking about Jets vs Preds in round 2.

I dunno...they've played grind-it-out winning hockey consistently since late February...shutting teams down in the process. Winnipeg gave out 3rd period goals like Christmas presents...that was never Dallas' problem. Winnipeg's best defenders were routinely burned in their own end this year. Stars just out-Nashville'd Nashville. They're legit, and yes, make the Jets defense look like shit comparatively. The Stars two best defenders are better than anyone that the Jets can ice.

 

[JR1]

stltoday reporting that the Blues have been told game one will be on Thursday.

 

[Dbrownss]

Seguin - Benn - Radulov are serious scoring threats on the top line, and had some great shifts against the Preds. Containing that line is a key to this series.

Agreed but I'd put Connor Scheifle Wheeler ahead of them.

Blues wont take Dallas lightly. I'm not taking anything away from Dallas but everyone wanted to play Nashville....they're going to be playing a bigger, faster and higher scoring team.....they're going to have to earn this series inch by inch.

 

[The Note]

8:30 start time on Thursday. So that sucks.

 

[Eldon Reid]

I'm less concerned with matching up forward lines than I am with targeting their D men.

I want the Schwartz/Sundqvist line going up against Klingberg-Lindell, RORSenko going against Heiskanen/Polak and the Maroon line going against Oleksiak/Lovejoy as often as we can get those matchups.
I don't know that Klingberg/Lindell can really handle a fast, aggressive forecheck like Sunny/Schwartz.
I want to test how good Heiskanen and Polak are defensivelywith the ROR line.
And I'm really not convinced that Lovejoy/Oleksiak have the mobility to get the Maroon line out of their kitchen.
I think we can really cause some problems for their D if we match things up right.

As I said, I don't think believe the Blues really care about matchups. I think that is one thing the Stars will be going for.

 

[Twisted Blue]

I dunno...they've played grind-it-out winning hockey consistently since late February...shutting teams down in the process. Winnipeg gave out 3rd period goals like Christmas presents...that was never Dallas' problem. Winnipeg's best defenders were routinely burned in their own end this year. Stars just out-Nashville'd Nashville. They're legit, and yes, make the Jets defense look like **** comparatively. The Stars two best defenders are better than anyone that the Jets can ice.

Huh, disagree as Trouba is better than than any Star defender.

 

[TheDizee]

league can get lost with these 8 30 starts. this wouldnt be a issue if NBC wasnt such a joke.

 

[Dbrownss]

Huh, disagree as Trouba is better than than any Star defender.

Trouba f***ing sucks though. Bout one of the most braindead defenders

 

[Novacain]

If you take Trouba over Heiskanen I question your ability to evaluate hockey players.