The Single Biggest Reason for the Turnaround

[542365]

So I thought this would be an interesting discussion. What do you think is the single biggest reason the team is currently in the playoffs after being near the bottom of the league for much of the season? Obviously it's a combination of all of the the things listed and probably more, but which do you think has had the biggest impact overall if you had to choose just one? I tried to list as many reasonable explanations as I could think of, but I also left an "other" option in case I forgot something.

For me, I have to say the play of Jordan Binnington is the biggest reason. We needed solid, NHL level goaltending and neither Jake nor Chad were giving that to us on a consistent basis. Admittedly Jake had a strong December, but was still prone to some backbreaking goals at costly times and we really just haven't had that problem with JB in net. He's been the benefactor of several posts and missed nets, but he's also made some phenaomenal saves and made almost all of the routine ones as well. He's been a rock back there.

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[StL Dan]

So difficult to choose only one answer from your list of choices.

 

[WeWentBlues]

I cant pick one. It's a combination of several of these.

 

[Stealth JD]

many of the above.

the team clearly plays much more confidently in front of Binnington, and Binnington himself is playing much more confident than Allen. The team is gelling, but it's not necessarily the new guys (Bozak & Maroon still suck, while DP is out). With Tarasenko being 'meh' for much of the season and Petro and Schwartz being shells of their former selves it's actually quite remarkable that they've been as successful as they've been recently. That's why i voted for the 'West being an abject disaster'.

 

[ItsOnlytheRiver]

I went with goaltending but it barely wins over other things. The Blues are driving possession right now and have outshot their opponent 17 straight times. That’s gonna lead to wins even with less than average goaltending. Whatever reason you want to blame that on could also get a vote in this poll.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

They started playing "Gloria" after victories.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

Definitely a combination of the defense remembering how to play defense and Binnington making all the saves he should make and a bunch he shouldn't.

I doubt Binnington would be playing so well if the defense was still playing as terribly as they were earlier this year.

I voted JBo returning to form but only because that was the option that meant the defense was improving. It's JBo, Petro, Dunn, Gunnar all picking up their game that kind of started this turnaround.

Binnington has made sure the good D isn't going to waste.

 

[DeuceNine]

So I thought this would be an interesting discussion. What do you think is the single biggest reason the team is currently in the playoffs after being near the bottom of the league for much of the season? Obviously it's a combination of all of the the things listed and probably more, but which do you think has had the biggest impact overall if you had to choose just one? I tried to list as many reasonable explanations as I could think of, but I also left an "other" option in case I forgot something.

For me, I have to say the play of Jordan Binnington is the biggest reason. We needed solid, NHL level goaltending and neither Jake nor Chad were giving that to us on a consistent basis. Admittedly Jake had a strong December, but was still prone to some backbreaking goals at costly times and we really just haven't had that problem with JB in net. He's been the benefactor of several posts and missed nets, but he's also made some phenaomenal saves and made almost all of the routine ones as well. He's been a rock back there.

Posts and missed nets are, very often, results of solid positioning. When guys feel they have to be that precise, it's because there isn't anything else to aim at.

 

[Celtic Note]

There isn’t one, so I chose “other”.

 

[Ranksu]

 

[ScratchCatFever]

Berube channeling his inner Reg Dunlop.

 

[Thallis]

As big as Binnington has been, I went with coaching. We went from one of the worst teams at generating shots and chances in the league to one of the best. It's a possession league, and ditching our rush based offense has made this team actually able to possess the puck long enough for solid offense.

 

[StL Dan]

Anyone catch the quick post-game Kelly/Panger interview with Binny? So freaking awesome!

Panger: and how about that, Jordan, two SOs in your first 10 NHL games. I didn't have that many in my entire career (Kelly and Panger share a good laugh)

Binny:

 

[Brian39]

The only reason we are in a playoff position is the dumpster fire of a Conference. 55 points on February 8, 2018 would have seen the Blues sitting 9 points out of a playoff spot. The play of the team has turned around significantly, but the only reason it wasn't 'too little too late' is because this Conference is a gong show outside the top 5 teams. For another comparison, the Blues would still need to finish 19-10-1 to hit the 94 point threshold that wasn't good enough to make the playoffs last year.

I'd say the biggest reason for the turnaround in play has been the vast improvement in defensive structure. I don't know whether to chalk that up to Robinson, Berube, J-Bo's return to form, Petro's sharp improvement, or the new faces gelling. I lean towards attributing it to Berube because the improvement became tangible about 2 weeks after he was hired. We're not playing the hybrid man-to-man disaster from early in the year, so I tend to believe that a lot of the results (improvement of individual D men as well as good 2 way play from the forwards) is a result of executing the system as opposed to coincidentally seeing half the team just start playing better defensively. We've outshot the opposition in almost 20 straight games now and the exclamation point to that streak was last night when we outshot the best team in hockey by a noticeable margin. That's a systems victory in my mind, so I have to say Berube is the biggest reason for it.

Binny is a close 2nd. I don't think he is playing quite as well as his stats indicate, which is hardly a knock since he is 4th in the NHL in SV% among goalies with 10+ starts. But he is playing some damn good hockey and I'd expect a SV% around .920 if he continues this level of play over a larger sample size. He has been the beneficiary of a few 'extra' posts over expectation and a number of them were not of the 'he gave them nothing to shoot at' variety. However, it hasn't been so much that his numbers would be tanked if they had gone in. That .920 number I referred to earlier takes into account those types of shot going it at their regular rate (which will eventually happen). His numbers are bolstered by luck, but they would still be strong without luck. He is stopping the ones he should, he's playing aggressive without getting himself out of control and his rebound control has been excellent.

 

[DatDude44]

A combination of goaltending, fixing our D-zone issues and establishing our Identity under berube and a buy-in from the whole team. I mean every player is willing to sell out every shift it seems like. Also Oskar sundqvist

 

[Itsnotatrap]

Agree with Brian’s comment regarding structure. Remarkable how they went from being so incredibly erratic game to game, essentially unable to string 2 or 3 solid performances together for 2 months straight, to playing a reliably disciplined game now for, what, 20 games in a row?

Berube deserves some credit for that certainly, and probably a lot. Putting a negative spin on that, Mike Yeo isn’t looking good at all coming out of this.

 

[Ranksu]

Anyone catch the quick post-game Kelly/Panger interview with Binny? So freaking awesome!

Panger: and how about that, Jordan, two SOs in your first 10 NHL games. I didn't have that many in my entire career (Kelly and Panger share a good laugh)

Binny:

 

[StL Dan]

Thank you Thank you Thank you hahaha

 

[Itsnotatrap]

Anyone catch the quick post-game Kelly/Panger interview with Binny? So freaking awesome!

Panger: and how about that, Jordan, two SOs in your first 10 NHL games. I didn't have that many in my entire career (Kelly and Panger share a good laugh)

Binny:

It’s unsettling to watch these interviews, and realize that this is also the guy that skates 30 feet to slash a guy after he gets a goal scored on him, and fights goalies.

Don’t make Binnington angry. You won’t like him when he is angry.

 

[HighNote]

I'd say it's a mixture of all of those things, and I'd add in that the defense as a whole has turned it around, not just Bouwmeester. Petro is still fumbling here and there I've noticed. I've felt more comfortable with Parayko on the ice lately as opposed to Petro. I still haven't seen the Petro I'm used to that can completely take over a game defensively.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

The only reason we are in a playoff position is the dumpster fire of a Conference. 55 points on February 8, 2018 would have seen the Blues sitting 9 points out of a playoff spot. The play of the team has turned around significantly, but the only reason it wasn't 'too little too late' is because this Conference is a gong show outside the top 5 teams. For another comparison, the Blues would still need to finish 19-10-1 to hit the 94 point threshold that wasn't good enough to make the playoffs last year.

I'd say the biggest reason for the turnaround in play has been the vast improvement in defensive structure. I don't know whether to chalk that up to Robinson, Berube, J-Bo's return to form, Petro's sharp improvement, or the new faces gelling. I lean towards attributing it to Berube because the improvement became tangible about 2 weeks after he was hired. We're not playing the hybrid man-to-man disaster from early in the year, so I tend to believe that a lot of the results (improvement of individual D men as well as good 2 way play from the forwards) is a result of executing the system as opposed to coincidentally seeing half the team just start playing better defensively. We've outshot the opposition in almost 20 straight games now and the exclamation point to that streak was last night when we outshot the best team in hockey by a noticeable margin. That's a systems victory in my mind, so I have to say Berube is the biggest reason for it.

Binny is a close 2nd. I don't think he is playing quite as well as his stats indicate, which is hardly a knock since he is 4th in the NHL in SV% among goalies with 10+ starts. But he is playing some damn good hockey and I'd expect a SV% around .920 if he continues this level of play over a larger sample size. He has been the beneficiary of a few 'extra' posts over expectation and a number of them were not of the 'he gave them nothing to shoot at' variety. However, it hasn't been so much that his numbers would be tanked if they had gone in. That .920 number I referred to earlier takes into account those types of shot going it at their regular rate (which will eventually happen). His numbers are bolstered by luck, but they would still be strong without luck. He is stopping the ones he should, he's playing aggressive without getting himself out of control and his rebound control has been excellent.

I agree about Berube being the single biggest contributor, with Binnington's contribution a close 2nd (although Allen had started playing better too).

But I think this team would still be able to reel in a playoff spot even if the conference wasn't sliding. I won't be one bit surprised if they catch Dallas. In fact, I think its likely. The Blues are getting on a roll, and are only growing in confidence. (I realize Dallas is on a good recent stretch, but I've also watched them play a lot and I think I know about where they'll end up.) Personally, I don't care from between wildcard or any other spot they may qualify for. I think the Blues are going to be a really tough out, and can maybe do something special.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

It’s unsettling to watch these interviews, and realize that this is also the guy that skates 30 feet to slash a guy after he gets a goal scored on him, and fights goalies.

Don’t make Binnington angry. You won’t like him when he is angry.

I was about to post something similar. Its easy to root for a goalie that you know will throw down with anybody. I always liked that about Quick. He'll slash guys and push them out of the crease, and just battle any way he can. If Binnington has that mentality, his team will always love him for it.

But its pretty funny to hear about how calm he is when he was penalized for fighting a few weeks back.

 

[Brian39]

I agree about Berube being the single biggest contributor, with Binnington's contribution a close 2nd (although Allen had started playing better too).

But I think this team would still be able to reel in a playoff spot even if the conference wasn't sliding. I won't be one bit surprised if they catch Dallas. In fact, I think its likely. The Blues are getting on a roll, and are only growing in confidence. (I realize Dallas is on a good recent stretch, but I've also watched them play a lot and I think I know about where they'll end up.) Personally, I don't care from between wildcard or any other spot they may qualify for. I think the Blues are going to be a really tough out, and can maybe do something special.

I think this team could get to the mid-90s in points, but it would have meant chasing the pack until the last week or so of the playoffs. We certainly wouldn't be at or even all that near a playoff spot at the moment.

 

[DeuceNine]

Anyone catch the quick post-game Kelly/Panger interview with Binny? So freaking awesome!

Panger: and how about that, Jordan, two SOs in your first 10 NHL games. I didn't have that many in my entire career (Kelly and Panger share a good laugh)

Binny:

He had a postgame after his first shutout I believe where someone asked him what his favorite save was. He responded, then asked "how about yours?" LOL Great attitude and a little arrogance, which is fine by me.

 

[thedustman]

Fun thread. I went with J-Bos return to form because the idea of that being the reason for the turn around cracks me up... and i assumed Binnington would get enough votes.

Surprised that the fourth line is getting no votes, but I guess they were doing alright while the team was still sucking.

Anyway, a lot of the options are to blame here. To blame?