Blues/Avalanche playoff series discussion

[Bye Bye Blueston]

I put the call out to @Ginger Papa already but I am once again in a wedding and cannot do a GDT for tonight, btw

How many times you getting married?

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Gonna be a tough chess match tonight. It won’t be a smash mouth dog fight.

The Avs will try to counter what we did to them in game two and look to leverage their speed, transition game, and get bodies in front of Binny.

The Blues need to get the Russians and a Thomas going in order to play more in the Avs end. The D and G need to keep playing above average in order for us to win.

 

[Reality Czech]

Gonna be a tough chess match tonight. It won’t be a smash mouth dog fight.

The Avs will try to counter what we did to them in game two and look to leverage their speed, transition game, and get bodies in front of Binny.

The Blues need to get the Russians and a Thomas going in order to play more in the Avs end. The D and G need to keep playing above average in order for us to win.

Agreed. It's stating the obvious but Game 3 will tell us a lot about the Blues chances to win this series. It will not be easy to shut down MacKinnon, Makar and company two games in a row but at least the Blues now know the recipe for success. Few if any teams make adjustments as well as we do.

We need to keep playing our "all-hands-on-deck" defense, keep the play in their offensive zone as much as possible and hope Binnington can continue his elite play. And as you said, we probably need Thomas and Tarasenko to show up on the scoresheet to win tonight.

 

[PocketNines]

MacKinnon's self and team assessment after the game was so harsh that if they can't get it going tonight then real doubt will grab that team. What will give them confidence is Binnington mortality. A true "this is why they play the games" game

 

[Ginger Papa]

I put the call out to @Ginger Papa already but I am once again in a wedding and cannot do a GDT for tonight, btw

Up late last night so I slept in a bit & just got the notification. I’ll put something together in the next few minutes.

 

[The Note]

How many times you getting married?

Just the once, hopefully! But that’s in September

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

MacKinnon's self and team assessment after the game was so harsh that if they can't get it going tonight then real doubt will grab that team. What will give them confidence is Binnington mortality. A true "this is why they play the games" game

I have (had prior to this series) real questions about MacKinnon's leadership. I know he's very demanding of his teammates and really wants to win. But I think his leadership style leads to people getting tight. Anyway, I don't think its the optimal way to get the best out of people. Contrast that with Berube's style of exuding confidence and competency. I realize a coach and a captain have different roles, but I am not that surprised MacKinnon's teams have underperformed.

This series will be interesting. If the teams are 2-2 after the first 4, I think the Blues will win the series. The longer it goes, the more I like the Blues chances. One of the hallmarks of the 2019 run was that the Blues got stronger and stronger as the series went on. Boston was the only team that was able to match that to some degree. The reason this was their pattern was based on two main ingredients, to my view:
1) Berube and his staff outcoached their counterparts.
2) The players on the team were more committed and more capable of playing a 'team' game than their counterparts. That flows from the goal out.

I'm not saying the Blues are invincible, but I think they have the right ingredients to succeed in the playoffs. I also think the Blues to a man expect to beat Colorado. Every interview I've seen has given me that impression.

 

[mk80]

Yesterday 101 ESPN was talking about how after game 1, Berube personally cut and put film together to show the team on the off day, and all the players and other coaches were impressed by his dedication to do that. So one thing about Berube is not only does he put in the work, but the players respect and likewise genuinely play hard for him in return.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Yesterday 101 ESPN was talking about how after game 1, Berube personally cut and put film together to show the team on the off day, and all the players and other coaches were impressed by his dedication to do that. So one thing about Berube is not only does he put in the work, but the players respect and likewise genuinely play hard for him in return.

But I was told he lost the room and would be fired by Christmas

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Bummer. It really felt like the Blues were on the way to winning prior to the Binnington injury. He was playing better than any other goalie in the postseason.

 

[Ridge1982]

Die, Kadri, Die

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Bummer. It really felt like the Blues were on the way to winning prior to the Binnington injury. He was playing better than any other goalie in the postseason.

Yes...and no accident by Kadri....he knows what he's doing.

Shame on the Blues for not regrouping and taking it to the Avs in terms of goals. Most frustrating are 18, 89, and 91. Zip. Nada. Nyet.

The only way we advance is if these guys get going. If they don't, we are done in 5 or 6.

 

[TheDizee]

Yes...and no accident by Kadri....he knows what he's doing.

Shame on the Blues for not regrouping and taking it to the Avs in terms of goals. Most frustrating are 18, 89, and 91. Zip. Nada. Nyet.

The only way we advance is if these guys get going. If they don't, we are done in 5 or 6.

yeah and the PP needs to produce. cant have games where it doesnt produce. Husso wasnt very good either but its understandable given the circumstances.

 

[Itsnotatrap]

I honestly thought we were going to have to weather the storm in the 1st Game 3. Obviously Binnington getting run and the L is a primary concern, but Colorado’s play in this win has me encouraged, especially the way they looked pretty puckered up until they got that early goal on Husso.

Agree with Dizee, Husso was in cold and I am not gonna hold anything against him. I believe he can make the saves. Playing the puck and helping keep us from getting pinned in….he’s not going to help there. Colorado improved that way after Kadri ran him out, but we were not overwhelmed in any sense.

I believe Berube is going to have them ready to go Game 4. It’s obviously about one inch away from must win, but if they get it, that’s putting the level of pressure on Colorado they haven’t yet shown they handle very well.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Not impressed with the Avs. I think they can be beat by the Flames, TB, or Canes.

They've got our number if lines 2, 3, and 4 can't figure out how to contribute.

 

[Ridge1982]

Apologies to mk80 and everyone else, but the Blues now have nothing else to do but to take out their main contributors. Girard was the first. Eye for an Eye.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

Apologies to mk80 and everyone else, but the Blues now have nothing else to do but to take out their main contributors. Girard was the first. Eye for an Eye.

You don’t take out innocents. That’s not who we are. Kadri, though, is fair game.

 

[Xerloris]

You don’t take out innocents. That’s not who we are. Kadri, though, is fair game.

I don't agree. Kadri targets our best player so going after him is a good trade to him. Going after Makar or Mckinnon however might actually get the point across.

 

[TheDizee]

if you want to do damage to the avs, you take out the players in the position they are weakest at.

keumper is the target. make his life hell for rest of the series!

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Apologies to mk80 and everyone else, but the Blues now have nothing else to do but to take out their main contributors. Girard was the first. Eye for an Eye.

Or, hear me out, they win the next 3 games and knock them out of the Playoffs instead of looking to injury people. The insanity of waving the White flag after every loss or injury is unsettling.

 

[Ridge1982]

Or, hear me out, they win the next 3 games and knock them out of the Playoffs instead of looking to injury people. The insanity of waving the White flag after every loss or injury is unsettling.

Not with Husso in the net. His play in the last 3 or 4 games is unsettling

Or, hear me out, they win the next 3 games and knock them out of the Playoffs instead of looking to injury people. The insanity of waving the White flag after every loss or injury is unsettling.

Not with Husso in the net. His play in the last 3 or 4 games is unsettling

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Not with Husso in the net. His play in the last 3 or 4 games is unsettling

Ok? Doesn't mean he can't right the ship. Dude had a freaking shutout 4 games ago and I'm willing to bet he wasn't mentally ready to jump into this game less than 10 minutes into the game either.

Dude literally carried us the entire season to a playoff berth while Binner was in a covid rut. And 99% of the board wanted Husso in the starters net went the playoffs started as well.

We turn on our goalies way to quick if they even show a shred of a crack in their armor.

 

[BlueOil]

blues are down their starting goalie, 2 of their top 6 defense, and could still pull it off against mighty colorado. game 4 will need to be much better, but the avs are beatable

 

[Oberyn]

The biggest difference between Husso and Binnington is their puck handling. Binnington is basically a 3rd defenseman back there when he handles the puck whereas Husso is quite reluctant to come out of his net, and when he does it usually results in him rimming the puck off the glass. The Avs are no doubt going to take advantage of this and the Blues will need to come up with a way to counteract.

It’s going to be a slog of a series for the Blues. Hopefully they don’t let Kadri go unpunished next game either. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, you don’t let him get away with injuring your goaltender especially considering his history.

 

[CraftyVeteran]

now tell me Kadri did nothing wrong. he didn't HAVE to try and make that play. He skated harder to catch up. This is BS.