Colorado ran up its win total despite suffering a lot of injuries. That team is loaded. But, yes, the Blues are more talented than casual fans around the league realize and this series could be quite a show.
I would hope any employee with a significant track record of success would not be demoted or written off after a few bad weeks.
Also, if there is a baseball season the John Mozeliak-built will be in the playoff race. Pretty much every time.
He made some sterling keep-ins at the blue line. He sees the ice, reads the play and makes confident passes. But he will need to get more pucks through to the front of the net with shot/passes to keep the penalty kill honest.
At my age, years of listening to loud music has already cut into my hearing. So I'm not bothered in the least. In college,, it was a constant battle of stereo come Friday afternoon in the dorm.
He is a solid seventh defenseman for sure. He moves the puck fine and he doesn't get too flustered. He isn't big or fast, but he plays within the system. That was a good fine by the pro scouts.
Yes, the struggles of other hitters made it harder to accept DeJong's sub-.200 hitting. As for expectations, I believe getting more power and a somewhat higher average from Dylan Carlson would be reasonable this season. That would be a natural part of his maturation. As for O'Neill, the hope was just for more of the same. He played at a pretty high level last year.
Trevor Story . . . ouch. Things aren't so good in Boston right now. How would Cardinals fans react to an 11-20 start and 12 games off the pace in mid-May?
Easy answer: Jim, Tom and the two Bens wrote extensively on the Blues during the playoffs. What I like to do with Tipsheet is hit topics not covered as much elsewhere on the site that day. Plus I tack on perspectives on the other playoff rounds from other writers. Just trying to round out coverage.
It's good to know that he is aggressive with the puck. That skill serves goaltenders well these days with the speed of forecheckers.
The Eastern Conference was a lot better than the Western Conference this season, so the East Coast bias was justified this time around. Also, Toronto and Edmonton's combination of high-end talent and longstanding frustration draws much of the Canadian focus. So I cut the national folks some slack.
The NHL has had to fight hard to get real TV dollars out of the various networks. The league is finally making inroads. So the NHL will do whatever its new TV partners say.
I am surprised by how much time the pitch clock has lopped off games. Maybe that needs some tweaking because, yes, you need games long enough for little Timmy to break down mom and dad to get his cotton candy.
Yeah, all the pressure is on the Avalanche, if that means something in this series. They can't afford to keep all of this talent given the almost flat salary cap.
He's done a great job, yes, but he also presided over two quick exits since the Cup run. You have to give Jon Cooper credit for his consistent success in Tampa.
I will keep honking the Edmundo Sosa horn until he proves me wrong. The next four weeks or so could be the most important in his career. This is his chance. He may not get another one if he doesn't come through.
On Twitter you can check out video of him landing badly after trying to make a catch at the wall on May 6. It's cringeworthy.
And then, suddenly, the lovefest ended.
That's what I'm here for. Maybe I need to get more snarky before getting out the door . . .
No TV network would want to cut live to an uncensored Craig Berube team address. The man works blue.
