DL44 Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 Discuss... I'm thinking the Blues have to go thru their learning curve still. But not sure it translates to a 1st round loss or 2nd round loss... Sharks are at least playoff tested despite their stumbling bumbling regular season. Grizzled playoff vets vs youth and enthusiasm... Size vs size. Stylistically as different as it gets.. Blues stubbed their toe down the stretch to fumble the President's Trophy and 1st seed away... could be an indicator of their inexperience. But Hitch has probably turned that into another lesson learned for the Blues squad and they may just not look back... I'm on the fence since i want to see what the hell the Sharks decide to bring to the table... If i had to guess now... Blues in 6 based on the Kings being able to limit the Sharks chances so well... till it mattered. So that's the question for me... what extra gear do the Blues have, and is it higher than the Sharks who we all know have a couple extra they can still reach for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjohnnycanuck Posted April 8, 2012 Report Share Posted April 8, 2012 The Blues are just a little quicker and deeper than SJ. Blues in 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 Blues in 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
403Loyalty Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 as much as you think the blues might need to learn the playoffs, they are vastly underrated... these guys could go right to the western finals hell if i was a betting man i could see the west end up STL VS Nash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL44 Posted April 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 yeah.. more i chew on this series, the more i think the Blues will at least get thru this one. I think they'll be able to limit the Sharks to around 10 scoring chances/gm. Their last taste of the playoffs was a sweep at the hands of the Canucks... albeit 3 yrs ago, i still think that experience still resonates with those that were around back then... 80 games of crap mediocrity from the Sharks, before pulling off 2 great wins when the pressure was off and they knew they had won a playoff spot. Well... pressure back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDeeds Posted April 9, 2012 Report Share Posted April 9, 2012 This one is close. So close it should go to game 7 and overtime or multiple overtimes. I flipped a coin and voted Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL44 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 And so it begins! Flames fan must be familiar with Havlat scoring an OT winner... What a dominating shift for that Clowe - Couture - Havlat line to finish that game.. Puck i'm loving the PVR this playoff season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_People1 Posted April 13, 2012 Report Share Posted April 13, 2012 Sharks with Havlat are a totally different team than without. Weren't they sitting comfortably in 1st in their division until Havlat was out for 20 games or whatever? I think the Blues will pull it together and win in 7 but they are new to the playoffs and new to the playoff pressure. If i had to pick one team to get upset, it would be the Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 I'll be surprised if SJ gives St Loo much of a go. I consider SJ a big team, but the Blues bigger, stronger and deeper. Don't fight them! I'm really interested in Andy McDonald's playoffs. He's been forever injured it seems like most of his career, but he is sick on speed and hands, PPG game guy easy when he's going. He might be a good story to follow. If Halak is okay, there is zero question about goal. I don't think a team in the West can beat them in a series, roster for roster. And I'm not sure about the East either. When you're sliding Langenbrunner, Sobotka, Arnott, Crombeen and Stewart around your bottom 6, you're definitely deep and tough. Backes, Oshie, Perron, Berglund, McDonald... Solid #1 & 2 dmen with solid cast. Hitchcock stepped into a heaven sent team that was heavily underrated. Likely the fastest "yes" he's ever uttered. Great roster, great coach, hard to bet against. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
403Loyalty Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 Roman Polak is a beast when he unleashes like that, +fav on him now. St Lou looks strong and talented, speed and grit. Though they should be after how many years of seasons just flushed away, good to see them finally piece it all together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geos Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Well I hope after tonight's game, all this talk about Elliot being sheltered and not being a true #1 goalie ends. The guy is a phenomenal talent, and he has come through in relief for his team in a huge way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invin Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I've tried watching a few of these, but after hearing "And that shot gets blocked! And that one!" all game as the Sharks beat their heads against the brick wall that is St. Louis in their defensive zone I either fall asleep or watch another game if one is on. They're effective, no denying it, but can you imagine Blues vs. Rangers in the final? I feel like it would be a small miracle for the puck to get through, and even then the only way anyone would score would be if they threw their bodies at the net and it went in off someone's apple, because the goaltenders are amazing too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geos Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 While I agree that the Blues are absurbly tight in the d-zone, they aren't that 'boring' to watch up front. The talent is pretty deep and they have a ton of high energy players, Oshie, Backes, Perron (who I've become a huge fan of in the last couple months), McDonald, Sobotka, etc.. The entire team plays to the edge the whole night, which is somethign I only wish we could see from the Flames... but anyway. I mean, when your third line is Sobotka, Arnott and Stewart and your fourth line is Langebrunner, Nichol and Crombeen, you're doing ok. It seems that the Blues really followed the Bruin's model of physical guys, no real stars but alot of 20 goal-ish type performers, throughout the lineup. Makes it difficult to really match your shutdown line against anyone. For example, if you're the Sharks, who do you put your top defensive players out again? Backes/Oshie/Perron? Probably, but then McDonald, Steen and Berglund or Arnott/Stewart are going to tear you apart. Too much talent to really lock anyone up. And that's what has happened in this series, the Sharks have effectively stopped Backes/Oshie, but McDonald has 7 points in 4 games (McDonald is one of the most underrated players in the NHL). Not that St. Louis needs to score more than two goals anyway. Every line is also a quality shut down line defensively, much as the Bruins did. Only one regular player (Scott Nichol) was a minus the entire regular season... that's depth. I still think the final is Boston versus St. Louis and it's going to be one hell of a series. Two similar styles, real old fashion physical defensive hockey. Some people that enjoy the 13 goal Pens type games might not enjoy watching the Blues, but I think people that have played or are deep fans of the game and have an appreciation for an effective system and players buying in will really enjoy following the Blues on a deep run this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 I'm on board geos. People can call it boring and call the Phil-Pit "who can kick the most field goals" exciting, but I don't. What's really funny is Hitchcock gets all the glory, but it needs to be understood he made zero roster moves, this was a way above average team needing a good coach. They turned around in a near instant. Hitch has so much to work with, but remember, all of these good/great players bought in from the hop. That impresses me the most. Hopefully, LA's next, then Nashville. LA v St. Loo would be like a Cup series for me, per all of the teams on paper. This was 1 pt from the 1st rd matchup, but I'm really happy to see both these teams hopefully beat down the top West teams of yesterday. Nashville too, Phoenix might as well join the party! Go Nashville. Let's start tonight. The wild west looks ready to move ahead of the usual suspects. Waycool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyerfan52 Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 St. L iced it in 5 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conundrumed Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 buh-bye Sharks. Falling to Flames territory. No big surprise. LA, St Loo, LA St Loo. C'mon Kings, let's do this thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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