What are the Blues missing?

[MMC]

They have great forward depth, great defense, and pretty good goaltending. Yet, they've lost in the 1st round 3 years in a row. What do they need to go far in the playoffs?

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[Shakey Rustie]

Move out of the Central.

 

[Evergreen]

Heart. Backes, Oshie and Berglund, among others, just can't seem to produce in the playoffs.

 

[pheasant]

Kessel and Phaneuf.

But seriously, half the playoff teams lose in the first round. Not anything to panic about, in my opinion. They went up against one of the hottest teams in the league.

I think they should have started Elliott in stead of Allen. And maybe they need a new coach, or some minor tweaks for next season. But no major changes are needed, IMHO.

 

[trick9]

Elite goaltender.

 

[hockeykicker]

They need a superstar like me. Man I can totally outskate all the people in my rec league. So i must be good eh? Kidding

 

[Richiebottles]

Same thing the Sharks are missing.....

They both probably need a better playoff coach.

 

[NYR90]

Intensity. As well as someone to lift the curse off the franchise.

On a serious note. Hitchcock gone. Oshie traded. Backes moved to RW paired with a C and a consistent goaltender. Also would help if JBo decided to show up. Core guys need to find that extra level in the playoffs. As well as timely goals from the bottom six.

My opinion of course.

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

That team's not going anywhere with Backes as the captain.

 

[struckbyaparkedcar]

LDs that don't do much of anything (Bouwmeester) or are ****ing terrible (Jackman) on each of their top two pairings.
Two scoring wingers to spread across three lines, one of whom is almost always tied to the worst defensive center on the team.
Goaltending that doesn't inspire risk-taking confidence in the rest of the team. I got the sense that after Allen's first goal against, the Blues just couldn't press as much as they wanted to in case things went the other way.

Oh, we're trying to do this from a solutions perspective.

Giving Backes a scoring winger who does stuff in the playoffs (or turning Backes into that scoring winger at RW).
Replacing Bouwmeester with an impactful top 3 defenseman, and upgrading Jackman.
Getting better goaltending.

 

[roboninja]

That team's not going anywhere with Backes as the captain.

Yet the fans are vehement about not trading him.

 

[HawksBeerFan]

Good centers?

 

[SuddenDeathOvertime]

Malkin

 

[Pi]

More than half their top six forgets how to score in the playoffs. People **** on Kessel a lot but he knows how to score in the regular and playoff season and hustles in atleast one zone.

Guys like Backes, Oshie, Berglund just dont have the skill level to score when the games get harder. They can grind and keep it close but cant be a gamebreaker like Kane, Toews etc.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

They only have one forward that can create offense for himself.

 

[Blackhawks]

They need to be shipped to Quebec

 

[mightyquack]

Forwards who can perform in the playoffs.

 

[PensBandwagonerNo272*]

Consistency and drive. Which leads me to believe they need better coaching.

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

More than half their top six forgets how to score in the playoffs. People **** on Kessel a lot but he knows how to score in the regular and playoff season and hustles in atleast one zone.

Guys like Backes, Oshie, Berglund just dont have the skill level to score when the games get harder. They can grind and keep it close but cant be a gamebreaker like Kane, Toews etc.

Skill level has very little to do with it, IMO. Joel Ward is a playoff monster, and he's a lot less skilled than those three.

The answer to the thread is more players that raise their game in the post season.

 

[SEALBound]

Goaltending. Allen and Elliot are good and all...but they are not the game breakers/stealers they need.

 

[LarKing]

Forwards aren't that good after Tarasenko in the playoffs. Even then he's a winger who has less impact in a game.

 

[axecrew]

More than half their top six forgets how to score in the playoffs. People **** on Kessel a lot but he knows how to score in the regular and playoff season and hustles in atleast one zone.

Guys like Backes, Oshie, Berglund just dont have the skill level to score when the games get harder. They can grind and keep it close but cant be a gamebreaker like Kane, Toews etc.

How would anyone know, he hasn't been in the playoffs for years and hasn't played a meaningful game in same amount of time.

They need an upgrade in goaltending to start. Some legitimate top 6 forwards outside of taresenko and top 4 d outside of shattenkirk. They also need a heart transplant since no one has shown up in the playoffs the last few years,

 

[ObeyPerry]

Top notch center and elite game breakers.

 

[holyprime]

How would anyone know, he hasn't been in the playoffs for years and hasn't played a meaningful game in same amount of time.

I really dont like TOR, but Kessel is 13g 8a in 22 games (4/2 in 7 for the leafs)..

I'd try a different coach if i were the blues, before shaking up the roster.

 

[Ace Rothstein]

A #1C to play with Tarasenko.