lets go blues

[marcus]

im ready for some playoff hockey wonder if the blues will choke in the first round again hope all the players will stay healthy? anyone been following al the blues games as much as i have this year i watched every game this season!

 

[jpb2187]

I'm ready my man. I think we have a chance to do pretty well. Scoring has been getting better. We'll need that in the playoffs. We'll also have to stop taking so many d@mn penalties though. That's been killing us all season. Getting Steen back and putting him in with Backes/Berglund should be good too. I think that is the biggest hole on the team currently - Jaskin/Paajarvi in that 9th forward spot. They are just not at the level of skill needed there. 

[Ham]

Pretty surprised with the Blues loss last night. Blues must win the First Round of the playoffs or clean house afterwards if they get beat. They've been good enough in the regular season that the fans expect more.

My Pens have to play well down the stretch w/o Geno (no stranger to the BAD penalty himself) to get in the playoffs. I think they make it, but I'd be worried about making it into the playoffs if I was a Detroit fan. I hate the flyers so much and they have been red hot of late.

[stlfisher]

Yep, it is all about the playoffs.  The team seems to have let down against lesser competition this week. That can't happen with 10 game left.  It sure would be nice to win the division and avoid the Stars and Blackhawks in the first round.  The division is a beast 1-4 and then you have the Kings and Ducks. 

[David Unnerstall]

What concerns me about the Blues is the Goals Scored vs. Goals Allowed ratio.  It might be that the Blues are not as good as their record.

 

Stars	71	41	21	9	91	229	208	3-4-3	L2
Blues	72	41	22	9	91	191	185	6-4-0	L2
Blackhawks	71	41	24	6	88	197	176	3-6-1	L4

[Ham]

I'm not worried about the goals allowed by the Blues too much. Step up D and hope for good goal tending in the playoffs.

 

[jpb2187]

I think a lot of the goal disparity is due to:

1. Penalties (for and against

2. Injury

ppo - power play opportunities, ppoa - ppo allowed

Team	PPO	PPOA	Man Games Lost
St. Louis Blues	206	250	249
Dallas Stars	226	214	131
Chicago Blackhawks	221	202	94

 

Its hard to score a lot of goals when your constantly killing penalties and filling in with whoever is healthy. (Paajarvi on the top line? Remember that?) Blues have yet to really have their full team on the ice this year, and have played more time on the pk than the other two contenders in the division and they're still right there with them . Since Jan 1 they have been the better team. 

Dallas has a terrible D that has been bailed out by their offense, and I think that will show in the playoffs. 

Chicago is disciplined, healthy, and can score. I think they are the more dangerous team.

 

[moguy1973]

Games like the last two certainly are frustrating after the previous 6.  Facing possibly both the Hawks and the Stars in the first two rounds is going to be really tough and I just don't know if Hitch's program works with these players enough to get through two series of teams of that caliber.  I look up and down our lineup and there's only a few players that I would get rid of Brodzniak and maybe Paajarvi.  Both are pretty useless.  The talent is there.  The heart and ability to execute, not so much sometimes.  But then you watch a play like the 2nd Backes goal last night where it was a text book give and go to Petro and then a cross ice pass to an open Backes and you see a glimmer of hope.

[jpb2187]

Pietro's choke job on the short handed 2 on 1 was tough to swallow.

 

[marcus]

as a guy that plays hockey 2 times a week i'm gonna say first off with the losses they've had this season i wouldn't completely put the blame on goaltending our defence has gave up a lot of odd man rushes pretty much every game