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

[ChillWill1]

I honestly feel like i watched a different game than everyone else. Everyone is talking about how the Blues outclassed the Avs, but i didnt see that. We adjusted and neutralized Colorado's speed, but there are so many times where i feel like we are barely hanging on. There is luck on every goal, but i feel that if Kempur is 5% better, we are talking about this game totally differently. Colorado's weakness is mental. Those 2 seemingly weak goals put a lot of pressure on the foundation, and it started to show some flaws. We took advantage, and didn't let up.

It was a good road game. Im happy we won. Im just wondering where my disconnect is.

“But there are so many times where I feel like we are barely hanging on. Yes. I can see where you’re coming from but that’s gonna happen. The Avs are just that talented of a team. You just have to weather the storm against a team like that.

 

[TheDizee]

1st 40 mins they played a great road game. last 20 was kinda chaotic but a lot of that had to do with that brutal hooking call that led to a free PP goal. thats what usually happens in refalanche games when they are struggling, refs are their oxygen that fuels the fire and it leads to them getting alot of undeserved goals and wins due to it. it was nice to see the blues bend but not break and add another goal to the lead.

our special teams is winning us this series and its beautiful to see. i hope we get LOTS of PPs on home ice, i'd LOVE to see the refalanche get a taste of their own medicine.

 

[fishsandwichpatrol]

Great game. If we play like that we can take this series.

 

[Allens Five Hole]

I definitely do not agree with that call on Perron but I love the way that he addressed it in the post-game. Regardless of what he truly believes, not giving the refs any bulletin board material goes a long way IMO. I think they will appreciate that he didn't contest it and try and bury them.

It also doesn't show any cracks to the Avs either. I never played high level team sport but at the level I did play at, anytime the other team started complaining about referee/ump decisions, I knew we had them hook, line and sinker.

 

[Joshuar56]

redwings will always be my #1 hated team. it a shame they moved to the east and killed that rivalry.

Same, losing to them three straight years when we still had hull AND we had Pronger was just brutal, especially when the wings went on to win the cup it seemed like every year they beat us. Blue probably should have won a cup in that span if not for the wings. I thought 97 was our year.

 

[Joshuar56]

I love how even after game 1 all the avs fans and pundits thought the avs were still contenders. shelling a team for over 60mins straight and barely squeaking out a 1 goal game is not the mark of a contender.

Blues are a much deeper team than the avs and it showed tonight. My Blues in 6 prediction is still looking good, I expect the avs to win game 5 out of desperation.

Still, I hope all the Blues whiners that wanted Binnington waived or traded earlier this season (Dizee) remember to spit out the beak before swallowing their mouthfuls of crow.

If you think the avs aren't still contenders you're crazy, Blues still have a LONG way to go.

As for Binnington, he didn't give people much of a reason to want him on this team the way he was playing, if not for Husso the blues might have missed the playoffs. Nobody could have predicted Binnington would be this good in the playoffs, but I'm thankful that he's still on this team and he's carrying us in the playoffs.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

I honestly feel like i watched a different game than everyone else. Everyone is talking about how the Blues outclassed the Avs, but i didnt see that. We adjusted and neutralized Colorado's speed, but there are so many times where i feel like we are barely hanging on. There is luck on every goal, but i feel that if Kempur is 5% better, we are talking about this game totally differently. Colorado's weakness is mental. Those 2 seemingly weak goals put a lot of pressure on the foundation, and it started to show some flaws. We took advantage, and didn't let up.

It was a good road game. Im happy we won. Im just wondering where my disconnect is.

It's the Best team in the west and the 4th best team in the west. There's going to be stretched where we are holding on and times they are holding on. That's the way playoff hockey works between two of the best teams in the West. Everyone wants the Blues to be the most dominant team all 60 minutes of the night, but that's just not realistic.

 

[Bluesnatic27]

The result of that game was great. But truthfully, I thought that was one of the most intense games of hockey I have watched since the 2019 run. That is the kind of game you wish all hockey games are.

I said going into this series that I was excited for the entertainment value and that game is what I was hoping to see.

 

[Brian39]

I honestly feel like i watched a different game than everyone else. Everyone is talking about how the Blues outclassed the Avs, but i didnt see that. We adjusted and neutralized Colorado's speed, but there are so many times where i feel like we are barely hanging on. There is luck on every goal, but i feel that if Kempur is 5% better, we are talking about this game totally differently. Colorado's weakness is mental. Those 2 seemingly weak goals put a lot of pressure on the foundation, and it started to show some flaws. We took advantage, and didn't let up.

It was a good road game. Im happy we won. Im just wondering where my disconnect is.

I don't think that the Blues made them look like a high school team, that the series is over, that this proves the Avs aren't contenders or anything like that. The Avs are a very good team and they have 2 players who are capable of completely taking a game over. This series is far from over.

With all that said, last night we were very clearly the better team. We executed our game plan to near perfection and frustrated the hell out of the Avs.

High danger chances at 5 on 5 were 9-3 in our favor. Scoring chances at 5 on 5 were 21-13. Expected goals were 2.07-.95 in our favor. At even strength, we completely neutralized their offense and forced them to settle on a bunch of low danger shots from distance. And we did a damn good job blocking shots, moving out screens and clearing rebounds to ensure that those low danger shots weren't finding seems and turning into weird plays where Binner doesn't have a chance. Look how empty the slot and net front area is on Colorado's 5 on5 shot map:

I don't agree at all that Kuemper being just 5% better takes 2 goals off the board. I'm not even sure it takes 1 off the board. The Avs got zero high danger chances at 5 on 5 in the 3rd and half the period was played before Perron made it 3-1. Even if you want to say he allowed 2 questionable goals, he also made a number of really, really good saves. I don't see any reason to believe that Kuemper making 1 extra save changes the fact that we completely smothered the Avs all night and then even more in the 3rd period. We thoroughly controlled that game. We absolutely weren't barely hangin on. We had a handful of mistakes that led to brief chaos, but we recovered well and prevented Colorado from doing pretty much everything they wanted to do with the puck.

That team is really good at maintaining puck control. There isn't a team in the history of the sport that would be able to prevent them from holding on to the puck for extended shifts a few times a game. They are going to have shifts like that. Defending that team is about making sure those shifts stay along the perimeter and don't lead to grade A chances. We did that perfectly last night.

Again, this doesn't mean that the Avs are done, that the series is over, or anything like that. It will be exceptionally hard to maintain that level of execution every night and MacKinnon/Makar both have another gear than what they showed tonight. I expect this to be a really good series. But last night was a clinic by the Blues (just like game 1 was a clinic by the Avs).

 

[Allens Five Hole]

I don't think that the Blues made them look like a high school team, that the series is over, that this proves the Avs aren't contenders or anything like that. The Avs are a very good team and they have 2 players who are capable of completely taking a game over. This series is far from over.

With all that said, last night we were very clearly the better team. We executed our game plan to near perfection and frustrated the hell out of the Avs.

High danger chances at 5 on 5 were 9-3 in our favor. Scoring chances at 5 on 5 were 21-13. Expected goals were 2.07-.95 in our favor. At even strength, we completely neutralized their offense and forced them to settle on a bunch of low danger shots from distance. And we did a damn good job blocking shots, moving out screens and clearing rebounds to ensure that those low danger shots weren't finding seems and turning into weird plays where Binner doesn't have a chance. Look how empty the slot and net front area is on Colorado's 5 on5 shot map:

View attachment 549650

I don't agree at all that Kuemper being just 5% better takes 2 goals off the board. I'm not even sure it takes 1 off the board. The Avs got zero high danger chances at 5 on 5 in the 3rd and half the period was played before Perron made it 3-1. Even if you want to say he allowed 2 questionable goals, he also made a number of really, really good saves. I don't see any reason to believe that Kuemper making 1 extra save changes the fact that we completely smothered the Avs all night and then even more in the 3rd period. We thoroughly controlled that game. We absolutely weren't barely hangin on. We had a handful of mistakes that led to brief chaos, but we recovered well and prevented Colorado from doing pretty much everything they wanted to do with the puck.

That team is really good at maintaining puck control. There isn't a team in the history of the sport that would be able to prevent them from holding on to the puck for extended shifts a few times a game. They are going to have shifts like that. Defending that team is about making sure those shifts stay along the perimeter and don't lead to grade A chances. We did that perfectly last night.

Again, this doesn't mean that the Avs are done, that the series is over, or anything like that. It will be exceptionally hard to maintain that level of execution every night and MacKinnon/Makar both have another gear than what they showed tonight. I expect this to be a really good series. But last night was a clinic by the Blues (just like game 1 was a clinic by the Avs).

Perfect analysis of the game last night. This is exactly how I saw it as well. As fans, we tend to hyper-focus on the times where we're yelling to get the puck out and don't remember the times that we hem them in if that O zone time doesn't result in a goal.

We had one specific shift in the O-zone that I believe Panger said lasted 2:03. That is an incredible amount of pressure and although it didn't result in a goal, it just shows how dominant we were last night.

Kuemper definitely wishes he could have the 3rd goal back but that was really the only bad goal allowed. The other two were deflected shots off of defender's sticks. I can't fault him for not stopping either of those. In addition to that, he also had several key saves on ROR and Saad, particuarly the one from a shot from the point that came back off the boards straight to Saad.

 

[mk80]

I think the Blues played the way they have to if they are going to win this series. The Avs are a good enough to get their chances and even playing as good as we did, things were scary in the 3rd until Perron got his 2nd goal. But as I said the best way to defend Colorado is to go to work in their zone and make them defend. We had a lot of good shifts with pressure and cycling the puck that didn't result in a goal for, but more importantly it kept their top players defending.

I think Game 3 on Saturday the Blues are going to have their hands full with a very pissed off, and very determined Avs team. If we play as well as we did tonight in every zone then I like our chances!

Good win, we got our win on the road which was key! But we have a long way to go to get to 3 more wins in this series, but let's get halfway to series win on Saturday!

 

[Carolina Blues]

I think Game 3 on Saturday the Blues are going to have their hands full with a very pissed off, and very determined Avs team. If we play as well as we did tonight in every zone then I like our chances!

This is what I'm hoping for... a pissed off Av's bunch will start to take penalties if we can get up a goal early... I like our chances if we can get 3-4 PP.

 

[Chet Manly]

Can we just give it up again for our D-men last night?

f***ing fantastic 60. Looking at Faulk and Leddy, especially.

 

[sfvega]

This team in the playoffs before Binnington and after Binnington is night and day. You cannot understate how good he's been, but his affect on the team in front of him is far greater.

 

[Mike Liut]

Mikkola has been great. He and Toro are solidifying themselves as starters next year.

 

[Brian39]

Can we just give it up again for our D-men last night?

f***ing fantastic 60. Looking at Faulk and Leddy, especially.

Parayko played 25 minutes
Faulk played 24:05
Leddy played 22:43

The next highest was Mikkola playing 15:00 minutes. Parayko/Faulk/Leddy are doing so much for this team right now and the other 4 are thriving in the sheltered/limited usage that they are getting because of it. All 7 guys deserve a ton of credit and the staff deserves a ton of credit for duct taping a blue line together despite missing 2 regulars.

Credit where credit is due for Army: the trade for Leddy was fantastic. He has stepped up in an enormous way with Krug and Scandella out with injury. He has fit into our style perfectly and looks better defensively than I've seen him in years. We might not win this series, but the trade noticeably improved our chances. I wanted to see how Leddy looked against the Avs before fully eating crow on this trade. He has exceeded even my most optimistic expectation.

I don't think we would have been able to execute our game plan and win last night if the left side of our D was Mikkola-Rosen-Perunovich. The Leddy trade has given us a chance to overcome the Scandella/Krug injuries and is a huge reason we are coming back to STL with a tied series and proof of concept for a style that can beat the Avs. That is a major step from last year. No matter what happens from here on out, I view that trade as a good one.

 

[PocketNines]

If you think the avs aren't still contenders you're crazy, Blues still have a LONG way to go.

As for Binnington, he didn't give people much of a reason to want him on this team the way he was playing, if not for Husso the blues might have missed the playoffs. Nobody could have predicted Binnington would be this good in the playoffs, but I'm thankful that he's still on this team and he's carrying us in the playoffs.

I specifically defended the contract during the nadir, and my reasoning was that what we are seeing right now is a level he has within him, and few goalies do. I specifically said that I would take 6 shots with that kind of goalie and I used a 6-sided dice analogy.

This perspective has been forged in the fire of watching Blues goalies in the playoffs for decades. I know what Jordan Binnington has within him when he gets himself mentally set.

 

[Joshuar56]

I specifically defended the contract during the nadir, and my reasoning was that what we are seeing right now is a level he has within him, and few goalies do. I specifically said that I would take 6 shots with that kind of goalie and I used a 6-sided dice analogy.

This perspective has been forged in the fire of watching Blues goalies in the playoffs for decades. I know what Jordan Binnington has within him when he gets himself mentally set.

Then where was thatvbinnington the previous two years? You just somehow knew this was the year right?

 

[PocketNines]

Then where was thatvbinnington the previous two years? You just somehow knew this was the year right?

I'm just telling you what I said. Why are you upset that I did say these things?

Edit: here's where I said it in the middle of February when people were calling for buyouts.

 

[BlueDream]

Parayko played 25 minutes
Faulk played 24:05
Leddy played 22:43

The next highest was Mikkola playing 15:00 minutes. Parayko/Faulk/Leddy are doing so much for this team right now and the other 4 are thriving in the sheltered/limited usage that they are getting because of it. All 7 guys deserve a ton of credit and the staff deserves a ton of credit for duct taping a blue line together despite missing 2 regulars.

Credit where credit is due for Army: the trade for Leddy was fantastic. He has stepped up in an enormous way with Krug and Scandella out with injury. He has fit into our style perfectly and looks better defensively than I've seen him in years. We might not win this series, but the trade noticeably improved our chances. I wanted to see how Leddy looked against the Avs before fully eating crow on this trade. He has exceeded even my most optimistic expectation.

I don't think we would have been able to execute our game plan and win last night if the left side of our D was Mikkola-Rosen-Perunovich. The Leddy trade has given us a chance to overcome the Scandella/Krug injuries and is a huge reason we are coming back to STL with a tied series and proof of concept for a style that can beat the Avs. That is a major step from last year. No matter what happens from here on out, I view that trade as a good one.

100%, I am happy to be wrong about that trade. He's been great.

I think I underrated how big of a factor his playoff experience is, because I think that's been a big reason why he's able to fit in so well. I saw a stat somewhere that he's 3rd among active defensemen in playoff games played.

That is a huge help and must be why he always looks so calm and steady out there, no matter who he's playing against. Kaprizov, MacKinnon, etc. Doesn't matter. There's never any panic in his game. It's great to have guys like him and Saad, who have won before, to add to the guys that are left from our own Cup team. You just have a feeling they'll step up at the right times.

 

[Xerloris]

If you think the avs aren't still contenders you're crazy, Blues still have a LONG way to go.

As for Binnington, he didn't give people much of a reason to want him on this team the way he was playing, if not for Husso the blues might have missed the playoffs. Nobody could have predicted Binnington would be this good in the playoffs, but I'm thankful that he's still on this team and he's carrying us in the playoffs.

I absolutely predicted Binnington would take the starter position from Husso in the playoffs. I know it's hard to believe that someone could think something differently than you or Dizee.

Then where was thatvbinnington the previous two years? You just somehow knew this was the year right?

Where was the rest of the team both of those years? Goalie can't win by themselves and the team was 100% no shows the last 2 years as well.

 

[execwrite1]

Doug Armstrong is a frickin' genius.

Let's Go Blues!

 

[joe galiba]

my perspective -
the puck is going to a Blues player and he fumbled or flubbed it (physical errors)
Blues player sends the puck to the wrong spots on the ice or failed to manage it properly at bad spots on the ice (mental errors)
when that happens the player's teammates will either be going the wrong way or flat footed which makes you look slow
you wind up getting beat to all the loose pucks, lots of room for the other team to skate which makes it hard to defend
we did this A LOT the first game
we did not do this much the second game and suddenly we are the faster team to the loose pucks, we are in on their D pressuring them and the game looks completely different

 

[Chet Manly]

Parayko played 25 minutes
Faulk played 24:05
Leddy played 22:43

The next highest was Mikkola playing 15:00 minutes. Parayko/Faulk/Leddy are doing so much for this team right now and the other 4 are thriving in the sheltered/limited usage that they are getting because of it. All 7 guys deserve a ton of credit and the staff deserves a ton of credit for duct taping a blue line together despite missing 2 regulars.

Credit where credit is due for Army: the trade for Leddy was fantastic. He has stepped up in an enormous way with Krug and Scandella out with injury. He has fit into our style perfectly and looks better defensively than I've seen him in years. We might not win this series, but the trade noticeably improved our chances. I wanted to see how Leddy looked against the Avs before fully eating crow on this trade. He has exceeded even my most optimistic expectation.

I don't think we would have been able to execute our game plan and win last night if the left side of our D was Mikkola-Rosen-Perunovich. The Leddy trade has given us a chance to overcome the Scandella/Krug injuries and is a huge reason we are coming back to STL with a tied series and proof of concept for a style that can beat the Avs. That is a major step from last year. No matter what happens from here on out, I view that trade as a good one.

I guess I've been way too hard on parayko the last couple of years.

We keep hoping he's going to turn into something he's not. And honestly, something we don't need. We forget he spent the bulk of his career with one of the best defensive-defenseman of this century by his side. We don't need him to be Karlsson.

And I think I'm okay with that. I'll take another J-Bo with a 100+ mph slapper. A guy that plays 25+ minutes a night. And correct me if I'm wrong, A guy that plays 80 games a year.

You never noticed J-bo in big games. We're starting to not notice parayko in big games, either. And that may not be a bad thing.

 

[BAdvocate]

Way to go Blues! I hope they can give the home fans a couple of wins the next two games!