What are the Blues missing?

[BobbleHeadNight*]

Hopefully not their tee times...

 

[who_me?]

Good centers?

Top notch center and elite game breakers.

A #1C to play with Tarasenko.

A legit number 1 center

Better goalie and better #1 center.

Elite center or goaltender.

I believe Allen can turn into their elite goaltender in a few years, but the elite center remains to be seen.

#1 C and a legit starting goalie

You swap Backes out for Joe Thornton, a legit #1 center in the NHL, and they still lose in the first round every year.

 

[The Macho King]

Their top guys are no shows in the playoffs. That's a problem. [not including Tarasenko as a "top guy" because of the recentness of his breakout - he clearly isn't in that group though]

It's either coaching or those guys don't want to up the intensity in the playoffs.

 

[MikeBabchuk]

I still think Brodeur deserved a real shot. Pretty weird that every year they seem to play goalie musical chairs and it has failed again.

 

[The Bad Guy]

Elite players (Multiple).. Only one player I view as elite on the Blues, the rest are very good at best.

Kings, got a few.
Blackhawks, YEAH IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL HERE!!!!!!
Bruins, very elite in 2011
Penguins, At that time the best.
Red Wings, same as Penguins.
Ducks, had a few

That's the last 8 Champs and they all had multiple elite players AND a deep roster. The Blues in my opinion have a deep roster and only 1 elite player (who is going to get a huge offer sheet...).

By elite I mean Quick, Kopitar, Doughty, Toews, Kane, Kieth, Hossa, Sharp (Saad... getting there), Seabrook, Chara, Thomas, Rask, Krejci, Lucic (at the time), Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Pronger, Teemu, and Getzlaf.

 

[Chippewa]

(who is going to get a huge offer sheet...).

By elite I mean (Saad... getting there), Thomas, Rask, Krejci, Lucic (at the time)

 

[Haj]

They have too many players that are passengers. Aside from Pietrangelo, Tarasenko, and Shattenkirk no one was fully engaged. Backes, Oshie, Steen, Bouwmeester, Stasny were pretty terrible.

You would think Backes should be able to score in the playoffs because he play physical. Maybe his role should be limited to shut down the opposing teams best forwards .

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

7-7 at home in the playoffs since 2012. 4-4 against the Kings and Hawks. 3-3 against the Sharks and Wild. If you're going to be average at home, you have to be great on the road. They're 3-10 away from St.Louis. 0-8 against the Kings and Hawks, and have a 0-3 series record. 3-2 against the Sharks and Wild, with a 1-1 series record.

6-4 in Games 1 and 2 at home to start a series. 3-7 in Games 3 and 4 on the road. 1-6 in Games 5 and 6 as the series is nearing its end. 0-3 in Game 5's at home with the series tied at 2-2.

So they're not great at home, and lose more as they get deeper into a series. A Hall of Fame goal scorer like Hull could never get the Blues out of the 2nd round when he was there. Tarasenko isn't Hull quite yet, and he can't get the Blues out of the 1st round by himself. They need more out of everyone, especially at home. Tough to be .500 at home and win.

The bolded to me is the most important thing.

I think it's funny all of the posters on page 1 talking about players. They need gamebreakers, better forwards, better goaltending, won't win with Backes as captain.

You have no idea what the problem is in St Louis. It isn't talent. If they didn't have those things they wouldn't have 389 points in the last 294 games (last 4 years incl lockout).

They need a better coach that knows how to get a team ready for April.

They need to get rid of at least 1 or 2 guys that are very good players but don't show up in the playoffs. Bottom teams will pay with prospects for those guys just to get them into the dance.

I'll take Justin Williams too.

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

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.

LOL..that hottest team in the league is now down 3-0 to the Hawks and about to get SWEPT! It's scary to imagine what the Hawks would have done to the Blues!

The Blues are missing heart, resolve, determination, and fortitude! This coach and core are clearly NOT the answer! They need to change that or early playoff exits will keep happening!

 

[tony d]

Goaltending and guys who will step up in the playoffs.

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

a true #1 elite goalie... And they need to make a big trade and switch things up because they are turning into a Sharks type team where they do well but cant cut it in playoffs. This issue will always be in the back of the Blues mind when playoffs come around and they wont be able to shake it. Change things up, do what you gotta do to acquire Malkin, and start clean again with Malkin, Tarasenko, Schwartz, Petro and Shattenkirk... oh and find a true #1 goalie

 

[2 Minute Minor]

LOL..that hottest team in the league is now down 3-0 to the Hawks and about to get SWEPT! It's scary to imagine what the Hawks would have done to the Blues!

The Blues are missing heart, resolve, determination, and fortitude! This coach and core are clearly NOT the answer! They need to change that or early playoff exits will keep happening!

I'm not sure. The Blues definitely showed a lot more heart and intensity against the Hawks last season, and I'd expect to see a similar kind of effort this year. They might not be able to win the series, but I don't think we'd have seen the passive game like they played in the Wild series.

I sincerely think Hitchcock was overconfident against Minnesota, and that the game plan reflected that. It carried onto the ice, and the Blues seemed to just assume they'd win the games without anyone having to elevate their play. I can't imagine the team coming out against Chicago like that. I think the Blues would have had to be bloodied up before they'd go down in that series, whereas against the Wild there was barely a whimper. (Damn, that was frustrating to watch as a fan.)

 

[BladesofSTEELwFIRE]

I'm not sure. The Blues definitely showed a lot more heart and intensity against the Hawks last season, and I'd expect to see a similar kind of effort this year. They might not be able to win the series, but I don't think we'd have seen the passive game like they played in the Wild series.

I sincerely think Hitchcock was overconfident against Minnesota, and that the game plan reflected that. It carried onto the ice, and the Blues seemed to just assume they'd win the games without anyone having to elevate their play. I can't imagine the team coming out against Chicago like that. I think the Blues would have had to be bloodied up before they'd go down in that series, whereas against the Wild there was barely a whimper. (Damn, that was frustrating to watch as a fan.)

Agreed. The Blues showed a lot more fire and intensity against the Hawks last year. They actually came back to tie and then BEAT the Hawks in OT! Against the Wild they weren't even able to tie the Wild after they fell behind! It's almost like they said "who cares?".

They showed a serious lack of heart for several years in a row now. They need a new coach and new core or that won't change!

 

[Phrazer]

They have incredible depth throughout their lineup. Find a way to condense that into a couple stronger assets even if you are giving up more value in the deal.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

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

I actually think this is a cop out. If you look at the Blues series losses, it's very rarely on the goalies and MUCH more due to the offensive players just not contributing. You can can say that the goalies didn't steal enough games, but it's not reasonable to expect the goalie to steal a series.

In the series that the Blues got bounced from the play-off's:
2014-15: 14 goals in 6 games, but that includes 6 goals in 1 game (Tarasenko - 6).
2013-14: 14 goals in 6 games (Tarasenko - 4)
2012-13: 10 goals in 6 games (only scored 3 goals in 1 game in series)
2011-12: 6 goals in 4 games (didn't score 3 goals in any game in series)

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

anytime a team decides to sit their 2 time All Star goalie in the playoffs and roll with a 24 year old goalie with 59 NHL games experience in possibly the most important playoffs for the jobs of Blues coaches and the current team core, its a terrible sign. Even though Allen let in some soft goals, its not all his fault, cause the whole team was bad. I am just pointing out that you don't win without a true #1 that is a no brainer starter every single game

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

anytime a team decides to sit their 2 time All Star goalie in the playoffs and roll with a 24 year old goalie with 59 NHL games experience in possibly the most important playoffs for the jobs of Blues coaches and the current team core, its a terrible sign. Even though Allen let in some soft goals, its not all his fault, cause the whole team was bad. I am just pointing out that you don't win without a true #1 that is a no brainer starter every single game

Hawks 2 Cups with guys who weren't "no brainer starter" every game.
The Ducks almost were almost 7-0 with Andersen who isn't a "no-brainer starter".

You definitely need to get goaltending to go anywhere in the play-off's. I just think that there are a lot of guys who historically have been able to provide that level of goaltending when needed, and there are elite goalies who have crumpled in some play-off series as well.

 

[Felix Unger]

What about Jeff Marek's view that Hitchcock drove them so hard during the regular season that they have nothing left in the playoffs? It makes sense because it explains so many of the disparate things that other people are citing. Too simple and easy?

I guess we're going to find out. It's a perfect position for a guy like Dan Bylsma, a players' coach with a lot of relationships, to come in before the GM blows up the player personnel.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

What about Jeff Marek's view that Hitchcock drove them so hard during the regular season that they have nothing left in the playoffs? It makes sense because it explains so many of the disparate things that other people are citing. Too simple and easy?

I guess we're going to find out. It's a perfect position for a guy like Dan Bylsma, a players' coach with a lot of relationships, to come in before the GM blows up the player personnel.

I think there is something to that. I do remember a quote from Paul Stastny where he said something to the effect of "This team is too tight, and each regular season loss has players walking on eggshells. You obviously need to learn from losses, but the culture here is unhealthy." (Obviously - I'm significantly paraphrasing and trying to read between the lines in Stastny's quote).

 

[ClydeLee]

Ben Bishop and another first line forward

 

[Do Make Say Think]

Goaltending yet again but at least Allen still has a high ceiling: no reason to go out and get a goalie (although they could use one to shelter Allen just another year or two)

The coach isn't the right one to get over the hump either

Clearly one big issue has been the inability to elevate their game once the playoffs begin, it's tough to find a lot of players who can

 

[Purity*]

Oshie, Backes, Steen and Bouwmeestar all disappear in the playoffs. Schwartz has also looked unimpressive in the playoffs, but atleast he's still young with lots of time to turn it around.

Now matter how beastly of performances Tarasenko and Shattenkirk give the Blues, they cannot overcome all of their other important players disappearing like they do.

 

[Gabe Kupari]

Was the goaltending the issue for the Blues tho? I mean did they score more than 2 or 3 goals a game vs the WILD? I think what they are missing is that extra level, It's one thing to be a good regular season team but you gotta turn it up in the playoffs and i don't think the blues do. They are a good regular season team for sure but for some reason, they can't score in the playoffs, it don't matter who your goalie is if you can't score. Perhaps it's just as simple as they don't know how to turn it on in the playoffs. I'm not sure tho. It's a good team, Hitchcock is a good coach, the goalies weren't the problem, the forwards couldn't score other than Tarasenko really.

Goalies? Like Miller? Like Allen? Like Elliot? These guys are good goalies, they weren't the issue, the argument could be made MiLLER was a huge bust for them but the other 2? What can they do when the team other than Tarasenko pretty much, can't score.

 

[BlueMagic]

Leadership to be vague.

 

[Tryblot]

What about Jeff Marek's view that Hitchcock drove them so hard during the regular season that they have nothing left in the playoffs? It makes sense because it explains so many of the disparate things that other people are citing. Too simple and easy?

I guess we're going to find out. It's a perfect position for a guy like Dan Bylsma, a players' coach with a lot of relationships, to come in before the GM blows up the player personnel.

Nope, not this year. It honestly looked like the Blues were coasting through the majority of the season to have energy once they got to the playoffs.