Official 2017-2018 NHL Thread v. Break the Ice

[jingle.boy]

Phaneuf to LA for Gaborik. 

meh.

[gmillerdrake]

This game went from "we are kicking the Predators butt in Nashville" to "I'll be happy to at least get a point."

Threres no word to describe how  I am about this game. To lose this game when you’re up 3-0 with ten minutes to go is inexcusable. The wheels came off. There is no leader on our team. Losing that game and giving up that lead is a lack of leadership and a horribly coached game. Why Yeo didn’t call a timeout when the Preds got within on goal and were smelling blood is baffling. So mad right now. Pretty much done with this version of the Blues. Gimme the youngsters next year and lets get moving. F this current cast of jokes

That being said, it still baffles me that the Preds can run that pick play entering the offensive zone 8/10 times they enter the zone and not get called for it is utter horse  . And don’t get me started on that penalty shot call in OT.  what a  joke. The Preds are indeed the Red Wings of the 90’s now with the ‘fortunate’ calls they continually get. It’s maddening.

[jingle.boy]

Ouch... that's a tough one to take.  I'm sure you'll be wanting to tell your BIL to eat and asshole sammich.

Nothing more infuriating than blowing a late lead.

[gmillerdrake]

Nothing more infuriating than blowing a late lead.

Watching the new darlings of the league do whatever the F they want with no recourse is near just as infuriating

I say this with all sincerity....my wish now is that the Blues just miss the playoffs completely. Just, skip the false hope and one or two exciting playoff victories only to succumb to a real contender. Let Statsny walk after this year....maybe sign a mid tier free agent but then turn the team over to the kids next year and let that be that.

And, as much as I like Petrangelo as a person....he’s a swell dude.....I strip him of the C and give it to someone who can lead this team. It’s never been more evident than after tonight that he’s incapable of doing it.

[jingle.boy]

Most people believe that missing the playoffs was the best thing to happen the Tampa Bay last year.... now look at them.  Of course a full season with a healthy Stamkos helps too.  Sometimes hitting rock bottom is what's necessary to elevate to greatness - as you know all too well.

[pg1067]

Phaneuf to LA for Gaborik. 

meh.

That's kinda my reaction as well, although after seeing that the Kings got skunked by the Canes last night (7-3), I feel like something needs to be done to spark the Kings' defense.  Not sure Phaneuf (who's only had two positive +/- seasons in the last 10 years) is the answer, but Gaborik wasn't doing much, so we'll see.  It'll be interesting to see how Nick Shore pans out in a place where he'll probably get more ice time than he got in LA.

[OpenYourEyes311]

This game went from "we are kicking the Predators butt in Nashville" to "I'll be happy to at least get a point."

Threres no word to describe how  I am about this game. To lose this game when you’re up 3-0 with ten minutes to go is inexcusable. The wheels came off. There is no leader on our team. Losing that game and giving up that lead is a lack of leadership and a horribly coached game. Why Yeo didn’t call a timeout when the Preds got within on goal and were smelling blood is baffling. So mad right now. Pretty much done with this version of the Blues. Gimme the youngsters next year and lets get moving. F this current cast of jokes

That being said, it still baffles me that the Preds can run that pick play entering the offensive zone 8/10 times they enter the zone and not get called for it is utter horse  . And don’t get me started on that penalty shot call in OT.  what a  joke. The Preds are indeed the Red Wings of the 90’s now with the ‘fortunate’ calls they continually get. It’s maddening.

Hey, at least that didn't happen in Game 7 of a playoff series. You can talk to Maple Leaf fans about that one.

[jingle.boy]

^ Don't get me started.  When Rask made that breakaway save that kept it at 4-2 with only 3.5 minutes to go, I knew the Leafs were gonna blow it.  Reimer played brilliantly for 48 minutes.

[OpenYourEyes311]

I was actually mad when Lucic scored to make it 4-3. All that year the B's had been coming back late in games and still losing with "too-little-too-late" rushes of scoring, to make the final scores look like they didn't get outplayed all game. When they actually won I was shocked.

Then they did it to themselves in the final game against Chicago, giving up the game-tying AND Cup-winning goals in the last 90 seconds of Game 6. Brutal loss after that comeback against the Leafs. Made it all for nothing.

[pg1067]

Slightly off-topic, but maybe not (and I haven't seen an Olympics related thread).

The Slovenian ice hockey team beat the U.S. team in the Olympics (3-2 in OT).  The Slovenian team includes no current or former NHL players.  The U.S. roster has two (at least I think it's only two) players with NHL experience.  Russia also lost to Slovakia, although that is a lesser magnitude upset.

The U.S. team's has apparently resulted in a huge (relatively speaking) backlash against the NHL and Gary Bettman for not allowing NHL players to play in the Olympics.  For starters, I find this amusing because a lot of folks who are bitching about this couldn't otherwise give a rat's ass about international ice hockey.  Second, I am completely in favor of the NHL not shutting down for 2-3 weeks for the Olympics and tiring out its best players.  Third, I think it's pretty cool to seek "David beats Goliath" stories like this (kinda like the "miracle on ice" team from 1980) and, while I'm as patriotic as the next guy, I don't feel like it's some sort of national embarrassment when some other country beats the U.S. in the Olympics.  It's not like anyone gives a crap that the U.S. didn't make the podium in the women's 3K speed skating event (for that matter, no one even in the top 20), so why is one loss in a hockey tournament such an issue?

Thoughts?

[mikeyd23]

The U.S. team's has apparently resulted in a huge (relatively speaking) backlash against the NHL and Gary Bettman for not allowing NHL players to play in the Olympics.  For starters, I find this amusing because a lot of folks who are bitching about this couldn't otherwise give a rat's ass about international ice hockey.  Second, I am completely in favor of the NHL not shutting down for 2-3 weeks for the Olympics and tiring out its best players.  Third, I think it's pretty cool to seek "David beats Goliath" stories like this (kinda like the "miracle on ice" team from 1980) and, while I'm as patriotic as the next guy, I don't feel like it's some sort of national embarrassment when some other country beats the U.S. in the Olympics.  It's not like anyone gives a crap that the U.S. didn't make the podium in the women's 3K speed skating event (for that matter, no one even in the top 20), so why is one loss in a hockey tournament such an issue?

Yeah, I'm pretty much with you on this. I back the NHL's decision to not send players and as a result, had pretty much no expectations for the US team. They could win gold or not win a game, neither would surprise or upset me.

[TAC]

  I am completely in favor of the NHL not shutting down for 2-3 weeks for the Olympics 

We've had this discussion here before, but this is my stance. Let the college/junior kids have the Olympics. I don't want to go without hockey for that long.

[jingle.boy]

As much as I love best-on-best hockey, I totally understand and agree with the League's decision not to go this time around.  Just sucks that we won't see players like Crosby and McDavid on the same team/line; or Matthews and Kane.  And we may never see them again.  World Cup '20 still isn't greenlit, and in four years, guys like Crosby/Kane might not even make the Olympic team - you can be damn sure the NHL will be in Beijing for '22

[TAC]

Interesting read.

https://www.tsn.ca/talent/dion-phaneuf-s-complicated-legacy-in-ottawa-1.998987

[mikeyd23]

As much as I love best-on-best hockey, I totally understand and agree with the League's decision not to go this time around.  Just sucks that we won't see players like Crosby and McDavid on the same team/line; or Matthews and Kane.  And we may never see them again.  World Cup '20 still isn't greenlit, and in four years, guys like Crosby/Kane might not even make the Olympic team - you can be damn sure the NHL will be in Beijing for '22

Good points. I think they will do the World Cup in 2020 but you're right that a lot of the stars of the Sid, Ovie, Kane, etc... generation will certainly be out of their prime by 2022 but so be it.

[jingle.boy]

Interesting read.

https://www.tsn.ca/talent/dion-phaneuf-s-complicated-legacy-in-ottawa-1.998987

Phaneuf seems to get a raw deal wherever he goes.  The fact he wore the "C" for most of his time in Toronto (while they were shyte) and was an average player (certainly not a player worth the contract he has) was his downfall here.  As a person and in the community, few are better and more giving/accessible - as evidenced in this article too.

Hopefully he can perform well in LA.  I like the guy, but I think he was punching out of his weight-class in Calgary, and has been anchored by lofty expectations ever since.

[jingle.boy]

Nice to see Dion putting up some goals.   

What the hell is with the Blackhawks?  Did they take their toys and go home?  First-to-worst by the looks of things.  Sheesh!  1-8-1 in the last 10.

And Philly!  Whoulda thunk it after that 10 game winless streak they had in November.

Looks like the men are separating from the boys.  The West looks more entertaining than the East, that's for sure.  St. Louis is one point in and one point from being out of the Wildcard.

Boston can lose a few games anytime now.

[Nick]

And Philly!  Whoulda thunk it after that 10 game winless streak they had in November.

Well, it's only fair since last year we became the first team with a 10-game win streak to miss the playoffs.

Things in Philly are certainly positive now, but not without some concerns. Goalies being injured left and right is one, but I'm hopeful that our new toy from Detroit and Alex Lyon will hold things together to at least get us into the playoffs, prior to which both Elliot and Neuvirth will be due to return. It's also worth noting that a certainly lesser known name in Anthony Stolarz, who was called up a few times last year when we had injuries and played well, has been out all season up to this point with an injury as well. One hidden bonus in getting Mrazek from Detroit is that Stolie can get some work with the Phantoms and help them in what has been a great year thus far in the AHL.

On defense the great thing is we have, and should have for many years to come a great top pair, finally, in Ghost and Provorov. The bad news is that beyond that we're average at best. I do think that in a year or two we'll be among the league leaders defensively, but not sure if the crew now has enough to make a full push. On offense, again, we have some guys like Giroux, Voracek, and Coots who are having phenomenal seasons. We also have anchors like Lehtera, Weiss, and Filpula that will be holding us back for another year or two. The biggest surprise and a big help in our recent push is the young forwards of Patrick and Konecny are having strong play now. Typically those guys start hot and struggle as the season moves on, but for both it seems that the adjustments have been made and hopefully they stay hotter.

[gmillerdrake]

St. Louis is one point in and one point from being out of the Wildcard.

Blues are a mess. It's baffling how a team that played so well and confident to start the season now can't even do simple things like forwards back checking to stop easy tap in goals. There are SO many things wrong with the team right now it's honestly not even any fun to watch. In fact, it takes more effort for me to get mad at them these days than the effort you see them giving in the games.

There are still a few highlights though and reason to be excited about the future. Vince Dunn for one is a gem of a D-Man. So fun to watch. And Paryako....still a stud. But outside of Schwartz, Tarasenko...Schenn, we have nothing but third and fourth line forwards on our team. It's brutal to watch.

I subscribe to THE ATHLETIC (which is an awesome subscription service sports website) and Jeremy Rutherford who covered the Blues for over 20 years for the St. Louis Post Dispatch is now the Blues writer for them. Once a week he does a 'mailbag' segment where he will take questions from us the fans and answer them based on his observations and experience. Below is my question and his answer to that question last Saturday. It is a refreshing thing to hear a reporter of such regard as he is around St. Louis and the industry answer with such honesty. And, on the site....his answer was received with rave reviews from countless subscribers....the common comment was 'thank you for the honest answer'. I can't imagine his comments didn't get back to management and the players.

see below:






No. 1

Hey JR,
 
There's no beating around the bush — the Predator loss was brutal. That game glorified every strength the Blues have and magnified every weakness as well. And in my opinion, the weaknesses outshined the strengths. This very frustrated fan of 30 years has all but turned the page on this season as the Blues have not shown they have the capability to play against the likes of a team with Moxi like the Predators, Lightning or even the Pens.
My sentiment is at this point I'd rather see them miss the playoffs this year, have a gut check over the summer and come back embarrassed and on a mission next year. I think it'd be the best thing for the team honestly because they need something to change the culture in that locker room and missing the playoffs with talent like they have may do it. It's clear whatever message Mike Yeo is suggesting or leadership tactics being used by the vets isn't working. Do you think missing the playoffs is what this team needs to 'wake up'?

-Gary


JR: In order to answer this question, I need to break it down into two parts and keep it as real as possible.

1) Would missing the playoffs wake up the Blues?

2) If the Blues missed the playoffs, would Doug Armstrong make the necessary moves to change the culture?

But before I answer No. 1, let's make sure we're on the same page. When someone asks me whether missing the playoffs would “wake up” the Blues, give them a “gut check” and put them “on a mission,” I take that to mean you're asking about the players. You might be referring to the organization from top to bottom, but I prefer to focus my answer from a players' perspective. And my answer is “no,” it would not wake up them any more than losing in the second round woke them up last season. Would they be disappointed? Certainly. Would they tell media and fans that it's unacceptable? More times than you want to hear. But would they do any more self-examination than they did any other year or talk more amongst themselves about why they're so inconsistent? No and no. Some of you might be asking why nothing would change. I'm not saying nothing would change. I'm just saying I don't believe the Blues missing the playoffs by three points is going to put a more determined, ticked off team on the ice next season. Call me fatigued on the end-of-the-season post-mortem interviews. Every May, I see a despondent group of players and every October-April I see the same group making the same mistakes and excuses.

Now No. 2, what could be a benefit of missing the playoffs: changing the culture. Whether the Blues make the playoffs or not, I think they have to address this issue. Listen, the Blues obviously have talented players and they have good people in their locker room. But I think they have a roster that has too many players who just brush everything off. Nothing is ever a major deal in their eyes. Yeah, they might get mad at times, but there's always another game tomorrow, there's always a chance to fix things. I understand that. It's a long season and you're not going to play well every night. You lose a game, you regroup and play better next time. But I believe, if they had more players who got pissed off in the moment, like let's turn this game around now, let's not wait for the next game, they'd have a better record. I think that part of the reason we don't see this is because they don't pull together like they should. I'm not saying these guys don't like playing together, but they don't pull together.

This is the part of my answer where I'll try to keep it as real as possible. I think some players resent that Vladimir Tarasenko doesn't work as hard as he should. I think some players who think that about Tarasenko aren't working as hard as they should be. I don't think the leaders are doing a good enough job of taking the different personalities in the locker room and making everybody feel like one. Is Dmitrij Jaskin a bit of a loner? Yeah. Have the Blues tried to make him feel like them? Maybe more than I know. But has it been enough? No. Not just with Jaskin, but others, too, whether it's been this year or in the past. That translates on the ice. Guys are just playing hockey, many of them not playing FOR EACH OTHER. And I haven't even mentioned the guys who are just playing for the paycheck or the lifestyle, which in this case I'm not going to name names, but they know who they are.

I truly believe that whether the Blues make the playoffs or not, Armstrong is going to have to address the attitude of this team. If I know it's a problem, he has to know. It will be hard to change the culture — it's hard to move contracts in the NHL — but I believe it's necessary. I don't believe the team's problems can be found in analyzing a bad goal, a bad loss or a bad homestand. I believe they're tied to the fact that it's a group of players who are passing the puck to each other because they were either drafted or signed contracts to play for the Blues and they happen to be wearing the same crest on their sweater — not because they're going to go to the front of the net, take a slash to the leg, absorb the pain and score a goal, because that's what you do for your teammates and your coach and your fans. When you can show me that that's how much these guys care, then I'll show you a team that doesn't poop its pants on the ice and then repeat the same B.S. to reporters game after game after game. Does that answer your question?

[King Postwhore]

Nice to see Dion putting up some goals.   


Boston can lose a few games anytime now.

I keep waiting for a losing streak with this young team but they just keep winning.

[jingle.boy]

Nice to see Dion putting up some goals.   


Boston can lose a few games anytime now.

I keep waiting for a losing streak with this young team but they just keep winning.

During the Leafs broadcast last night, it was mentioned that the Panthers and Bruins haven't played each other yet - so 4 of the 24 games the Bs have left are against Florida.  Hopefully Luongo can steal a couple of those.

[mikeyd23]

St. Louis is one point in and one point from being out of the Wildcard.

Blues are a mess. It's baffling how a team that played so well and confident to start the season now can't even do simple things like forwards back checking to stop easy tap in goals. There are SO many things wrong with the team right now it's honestly not even any fun to watch. In fact, it takes more effort for me to get mad at them these days than the effort you see them giving in the games.

There are still a few highlights though and reason to be excited about the future. Vince Dunn for one is a gem of a D-Man. So fun to watch. And Paryako....still a stud. But outside of Schwartz, Tarasenko...Schenn, we have nothing but third and fourth line forwards on our team. It's brutal to watch.

I subscribe to THE ATHLETIC (which is an awesome subscription service sports website) and Jeremy Rutherford who covered the Blues for over 20 years for the St. Louis Post Dispatch is now the Blues writer for them. Once a week he does a 'mailbag' segment where he will take questions from us the fans and answer them based on his observations and experience. Below is my question and his answer to that question last Saturday. It is a refreshing thing to hear a reporter of such regard as he is around St. Louis and the industry answer with such honesty. And, on the site....his answer was received with rave reviews from countless subscribers....the common comment was 'thank you for the honest answer'. I can't imagine his comments didn't get back to management and the players.

see below:






No. 1

Hey JR,
 
There's no beating around the bush — the Predator loss was brutal. That game glorified every strength the Blues have and magnified every weakness as well. And in my opinion, the weaknesses outshined the strengths. This very frustrated fan of 30 years has all but turned the page on this season as the Blues have not shown they have the capability to play against the likes of a team with Moxi like the Predators, Lightning or even the Pens.
My sentiment is at this point I'd rather see them miss the playoffs this year, have a gut check over the summer and come back embarrassed and on a mission next year. I think it'd be the best thing for the team honestly because they need something to change the culture in that locker room and missing the playoffs with talent like they have may do it. It's clear whatever message Mike Yeo is suggesting or leadership tactics being used by the vets isn't working. Do you think missing the playoffs is what this team needs to 'wake up'?

-Gary


JR: In order to answer this question, I need to break it down into two parts and keep it as real as possible.

1) Would missing the playoffs wake up the Blues?

2) If the Blues missed the playoffs, would Doug Armstrong make the necessary moves to change the culture?

But before I answer No. 1, let's make sure we're on the same page. When someone asks me whether missing the playoffs would “wake up” the Blues, give them a “gut check” and put them “on a mission,” I take that to mean you're asking about the players. You might be referring to the organization from top to bottom, but I prefer to focus my answer from a players' perspective. And my answer is “no,” it would not wake up them any more than losing in the second round woke them up last season. Would they be disappointed? Certainly. Would they tell media and fans that it's unacceptable? More times than you want to hear. But would they do any more self-examination than they did any other year or talk more amongst themselves about why they're so inconsistent? No and no. Some of you might be asking why nothing would change. I'm not saying nothing would change. I'm just saying I don't believe the Blues missing the playoffs by three points is going to put a more determined, ticked off team on the ice next season. Call me fatigued on the end-of-the-season post-mortem interviews. Every May, I see a despondent group of players and every October-April I see the same group making the same mistakes and excuses.

Now No. 2, what could be a benefit of missing the playoffs: changing the culture. Whether the Blues make the playoffs or not, I think they have to address this issue. Listen, the Blues obviously have talented players and they have good people in their locker room. But I think they have a roster that has too many players who just brush everything off. Nothing is ever a major deal in their eyes. Yeah, they might get mad at times, but there's always another game tomorrow, there's always a chance to fix things. I understand that. It's a long season and you're not going to play well every night. You lose a game, you regroup and play better next time. But I believe, if they had more players who got pissed off in the moment, like let's turn this game around now, let's not wait for the next game, they'd have a better record. I think that part of the reason we don't see this is because they don't pull together like they should. I'm not saying these guys don't like playing together, but they don't pull together.

This is the part of my answer where I'll try to keep it as real as possible. I think some players resent that Vladimir Tarasenko doesn't work as hard as he should. I think some players who think that about Tarasenko aren't working as hard as they should be. I don't think the leaders are doing a good enough job of taking the different personalities in the locker room and making everybody feel like one. Is Dmitrij Jaskin a bit of a loner? Yeah. Have the Blues tried to make him feel like them? Maybe more than I know. But has it been enough? No. Not just with Jaskin, but others, too, whether it's been this year or in the past. That translates on the ice. Guys are just playing hockey, many of them not playing FOR EACH OTHER. And I haven't even mentioned the guys who are just playing for the paycheck or the lifestyle, which in this case I'm not going to name names, but they know who they are.

I truly believe that whether the Blues make the playoffs or not, Armstrong is going to have to address the attitude of this team. If I know it's a problem, he has to know. It will be hard to change the culture — it's hard to move contracts in the NHL — but I believe it's necessary. I don't believe the team's problems can be found in analyzing a bad goal, a bad loss or a bad homestand. I believe they're tied to the fact that it's a group of players who are passing the puck to each other because they were either drafted or signed contracts to play for the Blues and they happen to be wearing the same crest on their sweater — not because they're going to go to the front of the net, take a slash to the leg, absorb the pain and score a goal, because that's what you do for your teammates and your coach and your fans. When you can show me that that's how much these guys care, then I'll show you a team that doesn't poop its pants on the ice and then repeat the same B.S. to reporters game after game after game. Does that answer your question?

That's a very interesting answer, especially the part about Tarasenko not working as hard as other guys and the negative trickle down effect it has. That's a huge red flag to me as a lack of leadership, whether it's players or coaches or both.

Example - when Kessel came to the Pens a couple off seasons ago he came with all the baggage the Canadian media had basically given him - he's not tough, doesn't work hard, doesn't do the little things right, he's fat, etc... Over his time here, it's become clear that Phil plays a certain way, there are things he does and things he simply does not do. This includes working on certain aspects of his game at practice.  So how have the Pens won two Stanley Cups since he arrived? The leadership group of players on the team and the coaching staff have purposely not let that affect anyone else's work ethic or style of play. The coaches have put Phil in a position where they ask him to do specific things that play to his strengths and they rely on guys like Crosby (who in my opinion might work too hard) to be the examples of practice, tenacity, discipline, etc... It's worked pretty well for all parties involved thus far.

If the Blues are letting that sort of thing bring the collective down, that screams lack of leadership and accountability. I'm the type that firmly believes that actual, tangible, talent supersedes intangible things like "leadership" but in this case, that sort of scenario would definitely worry me if I was a Blues fan.

[King Postwhore]

Nice to see Dion putting up some goals.   


Boston can lose a few games anytime now.

I keep waiting for a losing streak with this young team but they just keep winning.

During the Leafs broadcast last night, it was mentioned that the Panthers and Bruins haven't played each other yet - so 4 of the 24 games the Bs have left are against Florida.  Hopefully Luongo can steal a couple of those.

This soft in the head goalie?

[Nick]

The Athletic

Just popping in to note that I also subscribe to and highly recommend The Athletic. For hockey it often is icing on the cake given I follow things rather closely, but for football and the Niners which I don't delve deep on otherwise their articles are always fantastic and insightful.

[gmillerdrake]

The Athletic

Just popping in to note that I also subscribe to and highly recommend The Athletic. For hockey it often is icing on the cake given I follow things rather closely, but for football and the Niners which I don't delve deep on otherwise their articles are always fantastic and insightful.

Yeah. It’s been worth every penny. And it’s not even baseball season yet. I can’t recommend it enough.

[gmillerdrake]

If the Blues are letting that sort of thing bring the collective down, that screams lack of leadership and accountability. I'm the type that firmly believes that actual, tangible, talent supersedes intangible things like "leadership" but in this case, that sort of scenario would definitely worry me if I was a Blues fan.

I am not worried about Tarasenko or his lack of apparent 'effort'. Like Rutherford said in that article....the few players that may be griping about it need to take a long look at THEIR effort and quit worrying about his. Tarasenko is an elite player who is going to get you 30-40 goals a year. A recent article in the ATHLETIC also broke down the scoring the Blues get off of his shots....meaning, how many goals are scored within 3 seconds of him taking a shot if it's not a goal. He generates offense. Tarasenko's issue is that when he isn't scoring he plain an simple pouts about it and it 'looks' bad. He does have games where he could be doing more responsibility wise but HE isn't the Blues issue. I know for a fact he wants to win and he hates to lose. If it were about lifestyle for him he would have stayed in Russia and played in the KHL his whole life. His grandfather, father and family are there.

The Blues issue right now is flat out attitude and "moxi". The good teams have it.....the Blues don't. You can't get by on talent alone....you have to have that extra attitude and it's just non existent for the Blues right now.

[TAC]

Gary, interesting read.

Two questions, three actually..

1. Do the Blues miss David Backes? Just watch his play on the B's GW goal last night after erasing a 2 goal deficit in Edmonton on the second of B2B and 3rd game in 4 nights.

2. Is Mike Yeo the right guy? He strikes me as more of a College or AHL level coach.

3. Should they have kept Shattenkirk and moved on from Pietrangelo instead?

[romdrums]

And Philly!  Whoulda thunk it after that 10 game winless streak they had in November.

Well, it's only fair since last year we became the first team with a 10-game win streak to miss the playoffs.

Things in Philly are certainly positive now, but not without some concerns. Goalies being injured left and right is one, but I'm hopeful that our new toy from Detroit and Alex Lyon will hold things together to at least get us into the playoffs, prior to which both Elliot and Neuvirth will be due to return. It's also worth noting that a certainly lesser known name in Anthony Stolarz, who was called up a few times last year when we had injuries and played well, has been out all season up to this point with an injury as well. One hidden bonus in getting Mrazek from Detroit is that Stolie can get some work with the Phantoms and help them in what has been a great year thus far in the AHL.

On defense the great thing is we have, and should have for many years to come a great top pair, finally, in Ghost and Provorov. The bad news is that beyond that we're average at best. I do think that in a year or two we'll be among the league leaders defensively, but not sure if the crew now has enough to make a full push. On offense, again, we have some guys like Giroux, Voracek, and Coots who are having phenomenal seasons. We also have anchors like Lehtera, Weiss, and Filpula that will be holding us back for another year or two. The biggest surprise and a big help in our recent push is the young forwards of Patrick and Konecny are having strong play now. Typically those guys start hot and struggle as the season moves on, but for both it seems that the adjustments have been made and hopefully they stay hotter.

As a Wings fan, I was slightly bummed that they gave up on Mrazek, but Ken Holland and Co. mis-handled him.  He should have been given the net as the starter years ago. I'm hoping the change of scenery will do Mrazek some good, because when he's on, he's ON. He has the potential to steal a series or two for the Flyers. Not only that, I want those conditional picks to reach their maximum!

[gmillerdrake]

These obviously are just my thoughts....

1. Do the Blues miss David Backes? Just watch his play on the B's GW goal last night after erasing a 2 goal deficit in Edmonton on the second of B2B and 3rd game in 4 nights.

100% absolutely. Not only do they miss his leadership.....they do not have a single player that is willing to pay the price for a goal like Backes did for us and now does for the Bruins. Now, the Blues have had scoring issues for a LONG time....even when he was around but his leadership is sorely missed, no doubt about it.

2. Is Mike Yeo the right guy? He strikes me as more of a College or AHL level coach.

I'm not sold on him, at all. I'd agree he's an AHL level guy. We went from a stickler (Hitchcock) to Yeo, who comes across entirely too soft IMO. I don't think he has command of the Blues right now. IF....and that's a big if, Quennville were to get canned by the Hawks I'd dump Yeo and hire him at all costs if I were the Blues. I just don't see him as 'the' coach that gets us there. Especially after the consistent comments from the Minnesota fans in the articles on in the ATHLETIC all year. They've all but verified the issues 'we' are seeing now plagued the Wild why he was there.

3. Should they have kept Shattenkirk and moved on from Pietrangelo instead?

Nope. Pietrangelo is a far superior D Man than Shattenkirk. The issue is, he's just not Captain material IMO. I don't think he has the right personality for it. You need a gritty, hard nosed....no BS type of person to be a Captain IMO and Petro just isn't that guy. Heck of a player, just isn't getting the job done as a Captain.

In fact, my question for this weeks mailbag for Rutherford will be if he agrees with me and that I think in order to begin the culture change in the locker room I'd strip all A's from the Alternate Captains and the C from Petro.....right now....to let it be known that what's going on is unacceptable. But, when it comes to things like that....I get a bit extreme. Just ask my kids. They lost their PS4 for 6 months last year because I got sick of their disrespectful attitudes....when I hinted that I'd take it away the rest of the year I was 'challenged' per say with a "you can't do that".      Umm...yeah I can    Anyway....to change the culture in that locker room some drastic measures need to take place.

I'd also bench a few of the vets for a game or two across the board and call up some youngsters and let them play a bit. But that's tougher to do given roster spots and how difficult it is to bring up/send down folks.

[Dittomist]

Yes, the Blues miss David Backes dearly. And Kevin Shattenkirk. And Troy Brouwer. And definitely Brian Elliott, who had an occasional bad game, but who was much more consistent and reliable than Allen. At the start of the season, I couldn't recall a time when the Blues looked so sharp and quick, but now it's absolutely painful to watch them, especially since every other Central division team minus the Blackhawks (whose downfall is one of the season's most surprising developments) is really turning up the intensity and doing whatever they can to win. Looking at the current standings is nightmarish if you're a Blues fan, but at least there is still plenty of hockey to play this season and anything can happen; as the Predators showed us last year, it's best to find your groove at the very end of the season. Speaking of Nashville, my money is definitely on them to win the cup this year.

[pg1067]

All this talk about the Blues makes me think back fondly to the 2012 conference semifinal series between the Kings and the Blues.  I got a last minute ticket to game 4, and the "ELLL-i-OTTTT" chants were almost as good as the "Lu-OONNNN-go" chants from the Vancouver series.  I remember towards the end of the game when the Blues were desperately trying to get back in the game, and Slava Voynov single-handedly played keep-away with the puck for what seemed like a full minute or more.  The whole thing was a nice bit of payback for 1998 and Sean O'Donnell's second dumbest penalty in Kings history.

Ahhh...memories.   

[King Postwhore]

Btw,  Chad, you are going down Saturday night!

[jingle.boy]

We got the Isles to worry about tomorrow first. You guys get all rested up for us.

[King Postwhore]

We got the Isles to worry about tomorrow first. You guys get all rested up for us.

You know it! Is it Hockey Night in Canada?

[TAC]

These obviously are just my thoughts....

1. Do the Blues miss David Backes? Just watch his play on the B's GW goal last night after erasing a 2 goal deficit in Edmonton on the second of B2B and 3rd game in 4 nights.

100% absolutely. Not only do they miss his leadership.....they do not have a single player that is willing to pay the price for a goal like Backes did for us and now does for the Bruins. Now, the Blues have had scoring issues for a LONG time....even when he was around but his leadership is sorely missed, no doubt about it.

And he's handsome. You forgot to mention that he was handsome.