What exactly are the expectations for the St. Louis Blues?

2 Minute Minor

Hi Keeba!
Jun 3, 2008
15,615
124
Temple, Texas
Stanley Cup or bust.


I wonder how all the Blues fans are feeling now - the ones who were saying they wanted us (the Wild) in the first round? :sarcasm:

You have willfully misstated that again here.

The Blues simply wanted to avoid Chicago and the Kings. ANYONE ELSE was the preferred match-up. That is not the same as saying the Wild would be an easy first round draw. You can pat yourself on the back and pretend that Blues fans are getting ironic justice here, but I bet you can't link to posts where you can find "ones who were saying they wanted the Wild in the first round".
 

2 Minute Minor

Hi Keeba!
Jun 3, 2008
15,615
124
Temple, Texas
I came to this thread prepared to post that the expectations are for a first round let-down.

But after reading the thread, and seeing fans from all around the league putting the dirt on the casket its starting to feel like a reverse jinx thread.

I have no predictions, but let's see them get beat one more time before the collapse is dissected.
 

Analyst365

Registered User
Oct 24, 2011
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"Captain" Backes doing **** all when it counts for team or for country is fairly predictable, just as it is for Ryan Callahan.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
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Minny
Still one of the best teams in the league. But the Wild are, as well. The games are swinging back and forth, so I'm not sure what the consternation is about. Sure it'll be a let down if they're out again (well, not for Wild fans) but this isn't a "normal" wild-card matchup; plenty of analysts have commented on it being a little unfair that the division champs were lined up against the Wild who had been the best team in the league for half the season--the right half of the season.
So it was an unlucky matchup, and whatever Blues fans want to cling to in the rather face them than LA or Chicago can still say that, but I'm certain this Blues team would handily beat those two teams this year. We might even get to watch it happen with Chicago.
 

Ducks in a row

Go Ducks Quack Quack
Dec 17, 2013
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U.S.A.
Is it cup or bust for them? If they dont win the cup, or at least make the SCF, will Hitch have seen this season as not meeting their expectations?

Is there not a single team in this post season with higher expectations than the blues?

Many critics have chosen the blues to win the cup this year.

On paper, this team is stacked with literally no holes. They have what 9 top 6 forwards and a healthy Paul Stastny now?

4 line offense - check
Balanced defense core - check
One of the best systems - check
Solid goaltending - check
Experience - check

The only thing that I feel this team lacks is a real superstar forward. But history has proven that you dont need a superstar to win cups. Does it help? Forsure, but you can still win without superstars. The blues are loaded with stars, but no superstars...but still very capable going all the way as long as someone on this team takes the bull by its horns and shows them how to win.

IMO, that person has to be Hitch. 2 cups, and has a proven playoff and international tourney track record. Hitch is still one of the best technical coaches today and he still knows how to win. Every team he has coached, he has made a drastic difference in not only the teams success but players growth and success - Modano, Nash, Johanson, Giroux, Voracek, Carter, Richards, Oshie, Tarasenko, etc.

Vladimir Tarasenko has been great this season for the Blues both during the regular season and in the playoffs. Kevin Shattenkirk has done well on the blueline as well.

Blues problem is they don't seem to have that extra gear for the playoffs as a team and actually have some players who get worse in playoffs like T.J. Oshie for example who once again is sucking in the playoffs.
 

Digitalbooya

By order of the Peaky Blinders
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Jul 10, 2010
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The Wild had 3 players over 50 points this year. That shouldn't be good enough to beat a team with 5 and a near PPG forward. The knock on the Blues in previous years was no game breaker. Now they have it, and they're losing to a team without one.
The whole point was the Wild have a better 4th line and it exposes the Blues' 4th line. The Wild can roll all 4 lines (pretty evenly) and expect offense and competence in their own zone. The Blues haven't been rolling 4 lines. Looking at the box score from game 5 the lowest TOI for a Wild player was 10:30 by Matt Cooke. For the Blues, Porter, Goc and Reaves all had under 8 minutes of playing time. Meanwhile Ott had 15+ minutes :help:
He's had one bad game of five. His save percentage is .02 in this series is lower than his during the regular season.

Dubynk's save percentage is under .9 right now. He's a good goalie. But to say Allen hasn't been good this series while Dubynk has is ludicrous.

One bad game shouldn't discredit Dubnyk just like it shouldn't discredit Allen.
 

GOAT AINEC

Soon..
Jun 4, 2014
2,809
37
I don't think a team with questionable goaltending should be considered a contender.

They can't outscore their problems in the playoffs like they do in the regular season.
 

YogiCanucks

Registered User
Jan 1, 2007
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Vancouver BC
They are a great team but I think Minnisota is a brutal match up for them. Seems like amazing ability to shutdown teams remains in their DNA for the Jacques Lemaire days
 

The Blue Llama

Registered User
May 16, 2009
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Minnesota
As a Wild fan with no real dislike for the Blues, I have to ask; why do you guys get so much crap for the post season? I know the Blues are insanely stacked and haven't made it past the 2nd round in a while, but look at who hey have lost to, 2 teams that have 4 of the past 5 cups... No one beat them. My two cents is that they are a better captain away from reaching that next level.
 

sh724

Registered User
Jun 2, 2009
2,823
603
Missouri
Expectations have to be atleast WCF. For a team at the cap in a small market its not sustainable unless they go deep in the POSs

Allen is far from the problem. Just like Miller wasn't the problem last year although he wasn't as good as expected. Just like Elliott wasn't the problem 2 years ago. The players that need to step up dont, look at the the career PO stat lines of backes oshie and steen then compare that to other teams 'top' line and its easy to see the blues biggest problem.

Hitchcock's contract is up at the end of the year so he wont be fired he just wont be brought back. I said at the beginning of the year if they dont make atleast WCF he wouldn't be back. We he came to stl the roster fit his style, they are vastly different team now and its time to bring in someone better suited.

I dont see them winning this series and am hoping for some big changes. You cant have your leadership disappear at the most important time. Ppl blame hitch for the team not stepping up but at some point you have to look at the players. When the leadership disappears every year during the post season it is on them. I have wanted for a couple years to see backes traded to the east would love to bring in giroux but philly would never do that. Backes is emotionally weak and you cant have that from your captain

For those that defend the backes line bc of their defensive responsibilities just look at the point totals of Minnesota's top line that backes is supposed to shut down.
 

rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
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backes sounds like a convenient excuse. too much is made of the C and A IMO, just as coaches get too much crap. what the Wild have over the Blues in the leadership regard is quantity. Maybe you should look past Backes' temper and ask what your other leaders are doing when he's in Hulk mode.

Wild leadership goes beyond the guys with letters, but just to take those three: Koivu is focus, Parise is energy, and Suter is calm. No matter what the rest of their game looks like you can count on that every night.

I thought Backes epitomized the Blues identity as a team that was punishing to play against.
 

BlueBeard

Registered User
Aug 17, 2008
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Phil Kessel to St Louis, he'd be the superstar the Blues are lacking

Tarasenko? Who's not too far away from being off his ELC. The Blues are probably going to need to jettison someone like Oshie or Berglund anyway to free up the cap space to sign Tarasenko, now imagine what they would need to trade to clear up the cap space for Kessel in addition to that. This roster most likely is not going to get it done, but investing so much cap space in two RW's would put me in the "Yeah I'm done with this team until front office and roster is purged" mode real quick.
 

SenzZen

RIP, GOAT
Jan 31, 2011
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Ottawa
Dude, did you just start watching hockey over the last few years? Blues went through this thing called a rebuild. Up until 2012, they didn't even make the playoffs because they were rebuilding.

I remember when they made the playoffs every year. Seeing their number of playoff wins over that many years came as a bit of a shock to me. Sorry if that's somehow offensive.:help:
 

fsanford

Registered User
Jul 4, 2009
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Still one of the best teams in the league. But the Wild are, as well. The games are swinging back and forth, so I'm not sure what the consternation is about. Sure it'll be a let down if they're out again (well, not for Wild fans) but this isn't a "normal" wild-card matchup; plenty of analysts have commented on it being a little unfair that the division champs were lined up against the Wild who had been the best team in the league for half the season--the right half of the season.
So it was an unlucky matchup, and whatever Blues fans want to cling to in the rather face them than LA or Chicago can still say that, but I'm certain this Blues team would handily beat those two teams this year. We might even get to watch it happen with Chicago.

Chicago and Kings are a much different animal in the playoff's. Blues lack the mojo to beat them.

If things finish like people are expecting the Wild will find a much more tested playoff savy team in the Hawks. Yes they gave them a series last year but lost in 6.. Teams like the Hawks and Kings, just find ways to pull out games, especially late in games or O.T.(That's playoff O.T. not the gimmick of the regular season.) And that's not to say Wild are not good, they are a good team.
 
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rynryn

Reluctant Optimist. Permanently Déclassé.
May 29, 2008
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Chicago and Kings are a much different animal in the playoff's. Blues lack the mojo to beat them.

If things finish like people are expecting the Wild will find a much more tested playoff savy team in the Hawks. Yes they gave them a series last year but lost in 6.. Teams like the Hawks and Kings, just find ways to pull out games, especially late in games or O.T.(That's playoff O.T. not the gimmick of the regular season.) And that's not to say Wild are not good, they are a good team.

Wild are a significantly better team this year than last, and I'm not calling for a guaranteed win or anything but the Hawks just plain don't worry me as much as the Blues. They may be a different animal, but it's one we're familiar with as we've been pushed out by them the last two years. Kane won that series for them--we really IMO outplayed them, minute for minute otherwise. Could still happen, but I think the Blues structure, depth, and team D (along with Vlad friggin Tarasenko) is a more imposing obstacle than the Hawks this year.

Definitely pulling for the Blues vs the hawks if we don't make it. In fact, i think i'd put money on it.
 

DayNah

Ship it donk!
Feb 11, 2010
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St Louis should be booking their tee times for Monday. Their season is done tomorrow.
 

WildisLaw

The curse is real
Jan 19, 2010
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Cali
The only thing that scares me is a well rested Corey Perry in the conference finals. Always a thorn in the Wild's side!
 

fsanford

Registered User
Jul 4, 2009
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Wild are a significantly better team this year than last, and I'm not calling for a guaranteed win or anything but the Hawks just plain don't worry me as much as the Blues. They may be a different animal, but it's one we're familiar with as we've been pushed out by them the last two years. Kane won that series for them--we really IMO outplayed them, minute for minute otherwise. Could still happen, but I think the Blues structure, depth, and team D (along with Vlad friggin Tarasenko) is a more imposing obstacle than the Hawks this year.

Definitely pulling for the Blues vs the hawks if we don't make it. In fact, i think i'd put money on it.

Hockey given it's limited scoring is sometimes more about clutch play vs outplaying a team.

You can outplay a team all you want, but certain teams have a knack for winning in O.T. or putting the puck in the net late in games to win. Its in those kind of games where pressure gets to some teams, while others relish in it and succeed. People try to pass this off as luck, and maybe part of it is, but some teams just do better under pressure.

You mention the Wild have not beaten the Hawks in the playoff's in 2 years. Sounds a little bit like the Blue's situation, we are better this year, and this is the year. Only to go out an lose to a team that has their number again.

Wild could pull it off, I hope they do as Minnesota deserves SCF, especially given the fact they took the North Stars away.
 

Note Worthy

History Made
Oct 26, 2011
10,114
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St. Louis, MO
Wow.

That's got to be a mistake, right? I knew they had a choker label but never did the legwork to find that out.

Okay, that stat you quoted was extremely misleading. We didn't make the playoffs for 11 seasons and only win one round, which is how that was being lead to believe.

The Blues went through a rebuild and didn't even make the playoffs in those 11 seasons until 08-09. Then we didn't make the playoffs again until 11-12 and we got past the first round that year.
 

HighNote

Just one more Cup
Jul 1, 2014
3,313
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St. Louis
I wonder how all the Blues fans are feeling now - the ones who were saying they wanted us (the Wild) in the first round? :sarcasm:

Before the playoffs most Blues fans were saying they would take only Calgary over Minnesota. Now I think I'd rather have Vancouver or Calgary over the Wild, but that would be the only change for me.

The Wild haven't really impressed me much. It's been a weird series. First 4 games, the team playing better won each game, the losing team having a crap game. Dubnyk stole game 5 as the Blues outplayed the Wild.

The main issue for the Blues hasn't been the Wild, it's been themselves. They just can't seem to get going. I could be speaking too soon, though. The series is all but decided. If the trend in this series of no team winning two games in a row continues and the Blues win tomorrow night, you can throw all of this out the window. If it goes 7, both teams will be giving all they have, and I think the Blues have more to give...
 

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