Join Blues beat writer Jim Thomas for his live chat at 1 p.m. Wednesday
Get your questions ready and join in at 1 p.m. Wednesday for our weekly Blues chat.
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A lot of times, D-men hold back because they're conscious - and wary - of the other team's speed. So that could've been the case against the Rangers and even New Jersey. But it does seem like the D in general has been a little conservative when it comes to joning the play. -
The lack of cohesion, and seemingly heart to a degree, looks like it may have overshadowed original concerns about Defensive lapses, bad passing, and shot selection. Those things seem like they can be corrected, but the former would point to coaching. Is that incorrect? If so, why would you say the Blues seem so dispassionate and are flailing?
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I'm not sure how to answer this because the dropoff in just about every area is what makes this so puzzling. Ten days ago, we were talknig about how the Blues were checking all the boxes and there were sunny skies everywhere. Now it's all turned sour, at. least for a few games. Passing and shot selection have come and gone, but have mostly been good. You don't average 3 1/2 goals per game otherwise The defensive lapses have cropped up more often, but still you've had a defense ranked in the top 10 all year in terms of goals allowed. So I'm really not sure how to explain it.
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Hi Mr. Thomas,
The Blues aren't mired in a losing streak, they're executing a plan! They want to avoid Colorado early in the playoffs, so they lose to bad teams and sink to fifth in the Central. Then when the playoffs start, they switch over to the "easier" Pacific Division and march right into the Conference Final. It's all mapped out and they're pulling it off perfectly. Of course, if they keep pulling it off so perfectly, they could avoid everyone in the playoffs by missing out entirely.
Oh nothing like a little turbulence to bring the snark out in me. I hope they get back to playing good hockey soon! -
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I was at the game last night...wow, that was painful. can we get the blues to go north...stop going backwards with the puck, unless you are parked behind the opponents goal? so many giveaways.
I know the cap math is hard, but Giordano would be welcome at this point. it looks like the room needs a respected voice, with some sandpaper in it...... -
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Hi Jim. I know Armstrong is a wizard at pulling a deal together. Right now there does not seem to be a game-changing defenseman out there. I personally would stump for going all in on Giroux. Barbashev should be your 4th line center. Pair him with Neal and Toropchenko, and add Giroux to the O'Reilly line. The second and third lines would consist of Thomas and Schenn down the middle, Kyrou, Saad, Buchnevich, and Tarasenko. Sunny is not coming back and Bozak has played one year too many. Brown, Kostin, MacEachern are just guys. If you have to trade Tarasenko in the offseason, then you can sign Giroux. Your thoughts?
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With the Blues PP struggling, has the team become too predictable when in the offensive zone? Blues love to take shots from the slot, and will often force passes through that area trying to hit the open guy instead of just taking the shot. The Islanders and Devils both seemed to make a concerted effort to shut down this area of the ice and the Blues struggled to generate much offensive pressure as a result. What say you JT, is the Blues' offensive a little too predictable or is the team just in a slump scoring goals?
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You could be right here. If not predictable, the PP certainly seems a little too deliberate, and a little too hesitant to simply put the puck on net. Sometimes you have to work to get to the middle and/or the front of the net. And that just doesn't seem to be happening enough right now.
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Thanks for the sports chats JT. Love the Blues and respect Berube but, boy, when I hear about getting the "mojo back" from the coach, I get memories of Mike Martz promising we'd "fix" things on that post-championship Rams team that was starting to show a lot of leaks. What do you think? Are the Blues leaking too much now to be a serious contender at this point?
And on a side note and with all due respect, there is no reason for anyone to ask about the "insurrection" of a bunch of unarmed souvenir-toting knuckleheads on January 6, 2021. It is nothing like what is happening in the Ukraine and, again with all due respect, kind of insulting to the many people who have lost their lives in the Ukraine. -
Rght now, at this very moment, the Blues are leaking way too much to be a serious contender. But things can change, and change quickly.As for the "souvenir-toting knucklheads," tell that to the families of the deceased police officers.And obviously, what's happening in the Ukraine is horrific. But in the U.S., the beacon of democracy, you had an attempted coup.
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More often than not, when Armstrong goes with a move - he goes big. But a No. 4-5 D-man and a fourth line addition does make sense. With Sundqvist - and he skated today at the optional - I don't think you can count on him to play in every game the rest of the way, especially with the compressed schedule.
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Greetings Jim:
I will never doubt Doug Armstrong’s ability to make an impact deal to help the Blues. However, considering the teams’ inconsistent play, salary cap situation, and seemingly modest selection of players available, I’d be content if no major move is made.
Would you be surprised if DA holds off and no major move was made?
Or does the recent skid force his hand? -
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Mr. Thomas,
Between you, me, and the moderator, I think the differing reaction from fans regarding the Ukraine invasion and the insurrection is that there are too many people in MO who want to characterize the failed coup of January 6 as a "peaceful protest" or a "normal tourist visit."
I appreciate you pointing out the disparity. -
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Seems like time for a Nathan Walker call up. I know he only gives you a burst over a few games, but use him for the intensity, maybe limited minutes in the top 9 or even 4th line, but the Blues need more urgency. I wouldn’t mine seeing the occasional 3rd line Brown appearance with a 4th line Walker recall.
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First off, let me say this: If you could tell me that Scandella could play like he did when he came in for Bouwmeester late in the 2019-20 season, or like he did at the start of the season, I'd be satisfied there. But iif you're going for a stay at home D and a fourth-liner, you're talkinig about cheaper labor. And maybe there's a way to maneuver the cap. (Like putting Sundqvist on LTIR until the playoffs.) As to what you have to give up I don't know how enticing a Walman or Kostin would be for other teams. I don't think you want to giive up a Neighbours for a defeseman. Or even a Bolduc, who has really come on since the Quebec League returned from a COVID pause in February.
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You're right. Not in itself. But it is an area that could be improved, and every little bit helps. Right? And I bring up Clutterbuck, just because it's a name I have heard speculated about. I haven't seen him enough to know if he would help. As for Barbashev, yeah, I guess he should be in the top niine. But he has only two goals in his last 17 games. Is what we saw from him in the first half of the season really who he is? And I'm not suggesting any 4th-line duty for him necessarily would be permanent.
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For all the concern over defense and goal tending, the Blues have played a lot of lower scoring games well into the third with the vaunted offensive forwards. Even during the stretch of good games a week ago many of those were low scoring games until well into the third when maybe the extra goal plus an empty net goal made the outcome look better, ie 4-1. Still seems at times that what Chief, ROR and some others are trying to do is not what many in the team are trying to do.
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Third period goals count just as much as first period goals. And the Blues have been impressively consistent scoring three, four goals a game most nights. I don't think Berube has any issue with speed and skill. Just make sure you're being responsible defensively, win puck battles. And if a play isn't there, just dump it in. Because a play's not always goingi to be there.
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The special teams usually makes the difference and the Blues have not been special in this last little spiral. The goalie has to be the best player on PK and the PP looks stale w limited attempts. Maybe Saad? More traffic and shots and dirty goals? Something else you've seen?
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I'd like to see Saad more full-time on the power play, instead of rotating with Barbashev. The PK occasionally seems to fall into lulls where they're too passive lately. One other thing related to the PK. This is the Blues' worst faceoff team in years. They're not even at 50 percent (49.3%) You win faceoffs on the PK, you're going to kill time.
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Mr. Thomas,
I think overall team defense has been a bigger problem than individual play in goal. I also think the Blues playoff plan (barring injury or other catastrophe) is #50 in goal. If a significant upgrade on D was available for trade, and Husso was part of the asking price, would the Blues consider it, or would they feel it's too risky to count on Lindgren as a backup? -
I agree on your first point. Overall team defense has been a bigger problem than goaltending, even with Binnington's slump. That's an interesting question in terms of trading Husso and rolling the dice with Lindgren. (But remember, Lindgren's a pending UFA as well. And I think Hofer needs a little more seasoning in the AHL>)
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A pushback to your response about the Ukraine situation and our Russian players. They all have family in Russia, and no one knows where this is heading. You blow it off like it’s an irrational point. As serious as Jan. 6 was, it didn’t have the potential for World War III or draconian repression of family members of Blues players. You are missing or refusing to pursue an angle.
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Well, I'll push right back. Why should Tarasenko, Buchnevich, Barbashev be asked to speak for Putin, or 144 million Russians? None of them has openly promoted or campaigned for Putin like say, an Ovechkin. And if the players' families are facing Draconian measure if the players speak out or even the family members speak out, why in the world would they want to talk about this. That's ridiculous, Should I have asked them (had I been on the hockey beat then) about Russia invading Crimea, or Russia intervening in Syria. Should I have asked Krug and Faulk about the U.S. pulling out of Afghanistan and abandoning the young women of that country? Had there been NHL players in the Olympics, should I have asked about the Chinese treatment of the uyghurs? Why this issue? Why now? And where do you draw the line?
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I remember a moment as a youth player where I made a bad pass in the defensive zone that led to a goal. As I was skating to the bench, the ref whispered to me: Never make a backhand pass in your own zone. That always stuck with me. NHL players have the ability to make plays most of us old beer leaguers can only dream of, so its not a good comparison, but the Blues have been making a lot of ill advised backhand passes lately. That has to drive Berube nuts on some level.
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