Shades of 2019 from the Blues?

The Blues in your example went from worthless to one of the greatest runs ever halfway through a season.
Getting hot to end a season, maybe?
Nice thread.
 
Blues 2019 were legit and anyone saying they were a fluke I questioned if you watched them. Anyways I don’t see the similarities really. The Flames and Canucks were having playoff turtle race that it was only a matter time a team would go on a run and pass them.
 
I could see the Blue’s winning a round but that’s probably it. No one was even expecting them to make the playoffs but Montgomery has the team playing the right way. No idea why Boston let him go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: torontoblood
The 2019 Blues weren't a fluke but I don't think it's controversial to say they are on the lower end of recent cup winning teams.

This year's team doesn't have the top end, particularly on defense, that the 2019 team had.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rumrokh
The 2019 Blues weren't a fluke but I don't think it's controversial to say they are on the lower end of recent cup winning teams.

This year's team doesn't have the top end, particularly on defense, that the 2019 team had.

They are looking pretty damn good. And TBH, I don’t see many great teams around the league. In the recent weeks, the Blues have dominated Washington, Winnipeg, Dallas (5 on 5), LA, Minnesota and Colorado.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: a mangy Meowth
They are looking pretty damn good. And TBH, I don’t see many great teams around the league. In the recent weeks, the Blues have dominated Washington, Winnipeg, Dallas (5 on 5), LA, Minnesota and Colorado.
They have looked pretty good! I still don't like their blue line at all especially with no Parayko.

This year's Caps team is having a better season than the 2018 team that won the Cup and I would still say that the 2018 team had a much better roster
 
They have looked pretty good! I still don't like their blue line at all especially with no Parayko.

This year's Caps team is having a better season than the 2018 team that won the Cup and I would still say that the 2018 team had a much better roster
Parayko is already skating and seems to be primed to return earlier than expected, so it seems likely he will be playing by the time the Blues have a playoff series.

That said comments about the Blues' lack of top-end talent on defense are definitely true. The team defense is very strong right now and the Blues are getting plenty of offensive contribution from the defense as a hole. The third pairing is probably getting better results than most third pairings around the league. But they don't have the guys you'd give 3-4+ minutes more ice time than they're getting in the regular season to elevate the unit like Pietrangelo in 2019 or other #1 defensemen throughout the league, which in theory will not be ideal in the playoffs.
 
I think the major difference is that 2019 team was expected to be nasty but was awful out the gate. They were also absolutely built for playoffs. Just took them a bit to figure out how to win.

This team while hot is not the same build. Although I would not want to face them in the first round.
 
Shades of the 2019 team? No, the only thing consistent with 2019 is the firing of the coach and the goaltending getting hot at the right time. They look much more like the 2008-2009 Blues who went 27-11-7 starting January 1st after starting the season 14-20-3. Granted, this team is playing their best hockey I have seen since 2019-2020, but they don't have the manpower to do what they did in 2019; They could definitely upset someone in the 1st round. If THIS team won the cup, then I would say yea, that's a fluke, but the 2018-2019 team? Not even remotely close. The only thing that team needed was a goalie who could take on the starting role which ended up happening. Everything else was top to bottom on par or better than the best teams in the league.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pdavemoney
Nah, I don't see anyway this season ends like 2019. Tho. I am having fun, and as someone who expected us to be on the outside looking in I'm going to ride this until we get knocked out in the first couple rounds. Get the kids some playoff seasoning and look for a young RHD in the offseason.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Meatball
Even if they won their last 8 game (after having already won their previous 8 games), they'd finish with a max of 101 points, they had 99 in the 2018-19 season. They're also generally regarded as the biggest "fluke" Stanley Cup winner in at least the last 20 years. I suppose it's possible but it's not likely.

The 2018-19 Blues made their big push beginning January 23rd with an 11 game win streak through February 19th. They settled into a solid if not particularly notable 13-6-4 end to the season (30/46 possible points) and then won in the Playoffs.
Says the Hawks fan…
You prob won’t find a more defensively dominant top 3 d-core than Bowmeester-Petro-Parayko. Robert Thomas was on our 3rd line. Vince Dunn on our 3rd pair. You sound like a moron truly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spektre
I don't want to talk about or think about 2019 ever again. That was a bullshit final.

Wait until the playoffs when Monty has another panic attack and puts his lines in a blender and starts dressing ineffective injured players. They'll never win with that turd behind the bench.

The Blues physically manhandled the Bruins in that series. How was that Monty’s fault?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: PatriceBergeronFan
Even if they won their last 8 game (after having already won their previous 8 games), they'd finish with a max of 101 points, they had 99 in the 2018-19 season. They're also generally regarded as the biggest "fluke" Stanley Cup winner in at least the last 20 years. I suppose it's possible but it's not likely.

The 2018-19 Blues made their big push beginning January 23rd with an 11 game win streak through February 19th. They settled into a solid if not particularly notable 13-6-4 end to the season (30/46 possible points) and then won in the Playoffs.

2019 Blues were also a much deeper team IMO and had the benefit of a goalie playing out of his mind.

Yes, the 2025 Blues have the same goalie but Binnington was on the hot streak of his life that year.
 
Even if they won their last 8 game (after having already won their previous 8 games), they'd finish with a max of 101 points, they had 99 in the 2018-19 season. They're also generally regarded as the biggest "fluke" Stanley Cup winner in at least the last 20 years. I suppose it's possible but it's not likely.

The 2018-19 Blues made their big push beginning January 23rd with an 11 game win streak through February 19th. They settled into a solid if not particularly notable 13-6-4 end to the season (30/46 possible points) and then won in the Playoffs.
They were first in the West in 2019-2020 prior to COVID/bubble and had a 109 point season with the last hurrah from most of the contributors from 2019.

Were they able to replicate winning or making the Cup? No. But they weren’t just a team that went directly from consistently missing the POs to winning a title and then missing immediately thereafter.
 

Ad

Ad