Half-Assed GDT: Game 9/82 Blues @ Habs 6PM CST FDSNMW

[stl76]

Bolduc was flying this game. The points will come, he's been playing great for a while now IMO.

 

[Celtic Note]

Bolduc was flying this game. The points will come, he's been playing great for a while now IMO.

I suspect that getting a goal would go a long way toward building his confidence and that more would follow.

 

[Reality Czech]

I'm not sure what you're watching, but they were outshooting the Canadiens and playing hard until the buzzer. It doesn't help when the powerplay goes 0 for 3. This game is an example of the expected variability that you're going to find as a team plays through a season. There were mistakes and several low-percentage plays, but the effort level was visible. There's no question.

Well said. It's funny how some fans overreact after every single loss. There is so much parity in the NHL that any team can beat any other team on any given night. A large percentage of NHL games could easily go either way depending on how the breaks go.

This was one game where the Blues played as well if not better than the Canadiens but the bounces didn't go our way + there were a few costly mistakes. I didn't see us "playing down" to their level at all. Sometimes you just get beat. Predictable to see people bashing Schenn when it was actually the Buch Kyrou Tex line that was -2 and looked out of sync all game. By far the worst game for the Broberg Faulk pair as well but let's act like it's Schenn's fault.

 

[Majorityof1]

Well said. It's funny how some fans overreact after every single loss. There is so much parity in the NHL that any team can beat any other team on any given night. A large percentage of NHL games could easily go either way depending on how the breaks go.

This was one game where the Blues played as well if not better than the Canadiens but the bounces didn't go our way + there were a few costly mistakes. I didn't see us "playing down" to their level at all. Sometimes you just get beat. Predictable to see people bashing Schenn when it was actually the Buch Kyrou Tex line that was -2 and looked out of sync all game. By far the worst game for the Broberg Faulk pair as well but let's act like it's Schenn's fault.

I think this game for Schenn points out some of the downsides of advanced stats. Looking at just the CF% or xGF% in a vacuum, Schenn was brutal. But he didn't have a goal against when on ice and his deployment was heavily defensive. He had the Suzuki line for over 5 minutes 5v5 at 28% O-zone start rate. He had an assist and gave up zero goals. I'd call that a good game.

I know you are against advanced stats, so I wanted to show how they can show the full context when used properly. My eye test supported he played well. He's on the downside of his career but still nearer the top of the hill than. He isn't as bad as some people think yet. Anyone who calls him an issue this game isn't looking at the full picture.

 

[PocketNines]

Bolduc was flying this game. The points will come, he's been playing great for a while now IMO.

I hear what you're saying ... but will they?

 

[PocketNines]

I am not buying this variability argument. We have watched plenty of other Blues teams that would put away one of the league's bottom five teams that had gone winless in their last four games. This was absolutely a scuffle game where the opportunity to win it was there for either team for awhile. A playoff bound team is going to find ways to win its scuffle games. That's not a hockey rule that is an ironclad rule of sports and competition. Any one single individual game, sure variability. But if you look at this game the Blues played and think "yeah but that's not going to play out that way again, it'll vary our way next time," I think you are rationalizing.

 

[Brian39]

I thought we looked very much like a team without their #1 center tonight. Schenn was asked to do a ton of defensive lifting and I thought he was perfectly fine in that role. I certainly don't want that to be his everyday role, but we're probably going to see a lot of it while Thomas is out. I thought the team as a whole looked fairly disjointed/sloppy. I think we very well could have won that game based on our play, but it isn't like we dominated.

My only real takeaway/concern is that I have no clue why Binner was in net. I was a big fan of Bannister going back to him against Toronto after losing to Winnipeg, but this was our 3rd game in 5 days, all in different cities. Against a clearly-below-average opponent on the road. Unless your backup is regularly costing you points, he should be playing that game every time. Binner's play reinforced my opinion, but even if he had been good I still wouldn't have liked it. One of our roster's biggest strengths is that we have 2 quality goalies. We shouldn't be overworking our #1.

 

[Stealth JD]

Schenn is currently on pace (small sample size) for 36 points and a -27 +/-. So he is currently tracking worse than last years 46 points and -22.

Yeah. I'm curious to see how this season plays out for Schenn, but he's done nothing to disprove my belief that the decline has come and he's going to fall off hard. I'd love to see him hit 40+ points, but I'll be shocked if he actually manages to pull it off.

 

[stl76]

I hear what you're saying ... but will they?

I really think so as long as he keeps working hard and doesn’t let lack of results impact his process. Even if it takes the points a while longer to materialize, Bolduc is doing so many little things right (good decisions with the puck, responsible defensive play, etc) that I think it will be beneficial to him and the team to let him cook in the NHL.

Hope Bannister keeps that 3rd line of Joseph - Holloway - Bolduc together cause they have been effective and fun to watch IMO.

I suspect that getting a goal would go a long way toward building his confidence and that more would follow.

Agreed 100%. A little jolt of confidence may be all it takes.

 

[Brian39]

Yeah. I'm curious to see how this season plays out for Schenn, but he's done nothing to disprove my belief that the decline has come and he's going to fall off hard. I'd love to see him hit 40+ points, but I'll be shocked if he actually manages to pull it off.

I'd bet the over if you set the line at 39.5 points. Not sure I'd have done that a week ago, but he's going to get more opportunities/minutes in offensive situations while Thomas is on the shelf. He's going to stay on the top PP unit for no reason other than he is the only guy with a modicum of scoring ability who can reliably take faceoffs. Winning that opening draw is so damn important on the PP and you just can't have Buch out there going 35% at the dot on your PP.

I don't think he'll continue playing at a point per game pace the entire time Thomas is out of the lineup like he has so far, but 12-15 points in 20ish games without Thomas feels pretty reasonable.

 

[PocketNines]

Binnington started this one in some part because it was a heads up match between two possible Canada goaltenders and I can understand the coach understanding his athlete wants to compete in that situation and having inherent confidence in his athlete in that situation. Binnington just didn't perform as well as he typically does