Half-Assed GDT: Game #3: Blues in SinCity - 10pm Eastern

[Mike Liut]

We have a deep and talented group of forwards.

Our defensemen are meh so far. Parakyo included.

This season is gonna be a wild ride. I'll be here for it all.

where else would you be

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

I think our D moves the puck well and adds nice offense, but I’m concerned about their defending ability. Thankfully Binny is in beast mode this year

Bingo. There’s some real nice pieces there but I don’t think it works well in the aggregate.

Nearly blew it vs a Mac/Landy-less Avs team. Gave up 4 goals vs an impotent Arizona team. Gave up 43 shots vs a Stone/Pacioretty-less Knights team.

So far three not-so-impressive performances.

I’ll give them time to come together. I know it can take 10-15 games to fall into a groove. The 3-0 start has definitely bought them some time as well.

 

[Mike Liut]

If we get this Vladdy, this is a dangerous team

 

[Majorityof1]

It’s early but a lot of national pundits looking pretty stupid right now.

How so? We beat Arizona and squeaked by two team's missing 2/3rds of their top line. Let's not plan the parade or make room for the President's trophy just yet. Its nice that we banked points on the road. The team looked good for long stretches. But it is just 3 games early in the year.

 

[SneakerPimp82]

Great game. A fun game to watch. Vegas was up for the game. Playoff intensity, even if the checking was not up to what you'd expect in the post-season.

Great game by Lehner. But better game by Binnington.

Tarasenko was playing inspired. That play where he blew by Shea Theodore to give himself a breakaway opportunity...I can't remember the last time we saw Vlad do something like that. The little cynical voice in my head said that Vlad's agent told him he'd be on national TV and it was important to have a good game to improve his trade value. But I don't really believe that. If Tarasenko is actually a fully operational Death Star on the 3rd line...pretty sweet.

Barbashev with a fantastic game. He really deserved to get the ENG. I don't know that Seattle would have taken him, but I'm pretty satisfied with losing Dunn and keeping Barbashev. I also think that Tarasenko enjoys playing with him. Ivan brought the right ingredient to that line today.

Has anyone noticed that the team speed has gone up a notch or two? This more than anything gives me confidence that they'll be able to sustain good play this season.

Definitely. The past 4-5 years when watching Vegas, Chicago, and Colorado(duh) play, it struck me how much faster they seemed to be. Colorado is still a notch above speed-wise, but that's true of Colorado when compared to the majority of the league. But this Blues team is definitely faster than league average, and every line has 1 skater who has very good if not excellent straight-line speed.

 

[Majorityof1]

My post game thoughts are pretty much the same as last time other than a complete 180 degree turn from Scandella.

Faulk- He was ok today. The stats aren't pretty but the eye test says he must be damn tired from carrying....

Krug- He continues to be bad. He had 90+% offensive deployment, and still managed to have a sub-50% FF%, sub-50% xGF%, and a even 50% CF%. He totally misplayed the 2-on-1 leading to the goal. He dropped to the ice in a spot and position that neither stopped the shooter, or the pass. So he effectually took himself out of the play. As the commentator said, every NHL player could make the pass through him laying on the ice in that spot.

Scandella - Ugl...wait, no, he played really good. Despite getting 0 o-zone face offs, he still had a ridiculous 72.6 xGF% and some dangles. This was night and day from last game. He was moving his feet, and active and engaged on defense. If he can play close to this this more consistently, then we will have a shut down pair and be in pretty good shape. Part of his good night was that we weren't on the PK for long, or particularly under fire during it.

Barby - RobThom- Vladdy - Best line of the night. Thomas was making great passes. Tarasenko looked engaged and hungry. Barbashev was digging out pucks and making good passes and some defensive plays.

Saad- ROR - Perron - This line has our two best players night in and night out. Glad Saad got a goal back to make up screwing up his coverage to allow the 2-on-1. Because other than that mistake, they were near flawless.

Boat Anchor - Schenn - Kyrou - It is no surprise that the only goal this line produced was when Neighbours was on the bench. Neighbours has no business on a scoring line. He dragged them down hard. Worst Cf%Rel, 3rd worse xGF%Rel, 2nd worse HDSF%Rel. The only one worse on any of these was Schenn because he was tied to Neighbours. Neighbours had no Fenwick events, hits or take aways. The only way you'd even know he was out there was because of a single blocked shot and because the announcers were pumping his tires for being 19. He's not lost, he just doesn't have anything resembling an NHL-level offensive skill.

Kostin - He at least hit people and created some turnovers, had 2 scoring chances, one of which was high danger. He was far better in his 10 minutes even given lesser linemates. He should be in the top 9 for Buchnevich's 2nd game out.

Binnington - Great game, but man can he give a fan heart palpitations with some of those rebounds. Good job by the team cleaning those up so they didn't bite us. Otherwise, he stood tall (figuratively, as he was in the butterfly for some of it) while being under constant fire.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Last night is why no one should have worried about how the locker room would handle Tarasenko. There are plenty of negatives you can say about Vladi, but when players step on the ice, they play for each other. Him sticking up for Schenn is proof of that.

 

[Sgt Schultz]

Take the following for what it is worth: the ramblings of a mad man who is doing this rather than paying attention to a meeting on Zoom.

Living where I do, seeing parts or all of three consecutive Blues games is unheard of. Last year, whenever I did see them I was frustrated. They look like a group of individual players rather than cohesive units.

So far this year, there have been relatively small periods of frustration, but they look faster, more aggressive, and more cohesive than I have since them since 2019.

The 6 on 5 eternity vs. Colorado had me pacing the floor, but that might have been solved by winning a couple of faceoffs and clearing the puck, or ragging time and then clearing it, or a rush on the open net. But that starts with possession that often starts with winning a faceoff.

Otherwise, yeah, it is early and a lot can happen. But starting out 3-0 on the road, 2 against what were expected to be the 2 teams to beat in the Western Conference is as good as it gets. Most impressive is that our youth looks like it is taking the next step, Binnington looks a lot more like the 2019 version than last year, Kyrou is on fire, and most everybody is solid to good in their roles.

Even though it was against the Coyotes, the 5+ minute stretch where they netted 4 goals showed me something I have not seen out of this team, even in 2019.

After 3 games (that I have seen major chunks of) they have me looking forward to the next 79.

Somebody mentioned Tank saying don't listen to the media (second hand source). Reliable or not, that is good advice these days. Especially in something like that, the media becomes more rumor-mongering to get attention than insight. If he wants out, it has not shown on the ice nor with his teammates.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Glad Tank had a good game and got some good press.

I'd still rather trade him if we could boost our D corps in doing so.

I'd keep him if he WANTS to be here and we don't come out significantly better on the D side by trading him.

I think a major factor is his sincerity in WANTING to be on STL. Even with all that gas transpired, we should give him the benefit of the doubt if his heart is still blue.

 

[Thallis]

Has anyone noticed that the team speed has gone up a notch or two? This more than anything gives me confidence that they'll be able to sustain good play this season.

This has what has stood out to me the most so far. This Blues team plays completely differently from every other one in recent memory. We seem to have switched from a heavy forecheck to a more transition & rush focused game, and it's probably for the better. Our second and third lines are much better suited for that style of game, and I don't think opponents have been ready for that kind of swap yet. It'll be interesting to see if teams start to adjust and try to hold the blue line more in the future.

 

[Halak Ness Monster]

Neighbours has no business on a scoring line. He dragged them down hard. Worst Cf%Rel, 3rd worse xGF%Rel, 2nd worse HDSF%Rel. The only one worse on any of these was Schenn because he was tied to Neighbours. Neighbours had no Fenwick events, hits or take aways. He's not lost, he just doesn't have anything resembling an NHL-level offensive skill.

Completely agree. I may be in the minority but I don’t think Neighbours should stick after 9 games. Like you said, the offensive skill isn’t there yet for the scoring line and I don’t think he has the strength for the 4th line.

He works hard but I don’t see much happening. Some positives here and there but overall the numbers haven’t been ideal.

I’m ok with him focusing on being a dominant offensive player in the WHL this season and then getting stronger in the offseason.

Neighbours will be a tremendous middle 6 forward eventually. I’m just not sure he has a role now.

Edit: I don’t know why I initially felt like this would be a controversial take. Of course he’s probably not ready for the NHL. He’s a 19 year old taken in the bottom of the 1st round. These guys usually take 3 years before they’re NHL ready.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Neighbors is impressive.

Very calm
Very smart

Doesn't spaz with the puck. Doesn't try to do too much with the puck.

 

[joe galiba]

I think Petro goes after Schenn and Tarasenko steps in


Schenn and Petro had some confrontation earlier on the shift. I think when TNT cuts to the close shot of Tarasenko celebrating, Schenn and Kyrou are going behind the goal and a couple Knights are there, as said in the PbP, some sort of contact happens probably involving Schenn and Petro goes at him. Taraenko steps in his way to defend Schenn.

I thought Schenn and Vladi hated each other

 

[Ranksu]

 

[oPlaiD]

This has what has stood out to me the most so far. This Blues team plays completely differently from every other one in recent memory. We seem to have switched from a heavy forecheck to a more transition & rush focused game, and it's probably for the better. Our second and third lines are much better suited for that style of game, and I don't think opponents have been ready for that kind of swap yet. It'll be interesting to see if teams start to adjust and try to hold the blue line more in the future.

One of my big worries since winning the Cup is that Berube has kind of ridden along on this reputation of the Blues as this physical, pounding defensive juggernaut when the young players we've developed recently do not fit that mold. Many coaches seem to try and fit the square pegs on their roster into their round holes but it seems Berube isn't caught up in that. He seems content to let our talented young players play the game that suits them, and I think that should benefit the team. I feel like one of Berube's strongest traits as a coach is likely his ability to motivate players and not necessarily tactics, and the best thing a coach like that can do is not get in the way of his player's talent.

It seems we may be in for some fun high-event hockey this season.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Take the following for what it is worth: the ramblings of a mad man who is doing this rather than paying attention to a meeting on Zoom.

Living where I do, seeing parts or all of three consecutive Blues games is unheard of. Last year, whenever I did see them I was frustrated. They look like a group of individual players rather than cohesive units.

So far this year, there have been relatively small periods of frustration, but they look faster, more aggressive, and more cohesive than I have since them since 2019.

The 6 on 5 eternity vs. Colorado had me pacing the floor, but that might have been solved by winning a couple of faceoffs and clearing the puck, or ragging time and then clearing it, or a rush on the open net. But that starts with possession that often starts with winning a faceoff.

Otherwise, yeah, it is early and a lot can happen. But starting out 3-0 on the road, 2 against what were expected to be the 2 teams to beat in the Western Conference is as good as it gets. Most impressive is that our youth looks like it is taking the next step, Binnington looks a lot more like the 2019 version than last year, Kyrou is on fire, and most everybody is solid to good in their roles.

Even though it was against the Coyotes, the 5+ minute stretch where they netted 4 goals showed me something I have not seen out of this team, even in 2019.

After 3 games (that I have seen major chunks of) they have me looking forward to the next 79.

Somebody mentioned Tank saying don't listen to the media (second hand source). Reliable or not, that is good advice these days. Especially in something like that, the media becomes more rumor-mongering to get attention than insight. If he wants out, it has not shown on the ice nor with his teammates.

Krug said that they are able to play better together now that they are actually allowed to hang out together outside of games. Covid really screwed up their chemistry last year.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

If he hits the wall, he hits the wall. Don’t see point in preemptively sending him back. He’s too good to get much out of going back.

Agreed. Keep him in the bottom-6 and let him play. 4th-line competition is what he needs right now.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Would love to know the backstory on this.

My take...Schenn is a 100% team guy (look at how he drops the gloves for his teammates). Petro and Tank have more of that Prima Dona thing going. Maybe Tank is now humbled and realizes that it's bigger than him. I hope so.

I'm with Schenn on this. Team first.

 

[BlueMed]

Would love to know the backstory on this.

My take...Schenn is a 100% team guy (look at how he drops the gloves for his teammates). Petro and Tank have more of that Prima Dona thing going. Maybe Tank is now humbled and realizes that it's bigger than him. I hope so.

I'm with Schenn on this. Team first.

Tarasenko was the first one to confront Petro if you watch the replay. Vladi may be on his own island at times, but he has shown to absolutely be a team player, and is often happier when a teammate scores than when he scores himself.

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Tarasenko was the first one to confront Petro if you watch the replay. Vladi may be on his own island at times, but he has shown to absolutely be a team player, and is often happier when a teammate scores than when he scores himself.

Then it's all good. Maybe the lesson here is to stay off social media and to get a better agent.

 

[BlueMed]

My post game thoughts are pretty much the same as last time other than a complete 180 degree turn from Scandella.

Faulk- He was ok today. The stats aren't pretty but the eye test says he must be damn tired from carrying....

Krug- He continues to be bad. He had 90+% offensive deployment, and still managed to have a sub-50% FF%, sub-50% xGF%, and a even 50% CF%. He totally misplayed the 2-on-1 leading to the goal. He dropped to the ice in a spot and position that neither stopped the shooter, or the pass. So he effectually took himself out of the play. As the commentator said, every NHL player could make the pass through him laying on the ice in that spot.

Scandella - Ugl...wait, no, he played really good. Despite getting 0 o-zone face offs, he still had a ridiculous 72.6 xGF% and some dangles. This was night and day from last game. He was moving his feet, and active and engaged on defense. If he can play close to this this more consistently, then we will have a shut down pair and be in pretty good shape. Part of his good night was that we weren't on the PK for long, or particularly under fire during it.

Barby - RobThom- Vladdy - Best line of the night. Thomas was making great passes. Tarasenko looked engaged and hungry. Barbashev was digging out pucks and making good passes and some defensive plays.

Saad- ROR - Perron - This line has our two best players night in and night out. Glad Saad got a goal back to make up screwing up his coverage to allow the 2-on-1. Because other than that mistake, they were near flawless.

Boat Anchor - Schenn - Kyrou - It is no surprise that the only goal this line produced was when Neighbours was on the bench. Neighbours has no business on a scoring line. He dragged them down hard. Worst Cf%Rel, 3rd worse xGF%Rel, 2nd worse HDSF%Rel. The only one worse on any of these was Schenn because he was tied to Neighbours. Neighbours had no Fenwick events, hits or take aways. The only way you'd even know he was out there was because of a single blocked shot and because the announcers were pumping his tires for being 19. He's not lost, he just doesn't have anything resembling an NHL-level offensive skill.

Kostin - He at least hit people and created some turnovers, had 2 scoring chances, one of which was high danger. He was far better in his 10 minutes even given lesser linemates. He should be in the top 9 for Buchnevich's 2nd game out.

Binnington - Great game, but man can he give a fan heart palpitations with some of those rebounds. Good job by the team cleaning those up so they didn't bite us. Otherwise, he stood tall (figuratively, as he was in the butterfly for some of it) while being under constant fire.

Kostin and Neighbours are sort of in opposite boats here. Kostin has NHL level skill but needs more experience developing pro puck-awareness. Neighbours has the puck-awareness already but needs to develop the skating, stickhandling, and shooting to compete in today's skilled league. I think Neighbours will round out into a Brenden Morrow type player, but he probably needs a bit more skill development.

 

[Oberyn]

I know some people are attached to the Blues of old which involved heavy forechecks, hard on pucks, and grinding along the boards, but this new high octane and speedy version of the Blues is extremely fun to watch. The Blues definitely look quicker out there and much more dangerous off the rush. It's gonna create more heart attacks for the fans, but I'll be damned if this version of the Blues isn't one of the most entertaining I've seen in a long time.

 

[Brian39]

One of my big worries since winning the Cup is that Berube has kind of ridden along on this reputation of the Blues as this physical, pounding defensive juggernaut when the young players we've developed recently do not fit that mold. Many coaches seem to try and fit the square pegs on their roster into their round holes but it seems Berube isn't caught up in that. He seems content to let our talented young players play the game that suits them, and I think that should benefit the team. I feel like one of Berube's strongest traits as a coach is likely his ability to motivate players and not necessarily tactics, and the best thing a coach like that can do is not get in the way of his player's talent.

It seems we may be in for some fun high-event hockey this season.

I couldn't agree more. A concern of mine over the last couple years has been that Army has been changing the roster construction toward speed/skill and I wasn't sure if Berube could/would have success transitioning his style to match that. I thought last year we were still trying to chase the old identity (with little success). I'm very, very encouraged by what I've seen so far. The D group isn't good enough to try and win a bunch of low event games but the forward group is good enough to win a bunch of high-event games. Through 3 games we have seen Berube keep allowing/pushing a high event style. It is going to cause some blown leads and some ugly nights for Binner's stat line. But I think it is this roster's best chance at success and I'm very pleased to see it.

I think Binner is the right kind of goalie for that style too. He's great at stopping the first shot and I think he is a better goalie against rush chances he can see than he is when pucks come from the point through traffic. I trust him to bail us out at a decent rate on end to end hockey so long as we are clearing rebounds and taking away the back door. He is at his best when he's coming out to challenge the shooter, which you are able to do on rush chances.

 

[BlueOil]

great to see the blues defense show some spine last night. hoping we can see more of that. individual concerns, but finally kept the other team at bay late in the game.

binnington was phenomenal, tarasenko was a man possessed and finally got a goal, and the blues looked like a good team for the most part

 

[Zezel’s Pretzels]

I thought Schenn and Vladi hated each other

my takeaway from this whole event is maybe Petro wasn’t super popular in that locker room after all…? He got super triggered really quickly by Schenn. So odd.