They need to get the puck through the neutral zone with speed. Jared Bednar thought his guys quit moving away from the puck and quit skating with the puck. They will look at why things clogged up and devise ways to unclog them.
Like Colorado coach Jared Bednar said, the Blues got better and the Avalanche got worse. That was a blanket assessment for both teams. It was impressive to see a team improve that much from game-to-game. And the "Lanche had to be stunned by their struggle.
They were pretty close into total usage in that game, with Barbashev getting two more minutes of 5-on-5 play and a minute on the penalty kill. The way Berube shuffles his lines, the fourth line because a third line when one of the top wingers drops down to it. Berube essentially gave Toropchenko third-line minutes, minus special teams. His star is rising.
Are you related to Jake Woodford? Don't worry man, the kid will be back in the big leagues. This team has a rotation need. If Woodford pitches well in Memphis he will get his chance. If he was somehow traumatized by his perceived slight from Marmol, that does not bode well for his career.
Ultimately the front office decides who is one the roster. If Gorman hits, he is likely to stay and somebody who is not hitting will be gone. DeJong is off to a 4-for-24 start in Memphis, so he's not coming back any time soon.
Matthew Liberatore got a lot of hype because he was a highly touted prospect early on for Tampa Bay and he was traded for Randy Arozarena. What happened is he has been less-than-dominant in the minors. As for left field, I'm guessing that becomes Jordan Walker's future if Tyler O'Neill doesn't secure that job for the long haul.
Klim Kostin needs to get the most out of his own ability. That hasn't happened here, so maybe he will need a chance elsewhere. Don't blame Craig Berube for this.
They will use a five-man rotation unless special circumstances like rainouts and doubleheaders arise.
I also own Ryan Helsley on a few teams, but that's not why I agree. The Cardinals rode Giovanny Gallegos hard and maybe that has taken a toll.
Well, we'll see, won't we? Such decisions typically come out of day-to-day group discussions.
Like last season, the makeup of the bench figures to be fluid -- especially with the team possessing so many front-burner hitters. They lacked this depth last season.
I expect the teams to reel it in and actually check this game. Now, the over-under on Brady Tkachuk beer consumption might be 12 . . .
Well, they will try, They have the blue print and they followed it once. The big question is, how will the Avalanche respond to such a poor outing? Can they sustain their pushback? The Blues can win this series if they can frustrate the Avalanche. But that is such a big if. I can't predict that because I was stunned by Game 2's lopsided nature.
Not necessarily. If both Juan Yepez and Nolan Gorman pound the ball and Dylan Carlson takes a big step, this offense will have some depth. But that is asking a lot. This team needs Tyler O'Neill to hit.
He's from Manitoba and he could kill it with the Jets. The Blues would hate to see him there with Connor Hellebuyck playing behind a great defensive system.
Sure, Expect big changes next year to speed the pace of game. And people keep saying the TV money is going away, but all of these streaming services are fighting over programming. That Golden Goose is getting huge.
How good would this team be without Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Tyler O'Neill, Miles Mikolas, Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera and Juan Yepez? Not very
That, or the field staff could just tell him to work faster.
Pete Alonso would be the winning run in that scenario, so he means something.
That timetable seems ambitious. Let's see if he makes the jump to Double-A for the second half of this season and let's see how that goes. He skill set is really something, but it still has to translate against real pitching.
The owners have dodged The Reaper decade after decade. Every time it looks like baseball will hit the revenue wall and got splat!, something comes along. Games on Facebook! Legalized gambling! Man, it's always something.
He is never going to be Scott Stevens, killing people with body checks. If he can be Jay Bouwmeester -- unfailingly strong on the puck -- that would be great.
