GDT: Reviewing the Cup run - a retrospective activity

Stupendous Yappi

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Aug 23, 2018
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SCF Game 5 - at Boston

Chara’s presence in the lineup was inspirational, but I’m not sure it was the best thing for his team. They went with 11 forwards. Really sucked for Backes, but I think it also messed up the rhythm on the bench with line changes. Frankly, he wasn’t effective. He looked off balance often.

Binnington made several solid saves the first half of the first period. Boston had a few good looks.

Barbashev hit (Carlo?) up high. No call but he would be suspended next game. If I were a Bruins fan I’d have been upset it wasn’t penalized. They did get a PP off a delay of game.

Maroon with a nifty pass from behind the net to Bozak. Could have easily been a goal. A little later, Marchand looked like he had a breakaway and the crowd got loud, until Parayko simply erased the chance.

I think Boston looked like the better team the 1st period. Blues got a PP after Marchand pitchforked Binnington after the whistle. At least they didn’t give up a shortie here. I have to say, it felt lucky to get out of the period without trailing. Binnington was sharp and he needed to be.

2nd period the Blues looked like the only team that came out of the dressing room ready to play. Tarasenko with a breakaway that was stopped. Shortly later was on of the prettiest goals of the postseason. Sanford going behind the net retrieves the puck and flips it between his legs on the near side post to OReilly - forehand backhand, up and in as fast as you can say it. I’m reminded again of the critics who wanted Fabbri in instead. Third game in a row with an assist.

Schenn was very physical in this game. He tested Chara’s chin a couple times. Lots of hits involving Acciari, Krug, Carlo, Blais, Schenn and yes, Sanford. This was a heavyweight fight.

This wasn’t the Blues’ best defensive game. There were some breakdowns. Boston had decent looks from high percentage areas. But Binnington kept having the answer. I give credit to the Bruins for applying the pressure and repeatedly creating these chances.

Midpoint of the game, Bruins PP after Perron interfere with Pastrnak. At this point shots were 24-12. Things tightened up a bit as the period went along.

Sanford and OReilly showed some real chemistry in this game. But I have this sneaking suspicion that me and my dog would have looked like we had a little chemistry with OReilly with the way he was playing.

10 seconds left, Krejci blocked a Pietro shot where he outwaited Rask, got around him and put it on net.

3rd Period. Kampfer hit the crossbar from the point. A little later Steen shouldered Krejci who had bypassed the puck, interference penalty. Boston’s PP is creative and scary to watch.

Boston got 2 on 1 twice after. First time mcAvoy shot wide. Second time Krejci thought he’d gotten past a sliding Parayko, but he didn’t account for the long stick sweeping back to poke the puck away. I hadn’t detected this before, but later in the 3rd you could definitely detect some frustration with the Boston forwards with regard to Binnington having their measure.

Parayko had another shot off the inside of the post. Missed it by THAT much.

Bozak trip on Acciari. I always think it was Schenn but it was Bozak. Looking at this again, I think it was going to be both guys penalized: a trip and an embellishment. I don’t know why Acciari throws his leg like that. Either way, it looked like everyone else on the ice but Perron and Rask was playing at 1/2 speed. Krug blocks one shot but deflects it straight back to Perron who got it through Rask’s pads. 2-0 lead and a frustrated and mystified crowd. I remember Brian Burke said he’d talked to the ref and he said it want a trip. I’d love to have heard an explanation of what the ref saw. All I can say is that if rolls were reversed I’d have felt screwed.

A penalty for a high stick on Krug. Boston scores (DeBrusk) before the whistle.

Perron had a total breakaway, missed the net. It was like a 5 minute PK at this point. Marchand low-bridged Tarasenko. Because os course he did. 2 minutes left Binnington’s stick gets slashed out of his hand. Stressful moments. A puck got behind Binnington but Gunnarsson was there to sweep it away.

And mercifully time expired. The Blues were 1 game away and heading home.

Perron jumped the wall off the bench with 1 second left to play so he could grab the puck. Lol, I hadn’t noticed that before.
 

Stupendous Yappi

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Game 7 - SCF

I just can’t make notes during this game. Maybe I’ll come back later and have something to say. I find that I don’t remember now how Berube chose the rotation among Gunnarsson, Edmundson and Bertuzzo. I was surprised to see Edmundson was in for the final game.

I’ve watched this more than any other hockey game, and I continue to find new nuances every time.

This time, the neutral zone trapping really stood out to me after the Blues got their 2 goal lead.

Binnington, what can you say? Best game of his life in the biggest game of his life. He kept the team in it. I noticed in Game 5 how the Bruins were starting to show frustration and over passing a bit. I think it happened to some degree in Game 7 too.

This has been a fun activity. I just don’t feel like saying much more about Game 7. It’s all been said. The most poignant moment for me was when Perron hugged Sanford following the 4th goal and yelled, “We’re going to win!”
 

BlueDream

Registered User
Aug 30, 2011
26,166
14,937
SCF Game 5 - at Boston

Chara’s presence in the lineup was inspirational, but I’m not sure it was the best thing for his team. They went with 11 forwards. Really sucked for Backes, but I think it also messed up the rhythm on the bench with line changes. Frankly, he wasn’t effective. He looked off balance often.

Binnington made several solid saves the first half of the first period. Boston had a few good looks.

Barbashev hit (Carlo?) up high. No call but he would be suspended next game. If I were a Bruins fan I’d have been upset it wasn’t penalized. They did get a PP off a delay of game.

Maroon with a nifty pass from behind the net to Bozak. Could have easily been a goal. A little later, Marchand looked like he had a breakaway and the crowd got loud, until Parayko simply erased the chance.

I think Boston looked like the better team the 1st period. Blues got a PP after Marchand pitchforked Binnington after the whistle. At least they didn’t give up a shortie here. I have to say, it felt lucky to get out of the period without trailing. Binnington was sharp and he needed to be.

2nd period the Blues looked like the only team that came out of the dressing room ready to play. Tarasenko with a breakaway that was stopped. Shortly later was on of the prettiest goals of the postseason. Sanford going behind the net retrieves the puck and flips it between his legs on the near side post to OReilly - forehand backhand, up and in as fast as you can say it. I’m reminded again of the critics who wanted Fabbri in instead. Third game in a row with an assist.

Schenn was very physical in this game. He tested Chara’s chin a couple times. Lots of hits involving Acciari, Krug, Carlo, Blais, Schenn and yes, Sanford. This was a heavyweight fight.

This wasn’t the Blues’ best defensive game. There were some breakdowns. Boston had decent looks from high percentage areas. But Binnington kept having the answer. I give credit to the Bruins for applying the pressure and repeatedly creating these chances.

Midpoint of the game, Bruins PP after Perron interfere with Pastrnak. At this point shots were 24-12. Things tightened up a bit as the period went along.

Sanford and OReilly showed some real chemistry in this game. But I have this sneaking suspicion that me and my dog would have looked like we had a little chemistry with OReilly with the way he was playing.

10 seconds left, Krejci blocked a Pietro shot where he outwaited Rask, got around him and put it on net.

3rd Period. Kampfer hit the crossbar from the point. A little later Steen shouldered Krejci who had bypassed the puck, interference penalty. Boston’s PP is creative and scary to watch.

Boston got 2 on 1 twice after. First time mcAvoy shot wide. Second time Krejci thought he’d gotten past a sliding Parayko, but he didn’t account for the long stick sweeping back to poke the puck away. I hadn’t detected this before, but later in the 3rd you could definitely detect some frustration with the Boston forwards with regard to Binnington having their measure.

Parayko had another shot off the inside of the post. Missed it by THAT much.

Bozak trip on Acciari. I always think it was Schenn but it was Bozak. Looking at this again, I think it was going to be both guys penalized: a trip and an embellishment. I don’t know why Acciari throws his leg like that. Either way, it looked like everyone else on the ice but Perron and Rask was playing at 1/2 speed. Krug blocks one shot but deflects it straight back to Perron who got it through Rask’s pads. 2-0 lead and a frustrated and mystified crowd. I remember Brian Burke said he’d talked to the ref and he said it want a trip. I’d love to have heard an explanation of what the ref saw. All I can say is that if rolls were reversed I’d have felt screwed.

A penalty for a high stick on Krug. Boston scores (DeBrusk) before the whistle.

Perron had a total breakaway, missed the net. It was like a 5 minute PK at this point. Marchand low-bridged Tarasenko. Because os course he did. 2 minutes left Binnington’s stick gets slashed out of his hand. Stressful moments. A puck got behind Binnington but Gunnarsson was there to sweep it away.

And mercifully time expired. The Blues were 1 game away and heading home.

Perron jumped the wall off the bench with 1 second left to play so he could grab the puck. Lol, I hadn’t noticed that before.
Bolded made me lol just because of how nonchalant it is.

But it’s true, he makes it look so easy.

f***, we are so lucky to have Parayko. Such an awesome player. I mean how do you even get around someone who is 6’6 and can still outskate you? You’re just done, time to go back to the bench and try again when he’s not out there.
 

Davimir Tarablad

Registered User
Sep 16, 2015
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I mean how do you even get around someone who is 6’6 and can still outskate you?
tenor.gif

What opposing players see when Parayko is defending them
 

Stupendous Yappi

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Some thoughts after watching the totality of the 16 wins again:

- Maroon contributed a lot more than I'd realized. His size was a problem for Winnipeg and Dallas in particular, especially Dallas' defense. His slow foot speed didn't prevent him from being effective in the forecheck game. And he was able to show some chemistry with his linemates (I bet a lot of people will with Robert Thomas). He's not a trivial loss, but I think he would probably have looked even slower this year. I don't regret the Blues moving on with a younger player, but it remains to be seen that they will replace his contribution.

- Parayko elevated his level of play a lot in the post-season. He made some bad mistakes, including nearly giving Dallas the game on that failed wrap-around in 2OT by throwing it into the side of the net. But he erased more scoring chances and caused more change of possession than anyone on either team. And he was shooting without hesitation. Taking out Bishop with that rocket was no coincidence. I think he doesn't do that more because of the chance of hurting a team mate, but in the post-season he was not showing that hesitation.

- Role players were all key. Guys like Blais, Sundqvist, Steen, Barbashev. No one looked like a liability out there. I have to say, although Fabbri had a couple bright spots, he absolutely WAS a liability in comparison with the other options the team had. He could have made up for it if he was contributing more offensively. But I can't fault the choice to sub him out, and I can't see where he would displace anyone from that group now. Good luck to him, and it was fun to see him celebrating with the guys, but Fabbri didn't mesh with the playoff style that was successful.

- Binnington wasn't statistically the best goalie in the playoffs on averages. His save percentage wasn't the best. But he made every key save the team needed. And he provided a solid foundation for every bounceback effort. There were several games where the teams were very very close, and the difference in my mind was the performance in goal. Multiple games vs Winnipeg looked like that (not Game 6). Game 5 and Game 7 vs Boston. San Jose may have looked like a much better opponent if they had stronger goaltending. The only series where I felt Binnington was outplayed, was Bishop in the Dallas series. Bishop deserves a lot of credit for his performance.

- I wonder how tough it will be for refs to jump straight back into the flow of post-season intensity. I thought by and large the post-season was called well. There were a couple famous bad calls, but I didn't find myself feeling like either side was getting preferential results. And the Blues were certainly giving up the better of it on both specialty teams. If the entire post-season had been played at 5 on 5, I bet the Blues would have gotten 16 wins in less total games.

- Pietro had a little bit of nasty in him. He wasn't like that before. Its something he's learned to do, and it was necessary.

- Perron and O'Reilly have more than a casual chemistry together. I hadn't appreciated before how they should be kept together as a pair when constructing lines, but I noticed it this time. I think you could move Tarasenko between the lines with Schenn/Schwartz, O'Reilly/Perron. That's less critical. It just depends how the rest of the lines sort out.

- The Thomas we saw during the recent regular season is a better player than the rookie the Blues were fitting into the line-up. There were glimpses, but he'll contribute more this time around.
 

Meatball

2018-19 Stanley Cup Champions! :3
Jul 1, 2014
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St. Louis
Even though I was expecting some epic, Bluesy tragedy in the back of my mind, I felt it was over when Pietrangelo scored.

Schenn's goal removed any and all doubt. Binningtons save is iconic now.

Like the Cards in '11, they played the ideal Game 7/championship game, get an early lead and win comfortably.

Now that we have our one, it's much, much easier dealing with Hawks fans.

I said it a year ago, and I'll say it one more time: "To any Hawks fans reading this, that'll be enough of your no cup jokes!"

LGB forever. :heart: :blues :yo:
 

BlueDream

Registered User
Aug 30, 2011
26,166
14,937
Happy 1 year, everyone! A magical day that I will always cherish.

It’s funny, watching the videos the Blues are posting of all the things leading up to game 7 makes me more nervous now than I remember being at the time. Of course I was nervous back then too, but I was still surprisingly confident that they’d get it done.

But re-living it all today is hitting me more with that “holy shit, we were still just 1 game away from never experiencing any of this joy.” Pretty wild.
 
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BlueMed

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Jul 18, 2019
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Gotta give credit to our core group of forwards for outplaying their core guys. Boston was a team that largely thrived on a productive power play and generating scoring opportunities off the rush. When those were limited, they couldn't match us 5 on 5.

Blues-Bruins Stanley Cup Finals Even Strength Points
ROR 5 points...Bergeron 0 points
Tarasenko 4 points....Pastrnak 1 point
Schwartz 4 points...Marchand 2 points
Schenn 5 points....Krecji 2 points
Pietrangelo 6 points...McAvoy 0 points
 
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