Hello again. Let's get going..
I dont think it cam. And do you want 4 high-priced D ih tye cap age?
He said after practice today that he's not doing very well, that he thought it was a high hit, and that Buchnevich probably wouldn't play Thursday.
You just won't give it up, will you?
Interesting point. I don't think you go from buyer to seller. But maybe you just stand pat. The Blues still have five games before the trade deadeline to influence any decision Armstrong makes. I always try to avoid "prisoner of the moment" judgements. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a hard time believing the team is going to remain in this funk. We'll see. And keep in mind, in a seven-game series, all you have to do is play one game above .500.
If your theory is correct, than apparetnly the entire team has been thrown off their game by the Ukraine invasion. Because who's playing well right now?
I think the situation in the Ukraine was serirous before the third period of the NY Rangers game. Some of the Russian-related questions are a little puzzling to me. I didn't have one person asking me about the well-being of American players such as Justni Faulk and Torey Krug during the Jan. 6 inssurrection. when an attempt was made to overthrow the U.S. government and overturn an election. Why is that?
Well you could be right. And Armstrong might be thinking exactly that, that something is needed to jump-start this team again. Or he might see it as a team that has hit a bump in the road, that will snap out of it and that he shouldn't over-react. He could see it as a team that spent 18 of the last 21 days on the road and might just be tired. But he might also think that he can't let this go on too much longer without trying to do something - or it will be too late.
I don't think we'll see Chuck Sideburns back this season unless somebody gets hurt. But he continues to play well in Springfield. He's 16-3-1 there this season, with a 2.31 GAA and .922 save percentage.
I think he's fine. He's out early for practice, and staying late as usual - things he probably wooldn't be doing - at least not as much if he were nursing an injury. He's never been a fast skater to begin wiith.
I have not talked to him at length since the All-Star break. Maybe the last 4 games have changed his mind, but I think he still sees this team as good enough to make a run and that the Cup window is open.
I don't see Krug leaving the second unit. Yeah he gets caught up ice every now and then. And yeah, his performance against Ottawa was not one for the highlight reel. I think his defense has been noticeably better this season. I like his feistiness. But he has taken some silly penalties lately.
I think there always has to be at least one whipping boy. I can remember when it was Bouweester, more recently Sanford, and earlier this season Parayko. Scandella has gone through stretches where he made some bad decisions in terms of puck management. And he is susceptible to being beat wide. But he also has had some some good stretches this season. When the Blues got him after Bouwmeester's cardica episode, II thik the Blues regarded him as a No. 3-5 defenseman, nothing more. He looked good skating-wise in practice earlier today; Berube said he was healthy and available to play. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in the lineup soon.
The only one that looked suspect to me was the second goal, I think it was the Josh Norris goal that trickled through him. I think both Binnington and Husso have played OK lately, but not great.
For sure. But no matter where the points come from, they've got to start stacking some up. Because whatever cushion they had has pretty much disappeared.
I don't know if he's lacking the skill set, but he has never fully adjusted to the reduced role on the fourth line. If Sundqvsit were totally healthy maybe you move him back to center. Do you consider moving Barbashev back to the fourth line, at least temporarily? It is not out of the realm of possibility that Armstrong looks for fourth-line help at the deadline - and it doesn't have to be a center. I've heard Cal Clutterbuck's name mentioned.
I'm not a big believer in analytics, in part because I'm not smart enough to full understand them. But just about every aspect of the Blues' game has dropped off lately - all at once - which makes this so surprising. The power play and the PK, strengths of the team all season have fallen off. The goaltending has leveled off. The passing has really deteriorated. How many passes did we see hit a player in the skates instead of the stick against Ottawa? The Blues certainly look like a team that isn't playing with much confidence right now. Which is puzzling to me. This should be a confident team. I think there are plenty of players willing to play Berube's "north" style. The problem at times has been meshing this style with the faster, more skilled, and in many cases, younger Blues.
As I mentioned earlier, they had been on the road for 18 of the previous 21 days prior to Monday, so I'm sure this had an impact on them being fatigured. This was the case because the league decided to rechedule the postponed games against Ottawa and Toronto and package them with a moved back game against Montreal and a moved up game vs. Philly. This led to two long road trips, basiclly back-to-back. I think their conditioning is fine.
First off, the officiail stats for takeawasys and giveaways aren't the most reliable in my opinion. They seem a little subjective. But saying that yes, Thomas' giveaways have increaded lately.. He's had at least one giveaway in 11 of the past 13 games - or since the All-Star break. Before that he went 10 of the prior 13 games without a giveaway. With Kyrou, he's credited with no giveaways in his last six games, which I find a little hard to believe. (Thus, the unpredictability of the stat.)
First off, it's hard to get power plays if you're not possessing the puck. And the Blues have not had a ton of possession time lately. But it take more than possession to get power plays. You have to be putting the opposing defense under pressure, putting them in uncomfortble spots to draw penalties. And the Blues haven't really been doing that. Kind of to your point abut the dirty goals, Berube mentioned today that the Blues have to get more net front traffic, and just more chances in the slot and in the middle of the ice.
A tough one to answer because making any kind of trade will be tough given the Blues' cap situation and the fact that roughly have the league has cap issues. If you're looking for a top four defenseman you're going to have to give up something - and not just spare parts. Do you consdier moving Tarasenko, which didn't seem like it was on the table that long ago?
Lindholm appears to be the best available LD but he’s an UFA so to give up assets you almost have to sign him to a deal like Parayko’s, Faulk’s and Krug, many years +6 mil. I can’t think of another team that has 4 relatively high priced D, can that be done with the cap w/o weakening another part of the team?