izzy
go
actually i agree, idk about blais with tarasenko.
blais-thomas seem stylistically like such a great match though, i hope they give it a real shot for 10-15 games at least
2019-2020 St. Louis Blues - Defending the Cup - Part 3: The Prelude to Playoff Positioning
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actually i agree, idk about blais with tarasenko.
blais-thomas seem stylistically like such a great match though, i hope they give it a real shot for 10-15 games at least
Blais would be great to have with Tarasenko on the rush, as you could just have him crash the net to draw defenders down and potentially give Vladi room to do his patented cut to the middle to get his wrister off. Not sure how well he'd work off the cycle with Tarasenko stylistically though.
Brian39
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Everyone is going to be rusty. This break has already been more than 2 months long and the vast majority of guys haven't been able to skate at all. By the time facilities open back up we are likely talking about 3 months (or more) of guys not skating at all. Everyone is starting with a ton of rust whether they were healthy at the stoppage or not.
I don't really disagree with you on that potential line combo, but Tarasenko being rusty isn't a reason not to try it.
Not sure I’d put Tarasenko on the same level as everyone else. He hasn’t played a game since October. That is a lot more significant than March and there are different degrees of rust. We don’t know how he will look, how his shoulder will react or how his shot will even perform. We’ve seen him come back from a shoulder issue before and take a while to get his shot back. Maybe getting more rest can help in that regard but I think you took that one point way too literally. I never said the only reason to not try it is that, it’s just an add-on given the situation. The point is the trio in question here isn’t a good fit for a couple different reasons given how the Blues should want to play in the playoffs.
bleedblue1223
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Sounded like more than a few mentioned getting those roller blades that are supposed to mimic ice skates. Seems like a lot of the players don't really have access to weights. Perron made a big deal about his home gym that many others didn't have. I know a bunch mentioned that they didn't have access, so they are doing mostly cardio and skill stuff where they can.
bleedblue1223
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I think we are going to see lines that have had pre-established chemistry. Tarasenko will be with Schwartz/Schenn or ROR/Perron. With how fast they have to get going, I don't think they can take a risk on developing new chemistry on the fly. It would essentially have to come naturally in a game if players are shifted around, not a planned thing from the start.
Celtic Note
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I am sure they can still do a lot of body weight exercises and find stuff around the house to lift. It’s certainly not going to be the same as going to a fully stocked gym, but I bet they can maintain a reasonable level of strength
bleedblue1223
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Right, and I'd imagine most are in the same situation, so if losing strength is an actual issue, it'll be league-wide, so not really a disadvantage. It'll be interesting see what the play is like when they get back.
Brockon
Cautiously optimistic realist when caffeinated.
I'd take that a step further - I'd hazard a guess that only players on their 3rd contracts have decent home gyms.
So superstars getting mega deals off their ELCs or vet stars like Kane, Bergeron, Seguin with significant investments into their homes and making the investment to not share the gym with the general public.
I think you're going to see a fitter (or better cardio conditioned), lighter, better video coached (smarter?) player who is weaker than your average training camp attendees returning to play.
I'd suggest this lesser muscle mass is going to lead to more injuries or a less physical style of play across the league in general through the coming playoffs. I'm curious to see how it affects the more physical teams - naturally our team indentity of being gritty, physical and tenacious in puck battles is going to be one of the most affected by any such decline vs a high skill roster that isn't as gritty or physical like say Toronto.
I suspect we'll also see ramifications of this affecting the 2020-21 season given the projected shortened off-season, reducing the amount weight training done in the off-season because of the shortened length this summer, after the playoffs.
bleedblue1223
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Home gyms aren't that expensive, it's not like they need a fully decked out profession gym, but even then the equipment for quality cardio, strength, core work, etc. would only cost a few thousand. People with regular jobs can get that stuff. My take is that many of them figured it wasn't worth an investment of space at their house since they all have access to professional gyms and trainers, so in-home gyms just aren't necessary. Some like Perron genuinely like working out, so it makes sense that he'd get stuff.
My guess is we'll see an adjustment period with timing, we'll see more bouncing pucks, etc., until players get that rust off. Teams/players that can get that rust off faster will have a huge advantage.
Brian39
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Another reason these guys don't have home gyms is because pretty big percentage of guys on 1st/2nd contracts live in luxury apartments/condos.
A guy I went to law school with lives in the same building as about half of the Colorado Avalanche. It is a beautiful building that has an amazing gym in the basement, eliminating the need to build a home gym inside the apartment. And that gym has been closed since mid-March. Like you said, they all had the money to buy the gym equipment, but it just isn't a priority when your building has an amazing gym in the basement and your employer has world class training facilities.
Bobby Orrtuzzo
Ya know
Brian39
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My thought is that a reduction in overall strength league-wide would help the more physical teams. Our physical style isn't the result of being huge, strong guys. It is about playing within the system and a coach rewarding guys who finish their checks. Blais, Barby, Schenn, Sanford, DLR, MacMac, Perron, Schwartz, and Sunny are the 9 Blues forwards with 60+ hits this season. That's not a huge group. Barby, Schenn, Sunny and Blais were the 4 forwards with 70+ hits in the playoffs.
Our style of physicality is that we have an incredibly tenacious forecheck. It is much less about big bruising hits than it is about getting to puck carriers quickly and a commitment to finishing checks when we get there.
Frankly, I think lesser muscle-mass league wide is going to benefit our style. Our style is about wearing teams down, not hurting a guy with one bone crushing hit. Let's say everyone is down 10 lbs in muscle mass. I think the increased susceptibility to injuries outweighs the loss of force delivered by our hits. If the result of this is that teams want to play a more skilled style, then that is great for us. Try and play that style. We are going to hammer you when you don't want to get hit.
Brockon
Cautiously optimistic realist when caffeinated.
I'd be very happy if you are right, as it would give us an edge against COL should that match up happen (which I believe is likely).
I'm theorizing and the wording could easily have been much better. I'm curious to see how the potentially lost muscle mass affects the ability of our forecheck to win puck battles or tie guys up allowing for reinforcements to arrive or line changes to occur.
Brian39
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Credit where credit is due: I think the NHL is actually handling this pretty damn well. I'm not in love with the 24 team format, but the "phases" seem appropriate under the current climate and I think it was 100% the correct decision not to set dates for the next phase.
Differing local policies complicate all of this, but I think the NHL's phase 2 is a pretty solid plan. A lot of guys are going to have to do a 14 day self-quarantine when they get in town if they left their team's city, but that would still get them on the ice at least 3 weeks before the earliest possible date "training camps" will open. For guys who stayed in town (or who can get back in town without using commercial transportation), they can start getting on the ice and in the team gyms about a month before "training camp" begins. This is uncharted territory and the lack of gym access for the last 2+ months means that some guys are out of game shape. But having 6+ weeks to get back into game shape should allow a lot of that muscle mass and fast twitch muscle to get "rebuilt." When you factor in all of the nagging injuries that were given time to heal, I think it is reasonable to suggest that the players as a whole will be in better shape than they normally are entering the playoffs.
As all this relates to the Blues, it seems like a decent chunk of our team stayed in St. Louis instead of returning to their home towns, so we should get a number of guys on the ice and in the gym when phase 2 begins. Most importantly (IMO), Binner stayed in town, so he should be able to get a month of ice time in before training camp in order to shake off the rust. Missouri and St. Louis appear to comfortable with less restrictive regulations than Canada and some other US NHL cities. On top of that, our status as true contenders means that every member of the team knew that we would be part of any resumption of play. Given our leadership group and the desire to defend the Cup, I'd wager that our players took training more seriously (or at least as seriously) than a good chunk of teams. Taking all this together, I think we are in pretty good shape to be among the most prepared teams if/when we see a resumption in play.
Differing local policies complicate all of this, but I think the NHL's phase 2 is a pretty solid plan. A lot of guys are going to have to do a 14 day self-quarantine when they get in town if they left their team's city, but that would still get them on the ice at least 3 weeks before the earliest possible date "training camps" will open. For guys who stayed in town (or who can get back in town without using commercial transportation), they can start getting on the ice and in the team gyms about a month before "training camp" begins. This is uncharted territory and the lack of gym access for the last 2+ months means that some guys are out of game shape. But having 6+ weeks to get back into game shape should allow a lot of that muscle mass and fast twitch muscle to get "rebuilt." When you factor in all of the nagging injuries that were given time to heal, I think it is reasonable to suggest that the players as a whole will be in better shape than they normally are entering the playoffs.
As all this relates to the Blues, it seems like a decent chunk of our team stayed in St. Louis instead of returning to their home towns, so we should get a number of guys on the ice and in the gym when phase 2 begins. Most importantly (IMO), Binner stayed in town, so he should be able to get a month of ice time in before training camp in order to shake off the rust. Missouri and St. Louis appear to comfortable with less restrictive regulations than Canada and some other US NHL cities. On top of that, our status as true contenders means that every member of the team knew that we would be part of any resumption of play. Given our leadership group and the desire to defend the Cup, I'd wager that our players took training more seriously (or at least as seriously) than a good chunk of teams. Taking all this together, I think we are in pretty good shape to be among the most prepared teams if/when we see a resumption in play.
AjaxManifesto
Pro sports is becoming predictable and boring
Watching Game 7 on NHL website.
3 minutes left 4-0 Blues.
Heart still pounding to this day when I watch this game.
3 minutes left 4-0 Blues.
Heart still pounding to this day when I watch this game.
Bobby Orrtuzzo
Ya know
bleedblue1223
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Reminds me of the Blues bringing Thorburn up for the playoffs, so he could have NHL health insurance for his child diagnosed with autism. 1st class move and how tight the guys are is cool to see.
Yeah, that was really classy. I also really liked that he was involved in both the on and off ice celebrations. Chris seems like a really cool guy.
Wasn't Thorburn like 3rd or 4th who get raise Cup?
No 3rd.
Oh my god it still feels surreal.
No 3rd.
Oh my god it still feels surreal.
CaliforniaBlues310
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I agree with this. I’m totally fine going with the lineup below, as we win with our depth, and not necessarily stacking up lines.
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Blais-O’Reilly-Perron
Sanford-Thomas-Bozak
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen
Kyrou, MacEachern
Faulk-Pietrangelo
Scandella-Parayko
Dunn-Bortuzzo
Gunnarsson
These could very well be the greatest playoffs ever played in the history of the league. Expanded field. Healthy/rested rosters. Best of the best, at their best. It will be weird watching it play out, likely without fans. But the quality of the games should be terrific, so long as the ice is able to withstand July and August games in what will in all likelihood be the hottest months of the hottest year in recorded history. For that reason alone, this seems like a huge undertaking to try to pull off. But so long as the stadiums/(rec-plexs) are empty, the buildings shouldn't heat up and melt the ice quite as quickly as they ordinarily would.
Brian39
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I'm hopeful that you are right, but I think it is unlikely that players are at their best for the first several weeks of the tournament. October hockey is almost always sloppy league-wide, with goaltending being the sloppiest position on the ice. I think we are going to see noticeably more sloppy play than normal October play because players have been less able to skate/workout over the break and we aren't going to have as many "preseason" games (if any) as usual. We are looking at a break pretty similar in length to a normal offseason, so rust is going to be very real.
I'm extremely excited for the possibility of hockey returning and I think this 24 team format is going to be incredibly fun to watch. Sloppy hockey is fun hockey (until it hurts your team) and whether it is truly fair or not, having eight best-of-5 series to watch and then another eight series like your normal round 1 is going to be incredibly exciting. I want to be clear that I'm not trying to say I won't enjoy this format, but I don't think we will see guys at their best until we are down to 8 teams.
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