GDT: The Note vs. Jaws

[Mike Liut]

Blues are 3rd in the NHL in goals scored. Not too bad

 

[Fred Murtz]

Patrik Berglund wrap-around goal 6-2

 

[Mike Liut]

Bergs, did you lose a bet with your bangs?

 

[Stopsight]

Very interesting ice time tonight due to blowout, STL only 14 min ice time, Shatty had 23 mins gunnar 19 petro 20 bouw 17

 

[Meatwagon]

Very interesting ice time tonight due to blowout, STL only 14 min ice time, Shatty had 23 mins gunnar 19 petro 20 bouw 17

Something tells me that Army must of had words with Hitch and forced his hand to play Staz more? When's the last time any of or forwards played 23 minutes? Staz has been consistently around the 20 minute mark the last ~5 games, this after Hitch said in an JR interview that he views him as a ~15 minute a night player.

I wonder what's up with that?

Edit: misread Shatty as Staz. But my overall point is that Paul's minutes have drastically increased recently and I wonder if that was at the request of GMDA?

 

[Fred Murtz]

David Backes wrist shot goal 7-2

 

[BlueDream]

I'm glad Stastny is playing more. We're rolling 3 good lines right now and look at the result. Obviously the Sharks miss Thornton but wow, I didn't expect ANOTHER 7-2 game. Embarrassing for San Jose.

And I'll say this right now - Jaden Schwartz is easily one of the best players on this team and is one of the most important two forwards with Vladimir Tarasenko. Hope everyone now sees this because I remember some saying Tarasenko was easily above him and how it wasn't close which was laughable. Schwartz is a fantastic hockey player that does everything well. He's the glue of this team and is good all over the ice including screening the goalie even with his small frame. He's at a PPG pace now and is showing how badly we missed him out of the lineup. This guy's money and should be the future captain. Period.

 

[Dbrownss]

Stastny is playing more because he's playing better.

 

[KirkOut]

I'm glad Stastny is playing more. We're rolling 3 good lines right now and look at the result. Obviously the Sharks miss Thornton but wow, I didn't expect ANOTHER 7-2 game. Embarrassing for San Jose.

And I'll say this right now - Jaden Schwartz is easily one of the best players on this team and is one of the most important two forwards with Vladimir Tarasenko. Hope everyone now sees this because I remember some saying Tarasenko was easily above him and how it wasn't close which was laughable. Schwartz is a fantastic hockey player that does everything well. He's the glue of this team and is good all over the ice including screening the goalie even with his small frame. He's at a PPG pace now and is showing how badly we missed him out of the lineup. This guy's money and should be the future captain. Period.

He is the best player, F or D, on the team. His offensive instincts are off the charts and he is one of the best forecheckers in the entire NHL

 

[BlueDream]

He is the best player, F or D, on the team. His offensive instincts are off the charts and he is one of the best forecheckers in the entire NHL

I agree with this. Schwartz and Tarasenko could actually become two of the best forwards in the league someday. Which I can't believe would actually happen to a Blues team (how did we get that lucky?) but here we are.

Tarasenko's wrist shot is unreal and I do believe he's legit now. His 43 points in 41 games is an awesome pace and yeah he's a gamebreaking offensive talent, he doesn't really have to prove anything else to me. He's done that. I wanted to see consistency from him and he's shown it.

But what Schwartz does being 22 and 5'10'' is amazing to me. This guy is an unbelievable hockey player and makes veteran, bigger players look foolish all the time. If there's ever another Olympics he'll be on Team Canada and he'll be an important player because the way he can skate, pass, shoot, battle along the boards, steal pucks, play defense, and screen goalies, I literally can't think of a single thing he doesn't do. He's pretty much a perfect player as far as I'm concerned. Make this guy captain please if Backes ever leaves and I hope he raises the cup more than once.

 

[Dbrownss]

I was surprised to read that Schwartz is very chippy on the ice. Constantly chirping the other team.

 

[542365]

He is the best player, F or D, on the team. His offensive instincts are off the charts and he is one of the best forecheckers in the entire NHL

I just got back from the game and I was about to say something similar. If Jaden Schwartz isn't viewed around the league as an elite LW, he's underrated. He is elite.

As for best on the team....we could have this debate all day. Schwartz is a monster, and so is Tarasenko. Just very thankful to have them both. I don't really care who is better. It's a Parise/Kovalchuk situation. If we're down by a goal, I want Tarasenko out there as much as possible. If we're up by a goal, I want Schwartz out there. Either way, I think we should treat them as equals in terms of contracts and build the team around their equal, long term contracts.

 

[BlueDream]

I just got back from the game and I was about to say something similar. If Jaden Schwartz isn't viewed around the league as an elite LW, he's underrated. He is elite.

As for best on the team....we could have this debate all day. Schwartz is a monster, and so is Tarasenko. Just very thankful to have them both. I don't really care who is better. It's a Parise/Kovalchuk situation. If we're down by a goal, I want Tarasenko out there as much as possible. If we're up by a goal, I want Schwartz out there. Either way, I think we should treat them as equals in terms of contracts and build the team around their equal, long term contracts.

Sounds accurate to me.

And if we add Fabbri and Barbashev along with them we have to win hopefully multiple cups with that core. You just have to.

 

[Dbrownss]

I just got back from the game and I was about to say something similar. If Jaden Schwartz isn't viewed around the league as an elite LW, he's underrated. He is elite.

As for best on the team....we could have this debate all day. Schwartz is a monster, and so is Tarasenko. Just very thankful to have them both. I don't really care who is better. It's a Parise/Kovalchuk situation. If we're down by a goal, I want Tarasenko out there as much as possible. If we're up by a goal, I want Schwartz out there. Either way, I think we should treat them as equals in terms of contracts and build the team around their equal, long term contracts.

Very well said. Back in the '13 playoffs I knew Schwartz was going to be special

 

[542365]

I have to share this from a friend on facebook(don't know if the Car/Buf stat is correct, but I just thought it was funny)

1. Does anyone remember when the Harlem BluesTrotters played the San Jose Generals that one night in St. Louis?
2. I added Ray Barile to my Fantasy Trainer League team. I think he had a goal and an assist tonight.
3. The Blues have 20 goals in their last 3 games. This equals the number of goals Carolina and Buffalo have scored the past 3 weeks.
I welcome ridiculous additions to this list

 

[KirkOut]

4th line was top notch tonight

 

[542365]

Glad to see Lehtera chip in a bit offensively too. The All Star Break can't come soon enough for that guy. He looks exhausted out there.

 

[Fred Murtz]

Ken Hitchcock post game press conference

 

[2 Minute Minor]

I just got back from the game and I was about to say something similar. If Jaden Schwartz isn't viewed around the league as an elite LW, he's underrated. He is elite.

As for best on the team....we could have this debate all day. Schwartz is a monster, and so is Tarasenko. Just very thankful to have them both. I don't really care who is better. It's a Parise/Kovalchuk situation. If we're down by a goal, I want Tarasenko out there as much as possible. If we're up by a goal, I want Schwartz out there. Either way, I think we should treat them as equals in terms of contracts and build the team around their equal, long term contracts.

I remember him being described as Parise-lite, and I said, "why can't he be as good as Parise?"

He's not there yet, but it certainly looks feasible with a few years of steady performance. Schwartz has hockey sense wafting off of him like musk.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Glad to see Lehtera chip in a bit offensively too. The All Star Break can't come soon enough for that guy. He looks exhausted out there.

It was expectable. The time around New Year is the hardest for European rookies who aren't used to 80 games regular season.

As to Scwartz I think the injury break helped him to get some conditions back. He didn't look that bright in games before the injury. And I think Tarasenko is a little bit tired. That's why his unluck with goals. People with his type of constitution always have problems with stamina. He played 13 min only this game. I bet Hitch did it on purpose to rest him a bit.

 

[Alklha]

Something tells me that Army must of had words with Hitch and forced his hand to play Staz more? When's the last time any of or forwards played 23 minutes? Staz has been consistently around the 20 minute mark the last ~5 games, this after Hitch said in an JR interview that he views him as a ~15 minute a night player.

I wonder what's up with that?

Edit: misread Shatty as Staz. But my overall point is that Paul's minutes have drastically increased recently and I wonder if that was at the request of GMDA?

I think it is just a matter of, if you play well then you play more. Everyone is playing well, but it is Stastny that needs to extra ice time for obvious reasons.

Nobody should take anything that Hitch says at face value.

 

[LGB51]

- Thought Frank had at least two easy (for him at least) goals last night, really wanted him to get that last shot that beat Stalock, but clanked off the post. Guy is pressing a little bit, he only had 2 points last night and his stats are suffering for it, poor guy only has 43 points in 41 games. Do I really need a sarcastic emoticon.

- Thought Elliot made up for the 2 iffy goals against with several excellent saves to lock it down. He also had a good stop on Couture that would have been a shorty, before he did get a shorty. To me it looks like he's starting to get back, to the form he was playing at before the injury. They should be able to get back down to 2 goalies anytime now.

- Won more Vcheddar on the Blues last night, because **** the Sharks, after they blew us out 2 of the 3 games last year, they deserve the 14 spot The Blues dropped on them the last 2 games against.

 

[Oberyn]

A big change in Stastny's ice time was when he got moved to the first PP unit with SOB and Shatty. He looks very comfortable there.

 

[2 Minute Minor]

It was expectable. The time around New Year is the hardest for European rookies who aren't used to 80 games regular season.

As to Scwartz I think the injury break helped him to get some conditions back. He didn't look that bright in games before the injury. And I think Tarasenko is a little bit tired. That's why his unluck with goals. People with his type of constitution always have problems with stamina. He played 13 min only this game. I bet Hitch did it on purpose to rest him a bit.

In the post-game press conference Hitchcock said he thought the STL line looked great, and "looked like they could have scored on every shift". But he also said they limited their minutes due to a pre-game plan. At the time I assumed he was protecting Lehtera. But I think the same could be said for all 3 guys (Schwartz recovering from injury and Tarasenko getting worn down a bit).

I don't see it as a lasting problem, and I think the all-star break will help a lot. Hitchcock also needs the other two lines to keep being reliable so that minutes can be sensible down the stretch and heading into the post-season.

Second half of the season, here we come. Once we get on the other side of the all-star break, that's my favorite part of the season. Still a lot of teams think they're in it, and the intensity picks up as teams fall out of the running.

 

[Kshahdoo]

In the post-game press conference Hitchcock said he thought the STL line looked great, and "looked like they could have scored on every shift". But he also said they limited their minutes due to a pre-game plan. At the time I assumed he was protecting Lehtera. But I think the same could be said for all 3 guys (Schwartz recovering from injury and Tarasenko getting worn down a bit).

I don't see it as a lasting problem, and I think the all-star break will help a lot. Hitchcock also needs the other two lines to keep being reliable so that minutes can be sensible down the stretch and heading into the post-season.

Second half of the season, here we come. Once we get on the other side of the all-star break, that's my favorite part of the season. Still a lot of teams think they're in it, and the intensity picks up as teams fall out of the running.

Nah, I actually think Hitch was ordered to slow Tarasenko down so the team won't have to pay him zillion dollars this summer. But the plan didn't work out. But they can try it the next time.