GDT: WCSF - Game 2| Blues @ Avs| 8:30, TNT|

[The Note]

Where: Ball Arena in Denver, CO
Watch: TNT
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

Avs lead 1-0


*Idk what the lines will be. Sound like they may go back to 12-6*

Saad-O'Reilly-Perron
Buchnevich-Thomas-Tarasenko
Barbashev-Schenn-Kyrou
Toropchenko-Bozak-Walker*

Leddy-Parayko
Rosen-Faulk
Mikkola-Bortuzzo
Perunovich*

Binnington

vs.



Nichushkin-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Landeskog-Kadri-Lehkonen
Burakovsky-Compher-Aube-Kubel
Helm-Sturm-O'Connor

Toews-Makar
Girad-Manson
Byram-Johnson

Kuemper

Please continue all altitude discourse (whether it matters, is real, etc.) here.

Binnington during game 1

Not quite a must win, but it's close


Go Blues ​

Click to read more...

 

[MissouriMook]

How can we be down 1-0 in the series if we do not exist?

 

[mw2noobbuster]

I'm hoping we stop the 7 defensemen nonsense, it screws up the forward chemistry too much in my opinion. I would take out Mikkola or Rosen and put in Perunovich.

 

[PocketNines]

I want to see a playoff game where Barbashev is gritty, determined and doesn't make sloppy plays in his own zone that lead to extended zone time and quality Colorado scoring chances.

 

[Brian39]

I don't think this is a must win game, but we can't get buried the way we were in game 2 last year.

Last year Binner stopped 46 shots to keep us competitive during a game 1 that saw us get outshot 49-23. The Avs scored during the first minute of game 2, outshot us 19-6 in the 1st period and tacked on a late PP goal to take a 2-0 lead into intermission. An early PP goal in the 2nd period made it 3-0 and we the rest of the game was largely a formality until Kadri's hit on Faulk cracked the door open.

We can't be chasing the game all night like that. We need a couple big stops out of Binner early and we can't be down 2+ after the 1st. I expect the Avs to put the gas pedal all the way to the floor for the 1st period. They know damn well how hard it is to come back from a multi-goal deficit in that building and they will want to send a message that nothing has changed from last season.

Whether it is a team effort to prevent that or Binner bailing us out, we need this game to be competitive for 60 minutes.

 

[BlueDream]

I don't think this is a must win game, but we can't get buried the way we were in game 2 last year.

Last year Binner stopped 46 shots to keep us competitive during a game 1 that saw us get outshot 49-23. The Avs scored during the first minute of game 2, outshot us 19-6 in the 1st period and tacked on a late PP goal to take a 2-0 lead into intermission. An early PP goal in the 2nd period made it 3-0 and we the rest of the game was largely a formality until Kadri's hit on Faulk cracked the door open.

We can't be chasing the game all night like that. We need a couple big stops out of Binner early and we can't be down 2+ after the 1st. I expect the Avs to put the gas pedal all the way to the floor for the 1st period. They know damn well how hard it is to come back from a multi-goal deficit in that building and they will want to send a message that nothing has changed from last season.

Whether it is a team effort to prevent that or Binner bailing us out, we need this game to be competitive for 60 minutes.

Agree with this.

If we look a lot better than Tuesday and at least make it a competitive game, then who knows what can happen in the 2 games in STL.

If we get dominated again, then our team will have no confidence having lost 6 straight playoff games to Colorado in pretty embarrassing fashion, and the series will be over.

 

[MissouriMook]

The game plan should be no different than it was going into Game 1. Make them play in their own end. I don't care about Corsi stats, but make sure you're not coughing up the one-and-done or none-and-done efforts in the offensive zone, especially while their best players are on the ice. Make their best players spend more time in their zone and cycle the puck around them. Fewer hopeful centering passes and more crisp, patient puck movement. More traffic in front of the net and fewer fly-bys.

 

[ChillWill1]

Just simplify the game on O and put pucks on the net plain and simple. Make their D and Darcy Kuemper work.

 

[bleedblue1223]

 

[Brian39]

Those pairings and Perunovich on the top PP unit tells me that we are going 7 D again.

I can't really come up with a group of 6 that makes sense with Perunovich in the lineup. I don't see them scratching Rosen or Mikkola and plugging Perunovich into that spot. If they were going to do that, Perunovich would have been practicing there. I don't see them scratching two of Rosen/Mikkola/Bortz to get Perunovich and Scandella in there. Scratching Mikkola and Bortz seems super risky considering how Scandella has already tried (and failed) to return to the lineup.

 

[bleedblue1223]

Those pairings and Perunovich on the top PP unit tells me that we are going 7 D again.

I can't really come up with a group of 6 that makes sense with Perunovich in the lineup. I don't see them scratching Rosen or Mikkola and plugging Perunovich into that spot. If they were going to do that, Perunovich would have been practicing there. I don't see them scratching two of Rosen/Mikkola/Bortz to get Perunovich and Scandella in there. Scratching Mikkola and Bortz seems super risky considering how Scandella has already tried (and failed) to return to the lineup.

I was thinking they'd maybe put Leddy on the PP, but they are probably wanting him for 5v5 as much as possible.

 

[shpongle falls]

I really like those line combos a lot, was hoping Chief would do something similar to those.

Blues better be ready to play tonight and hustle their asses off, we need to even the series going back to St. Louis.

 

[Brian39]

Have to be better at the dots tonight. Colorado is a top 5 faceoff team, but they shouldn't be waxing us on the dots like they did in game 1 Colorado sucks at faceoffs. They really, really shouldn't be waxing us on the dots.

ROR went 12-16
Thomas went 4-11
Barby went 1-4
Bozak went 2-0 and Schenn went 0-1

That 17-32 from the top 9 comes out to 35%. We don't have to go over 50%, but we can't be losing 2 of every 3 draws. Taking the puck away from the Avs is an issue for every team in the league and our roster isn't really constructed to excel at that task. We can't be starting without the puck that often.

The Avs in-zone offense is about tiring you out by playing keep away and then using their speed and puck skills to quickly drive the middle of the net for a scoring chance when the D either gets tired or cheats to try and make a play on the puck. They swarm, rotate and then win races to loose pucks and disrupt the 1st pass from a D man who collects a puck. The best way to defend them is by keeping the puck from them. The 2nd best way is by slowing the game down. The goalie freezing pucks. Deflecting shots/passes out of play. Clogging the neutral zone to force a weird offside. icing if you have to. Disrupt the flow of the offense, get a change, win a draw and execute your breakout. That strategy goes out the window when you are consistently losing the draw and your fresh legs are immediately hemmed in again.

We have to get this percentage to at least 50%

Edited to correct my stupidity that was pointed out by @Avsavsavsavsavs

 

[mk80]

Hopefully this was Berube with the Blues yesterday.... replace Russian and Soviet with Avs, and replace Boris Mikhailov with Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar


Let's Go Blues!

 

[Avsavsavsavsavs]

Have to be better at the dots tonight. Colorado is a top 5 faceoff team, but they shouldn't be waxing us on the dots like they did in game 1:

ROR went 12-16
Thomas went 4-11
Barby went 1-4
Bozak went 2-0 and Schenn went 0-1

That 17-32 from the top 9 comes out to 35%. We don't have to go over 50%, but we can't be losing 2 of every 3 draws. Taking the puck away from the Avs is an issue for every team in the league and our roster isn't really constructed to excel at that task. We can't be starting without the puck that often.

The Avs in-zone offense is about tiring you out by playing keep away and then using their speed and puck skills to quickly drive the middle of the net for a scoring chance when the D either gets tired or cheats to try and make a play on the puck. They swarm, rotate and then win races to loose pucks and disrupt the 1st pass from a D man who collects a puck. The best way to defend them is by keeping the puck from them. The 2nd best way is by slowing the game down. The goalie freezing pucks. Deflecting shots/passes out of play. Clogging the neutral zone to force a weird offside. icing if you have to. Disrupt the flow of the offense, get a change, win a draw and execute your breakout. That strategy goes out the window when you are consistently losing the draw and your fresh legs are immediately hemmed in again.

We have to get this percentage above 45% at minimum.

Don't mean to really interject myself into these boards but obviously curious what the other sides perspective of the games are.

The Avs are a bottom 5 faceoff team, and have been over the last 5 years. They have been truly atrocious on the faceoff circle to the point to where it's just comical some games. They went from dead last to 28th I believe with the addition of Sturm but still not great.

I think everyone on the Avs board was more surprised than anyone to see them throttle the faceoff circle last game cause that has never happened in the Mackinnon/Bednar era.

 

[Bye Bye Blueston]

We will win tonight.

 

[Chet Manly]

Hopefully this was Berube with the Blues yesterday.... replace Russian and Soviet with Avs, and replace Boris Mikhailov with Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar


Let's Go Blues!

The legs feed the wolf, boys.

The legs feed the wolf.

 

[Brian39]

Don't mean to really interject myself into these boards but obviously curious what the other sides perspective of the games are.

The Avs are a bottom 5 faceoff team, and have been over the last 5 years. They have been truly atrocious on the faceoff circle to the point to where it's just comical some games. They went from dead last to 28th I believe with the addition of Sturm but still not great.

I think everyone on the Avs board was more surprised than anyone to see them throttle the faceoff circle last game cause that has never happened in the Mackinnon/Bednar era.

lol, I looked at playoff faceoff stats when I meant to look at regular season stats. Thanks for the correction!

 

[DatDude44]

Hopefully this was Berube with the Blues yesterday.... replace Russian and Soviet with Avs, and replace Boris Mikhailov with Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar


Let's Go Blues!

I’m so motivated to go to the gym now it’s not even funny

 

[TheDizee]

need strong special teams and goaltending tonight

 

[TheDizee]

Below is a projected lineup based on the line rushes used in the morning skate.

PROJECTED LINEUP​

Forwards

Buchnevich - O'Reilly - Perron
Saad - Thomas - Kyrou
Barbashev - Schenn - Tarasenko
Toropchenko - Bozak

Defense

Leddy - Parayko
Rosen - Faulk
Mikkola - Bortuzzo
Perunovich

Goalie

Binnington

 

[Zezel’s Pretzels]

These games are so f***ing late here! Hope I can rally the strength but it will be tough. Gin and tonic in hand already may not help.

Come on boys, bring it tonight!!

 

[DatDude44]

I just wish these two teams could play each other fully healthy :/

 

[AjaxManifesto]

Sirens going off throughout STL area. Thunderstorms/Tornadoes.

Good thing we are not playing at home at 7pm.

 

[Chet Manly]

We've been under a tornado warning in STL since 4:45.

It's a nice break from the time paradox I've been living in for the last week.