Blues/Avalanche playoff series discussion

[MissouriMook]

I disagree that we need to go out and get a 3C. I think moving Schenn to center on the 3rd line solves that problem. If you're using Schenn on the 3rd line, it should absolutely be at center. ROR, Thomas, Schenn down the middle is a hell of a good backbone to your offense.

I don't want to unpack your entire comment and stat talking about the offseason. We have a number of very big decisions to make and I don't want to derail this playoff thread. But I responded to the 3C portion because that is an adjustment that can be made right now.

I don't think it is coincidence that when we struggle like we did last night, it is typically because Barbashev (or whoever we put in the 3C role aside from Schenn or Thomas) aren't pulling their weight. It gets us away from our identity and that's never a good thing. I also feel like putting Kyrou and Barbashev together, regardless of their roles, is trying to put a square peg in a round hole - their games just don't seem to compliment each other in any productive way.

The other thing seemingly missing from our identity lately is our forward "pairs" and floating a complimentary third player to each line. We've been at essentially full health for a while now, and I can't even begin to tell you who those "pairs" might be aside from ROR-Perron. Maybe that's something else Berube can get back to in Game 2. Personally, I think it should be:

(A)-ROR-Perron
(B)-Thomas-Kyrou
(C)-Schenn-Tarasenko

My personal preference would be to slot Saad in as (A), Buchnevich as (B) and Bozak as (C) leaving Barbashev and Toropchenko on the 4th line with either Brown or Walker. Put Barby on LW if Brown is the 12th forward and at C if it's Walker.

 

[TheDizee]

Have you actually ever exercised at altitude. It can be a dizzying experience. What you perceive as lazy and half-assing it, honestly looks like a team that is gassed at altitude chasing the puck and making it worse. That's just my assessment.

sorry i dont buy that. they came out flat and never tried to elevate their play. like i said, they packed it in but the post and avs choking on empty nets along with binners compete level somehow kept the game in striking distance. this is the problem with this team. this year they have become reliant on the PP producing for them and they are VERY selective about shots they take. If refs aint giving calls (and they likely wont since we are not a league darling team), they are in deep shit unless they play better 5on5.

one of the few bright spots last night IMO was the PK. looked VERY strong. anyways im done talking about game 1. its over with and we deserved to lose and did.

be better for game 2.

 

[TheDizee]

I don't think it is coincidence that when we struggle like we did last night, it is typically because Barbashev (or whoever we put in the 3C role aside from Schenn or Thomas) aren't pulling their weight. It gets us away from our identity and that's never a good thing. I also feel like putting Kyrou and Barbashev together, regardless of their roles, is trying to put a square peg in a round hole - their games just don't seem to compliment each other in any productive way.

The other thing seemingly missing from our identity lately is our forward "pairs" and floating a complimentary third player to each line. We've been at essentially full health for a while now, and I can't even begin to tell you who those "pairs" might be aside from ROR-Perron. Maybe that's something else Berube can get back to in Game 2. Personally, I think it should be:

(A)-ROR-Perron
(B)-Thomas-Kyrou
(C)-Schenn-Tarasenko

My personal preference would be to slot Saad in as (A), Buchnevich as (B) and Bozak as (C) leaving Barbashev and Toropchenko on the 4th line with either Brown or Walker. Put Barby on LW if Brown is the 12th forward and at C if it's Walker.

this is true, blues 3rd line needs to be the one doing some damage 5on5 in this series. schenn doesnt look the same to me though since he returned from sitting at the end of the year. we need the schenn from middle-late season to show up and start putting some pucks in the net. another game of ROR/Kyrou scoring the only goals, we need the people on the 3rd line to start producing.

 

[WeWentBlues]

Smart thing to at least consider. The altitude and amount of games that we've already been playing with 11/7 is probably having a negative impact on the forwards. And in the playoffs, if you are considering a change, you shouldn't wait too long.

Agree. Time to mix it up again. What lineup changes are we thinking? Rosen is the first one I'm sitting on the backend.

Could be a couple different options on the table.
If Scandella is ready:
Scandella/Parayko Scandella/Parayko Scandella/Parayko
Leddy/Faulk Leddy/Faulk Leddy/Faulk
Mikkola/Bortuzzo Perunovich/Bortuzzo Mikkola/Perunovich

Might be crazy to sugguest Bortuzzo sit since hes such a good shot blocker and PKer. However, if the refs are going to swallow the whistles, maybe his presense isnt needed on the PK as much. Mikkola is a better skater and can play as physical in our end.

If Scandella isn't ready:
Mikkola/Parayko
Leddy/Faulk
Perunovich/Bortuzzo

Not sure which of the forwards to slot into the lineup but I would probably go with Nathan Walker. Jumble up the rest of the lines too.
Barbashev/Saad - O'Reilly - Perron
Saad/Barbashev - Schenn - Tarasenko
Buchnevich - Thomas - Kyrou
Walker - Bozak - Toropchenko

Can't help but feel like a F acquisition at the deadline would have really been a help at this juncture.
Domi, Rakell, Copp, Lehkonen, Toffoli, Giroux all moved at the deadline. However, not sure any fit cap-wise, either short or long term. Blues were linked to Rakell, Lehkonen and Giroux. The prices that some of these guys fetched, I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger either.

Also need to do a much better job of rolling all 4 lines, particularly in their building with the elevation being a factor. TOI for the 11 forwards last night:

 

[Brian39]

sorry i dont buy that. they came out flat and never tried to elevate their play. like i said, they packed it in but the post and avs choking on empty nets along with binners compete level somehow kept the game in striking distance. this is the problem with this team. this year they have become reliant on the PP producing for them and they are VERY selective about shots they take. If refs aint giving calls (and they likely wont since we are not a league darling team), they are in deep shit unless they play better 5on5.

one of the few bright spots last night IMO was the PK. looked VERY strong. anyways im done talking about game 1. its over with and we deserved to lose and did.

be better for game 2.

You don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that there is less oxygen available for your body at higher altitudes? Or you don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that a decrease in oxygen levels makes it harder for your body to perform at 100% of its capacity?

My first time in Colorado was on a hockey trip. I was gassed less than a minute into warmups. I took one lap, scratched up my crease, and then had to go into the corner and stretch for a minute because I thought I was going to pass out. Living in Colorado, I watched plenty of my in-shape friends from out of town get humbled by an easy hour-long hike at 6500 feet.

"I don't buy that a lack of oxygen makes people perform worse and it is way more likely that this team just didn't care about winning" is a nonsense take.

 

[TheDizee]

You don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that there is less oxygen available for your body at higher altitudes? Or you don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that a decrease in oxygen levels makes it harder for your body to perform at 100% of its capacity?

My first time in Colorado was on a hockey trip. I was gassed less than a minute into warmups. I took one lap, scratched up my crease, and then had to go into the corner and stretch for a minute because I thought I was going to pass out. Living in Colorado, I watched plenty of my in-shape friends from out of town get humbled by an easy hour-long hike at 6500 feet.

"I don't buy that a lack of oxygen makes people perform worse and it is way more likely that this team just didn't care about winning" is a nonsense take.

crying about altitude is something losers and whiners do.

tons of teams win in colorado and eliminate them every year. did vegas cry and whine about altitude after they dropped first 2? nope they decided to engage and took it to them instead of standing around and letting the avs have their way with em.

blues played like total losers last night, we dont need to make excuses for their loser play.

 

[Brian39]

crying about altitude is something losers and whiners do.

tons of teams win in colorado and eliminate them every year. did vegas cry and whine about altitude after they dropped first 2? nope they decided to engage and took it to them instead of standing around and letting the avs have their way with em.

blues played like total losers last night, we dont need to make excuses for their loser play.

Vegas quite literally cited the altitude when explaining the decision to play Lehner (and leave him in for 7 goals against) over Fleury in game due to their quick turnaround in between round 1 and 2. Given your definition of crying and whining, the answer to your question would be yes. And guess what, they are pro hockey players who looked better in game 2 and then they re-took control of the series in Vegas.

None of the people your talking to have counted the Blues out of the series and everyone agrees that the Blues need to play better. You're the only one crying and whining about how they just don't care. You're the loudest voice crying about the refs (which is something all winners definitely do).

 

[TheDizee]

Vegas quite literally cited the altitude when explaining the decision to play Lehner (and leave him in for 7 goals against) over Fleury in game due to their quick turnaround in between round 1 and 2. Given your definition of crying and whining, the answer to your question would be yes. And guess what, they are pro hockey players who looked better in game 2 and then they re-took control of the series in Vegas.

None of the people your talking to have counted the Blues out of the series and everyone agrees that the Blues need to play better. You're the only one crying and whining about how they just don't care. You're the loudest voice crying about the ref (which is something all winners definitely do).

i dont see anyone whining about the refs. in fact i said blues lost the game due to crappy effort. but if you are asking if the "low sticking" call was legit, the answer is NO and it was a horse shit call to make in a 2-2 game with 1 19 left.

stop making excuses for them. they had 5 days to "adjust" to the altitude. they chose to go to colorado on monday and the coach even said he had experts who said its not that big of a deal which is why they went Monday.

play better or dont and let people make excuses. either way if they play like they did last night AT HOME, you guys and your altitude excuse will look VERY VERY silly.

 

[Reality Czech]

You don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that there is less oxygen available for your body at higher altitudes? Or you don't buy the overwhelming scientific consensus that a decrease in oxygen levels makes it harder for your body to perform at 100% of its capacity?

My first time in Colorado was on a hockey trip. I was gassed less than a minute into warmups. I took one lap, scratched up my crease, and then had to go into the corner and stretch for a minute because I thought I was going to pass out. Living in Colorado, I watched plenty of my in-shape friends from out of town get humbled by an easy hour-long hike at 6500 feet.

"I don't buy that a lack of oxygen makes people perform worse and it is way more likely that this team just didn't care about winning" is a nonsense take.

Blaming the altitude for our poor game 1 performance is lame if you ask me. Fans love to think they've figured out some hot take that the Blues team, coaches and training staff didn't think of but that is rarely if ever the case. As I said before, they travel in and out of Colorado pretty often so it's not like the team is ignorant of the effects of altitude.

Let's be honest, we probably should have lost like 6-2 in game one when you consider how will Binnington played, how many posts they hit and how many times they missed the net. The Avs missed the net so often that I thought they had 10 Alex Pietrangelos on the team.

 

[BlueDream]

The altitude argument is a legitimate one.

If the Blues were even just 10% better, that game could have been a win. They likely still get outplayed, but we were one shot away from stealing it.

If this series goes the distance that could definitely be a deciding factor in it.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Altitude has a real impact, but if we arrived in Colorado earlier, I don't think that makes up the difference of what we saw last night. I think it was even reported that you need to be there multiple days earlier to see an impact.

 

[PocketNines]

Relentlessly calling a team "Refalanche" and claiming you don't see anyone whining about the refs. Leading a wave of hate against Binnington during the season then brashly and inanely picking a Blues sweep while citing goaltending being the key. It's performance art

 

[TheDizee]

Relentlessly calling a team "Refalanche" and claiming you don't see anyone whining about the refs. Leading a wave of hate against Binnington during the season then brashly and inanely picking a Blues sweep while citing goaltending being the key. It's performance art

show a post from g1 where i said the refs cost us the game last night. i wish you luck as you will have a hell of a time finding 1. certainly wont be as easy as me finding a post about you drooling about captain creampuff.

as far as binner goes, you act like i am the only one who got sick of him. LOL even Robb was agreeing with me about him and quite honestly, it wont surprise me one bit to see Husso in this series.

and the blues can still reverse sweep them

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

you guys put too much emphasis into altitude. they got dunked on last night because they half assed it. simple as that. even in the first period they played with a boring and lackluster attitude. i commented about this after the period.

0 shot in OT????? that has NOTHING to do with altitude and has EVERYTHING to do with not giving a f*** and waiting for it to be over. that is the problem with this team being so selective in shots. in OT you should be throwing the kitchen sink at the net (especially vs the avs goalie who sucks) but the blues still want to wait for the perfect play and shot to arrive.

yes the officiating stunk but that game would have been 8-2 had the avs not choked on so many free goals as they did. everyone praising binner right now is literally 5 posts away + like 3 fanned shots on empty nets from trashing him too. that second goal he let in was certainly nothing special. but he was about the only player who played last night for a full game.

robert thomas and the russians are seriously crippling this team. even kyrou is more engaged than they are and kyrou has been a inconsistent nightmare.

Please. You really think they busted their a$$e$ to beat Wild and then decided to mail it in first period? That is such a half-a$$ed theory I almost think someone hacked your account. The prophet would not be pleased.

 

[TheDizee]

Please. You really think they busted their a$$e$ to beat Wild and then decided to mail it in first period? That is such a half-a$$ed theory I almost think someone hacked your account. The prophet would not be pleased.

that was the worst effort since the carolina game and worst playoff effort ive seen since G6 vs Minny in 2015

they had no interest in outworking colorado and it showed. people can whine about the avs speed all they want, speed does not lose that many faceoffs, board battles and generate 0 OT shots. thats called getting DUNKED ON and LACK OF EFFORT.

 

[CraftyVeteran]

I dunno why everyone is so down on game 1. It took the machine, the beast, the media favorites OT to beat the Blues. I know Binner was godly but if the Blues find their legs in Colorado ( I fully believe we will clap them in STL) the big bad Avs can be beaten. The team had one day to acclimate. I don't know the logistics but that's kind of BS for whatever reason it happened. We don't have to beat them, they have to beat us. I am still not impressed.

Now if you wanna crown em, then crown their ass. But the Avs are who we THOUGHT THEY WERE. AND WE LET EM OFF THE HOOK.

 

[hullderko]

I understand not arriving in Denver ASAP -- these guys have family lives, plus you have to factor in the expense of putting an entire team up in a hotel for that long -- but yeesh, one extra day would've been nice. They looked more and more gassed as the game progressed.

Not sure I understand this - too expensive to play for the Stanley Cup? I heard Chief on the radio the other day talking about it and he said the medical staff said it wouldn't matter either way so I guess they went with that.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Still thinking odds are Avs in 5-6, but hoping for Blues in 7.

Game 1 - G hot, D so-so, O checked out --> OT loss
Game 2 - will be a crucial measure of where we are at

To win a game we need all components (G, D, and O) each playing above average or better.

I don't know why the Blues didn't take time to get ready for the altitude difference. The only thing I could think of is that they didn't think it would matter given the conditioning of the team and that they go there during the regular season and usually don't arrive until the day before or day of the game.

 

[Reality Czech]

Not sure I understand this - too expensive to play for the Stanley Cup? I heard Chief on the radio the other day talking about it and he said the medical staff said it wouldn't matter either way so I guess they went with that.

Yeah but did they consult with the altitude experts online?

 

[ChicagoBlues]

I was so excited that the Blues finished off the Wild in six cuz I assumed they would fly to Colorado the following day.

I’d scratch my head, but it fell off while shaking my head in disbelief.

 

[TK 421]

Damn altitude deniers.

 

[PJJJP]

Biggest overall disappointments for me so far are Thomas and Barbashev. They have been completely invisible for the playoffs so far. We are essentially a 1 line team right now. 2nd line has been MIA, and kyrou is the only one who has showed something on the 3rd line. Also I know the officiating wasn’t the cleanest but that’s nowhere near the reason we lost. We are simply outclassed right now at 5v5

 

[TheDizee]

Biggest overall disappointments for me so far are Thomas and Barbashev. They have been completely invisible for the playoffs so far. We are essentially a 1 line team right now. 2nd line has been MIA, and kyrou is the only one who has showed something on the 3rd line. Also I know the officiating wasn’t the cleanest but that’s nowhere near the reason we lost. We are simply outclassed right now at 5v5

 

[Chet Manly]

This is your official 12 hour warning.

Either get a GDT up, or you guys are getting my 1/16-assed thread.

 

[HighNote]

Biggest overall disappointments for me so far are Thomas and Barbashev. They have been completely invisible for the playoffs so far. We are essentially a 1 line team right now. 2nd line has been MIA, and kyrou is the only one who has showed something on the 3rd line. Also I know the officiating wasn’t the cleanest but that’s nowhere near the reason we lost. We are simply outclassed right now at 5v5

I thought Thomas looked really good in game 1 the other night. Barbashev was either invisible or downright bad for games 1-4, but he's picked it up a bit since then. He's still not playing at the level we need him at, though.