cprice12

First... Great game. I think both teams played very well. It was a playoff-like game and it was a good one. The Blues definitely showed up to play...I was wondering how they would approach this game and they brought it. Second... The reffing was pretty bad. How do they make those two calls on Steen and the overreaction call on Reaves (maybe two minutes for that, but 5 and a game?? Really?) and then not make a call on Franzen's cheap shot? If you are going to make the calls like those on the Blues, you have to make the call on Franzen. It was a dirty, cheap shot to the face that draws blood after the period is over. How does that not get called? Even the NBC guys were dumbfounded as to why there wasn't a call. It should have been a major, it was intentional and it drew blood...it wasn't an accidental high stick that drew blood. Anway... Third... Goaltending was very good. All of the goals scored were good ones. Nothing weak or "he should have had that one" type of goals. I knew Bertuzzi was going to score. I could just feel it. I can't stand him, but that was a heck of a shot. I thought the Blues had it...but Detroit did what they always seem to do against us...make a huge push late and tie it up/go ahead. Kudos to them. I want to say in 4 of the 6 games, the Blues had the lead in the 3rd four times...? Not sure...I'd have to look it up. I'd love to see the Blues and Wings in the playoffs.

In all fairness, he is the best the NHL has seen since Lemieux and/or Gretzky...and has a chance if he stays healthy to have one of the best careers ever. I can understand Detroit fans not liking him, as he is outspoken, is very good and has beaten Detroit in the finals recently...but as a Blues fan, there hasn't been anything on the ice in a Blues-Pens game to cause me to hate him.

It's up in the air. Hitchcock hasn't said. And fans are kind of split on who they think should get the nod. I don't think sharing time is a good solution in the playoffs. You can't afford to not go not go with your best every night. If it were me, I'd go with Elliott. I think he is more deserving because of how consistently good he has been all year. How do you not start a goalie who is putting up the best numbers the NHL has seen in over 50 years? Whoever starts in game #1, if they do not play well, you can almost be sure you'll see the other guy in for gmae #2.

No, actually, I said it is quite possible the Wings beat the Blues simply because the game means a lot more to them. And for some reason that thinking was attacked (even though a Wings fan said pretty much the same thing earlier in the thread), so that's when I came back with the 3-1 Blues win as a joke. Does that clear things up? Hopefully both teams play like it's a playoff game and we see some great hockey...with a 3-1 Blues victory of course.

I agree with you. You want to be playing well going into the playoffs. I'm sure they've discussed that, and I'm sure the Blues really want to win the game, and the fans really want the Blues to win this game, but on the other hand, it shouldn't shock anyone if Detroit is the better team tonight if only for the mere fact that more is at stake for them.

I have news for you my friend...the Blues have NOT played pedal to the metal every night, especially not recently. For most of the season, yes, they have been outstanding since Hitchcock took over and they deserve their spot in the standings. But those who are paying attention (ahem...me, me, me.) have seen them struggle a bit off an on over the past couple weeks and they didn't look very good at all in their last 2 games. They have also slipped from 1st overall to 3rd overall in that time. I'm not sure if it's because they are already thinking about the playoffs, or if when they got all of their guys back and healthy it changed the lineup a bit and they need to adjust, or if it's just a regular old bump in the road that they'll turn around. And I'm sure the savvy, veteran Wings team, who in the grand scheme of things, have little to prove to themselves or the league, still REALLY want home ice advantage in the first round and could quite possibly come with their "A game"...while the Blues, whom essentially have nothing to play for unless Vancouver blows their 3 pt. lead with two games left, may not have the same fire to win this game that Detroit does. I'm not sure why that perfectly plausible scenerio is so difficult for you to understand. If it makes you feel any better, I'll say the Blues win this game 3-1. You are a new NHL fan, aren't you?

Call it whatever you want. But I doubt evening up the season series is much of a concern for St. Louis right now. With where they are in the standings, why would they care that much about that? There is a slim chance the Blues can still win the conference, so I guess they do have that to play for, but that probably won't happen. The most important things for the Blues right now are to get some of the guys back from injury into playoff shape and to of course to stay healthy. Sure, it would be nice to win this game, and believe me, I love a Blues victory over the Wings whenever we can get it, and I'd love to win this game for a couple reasons...but in the end, this game has no bearing on where the Blues will finish, so it would not shock me if the Red Wings come out and take this game...however, that would still piss me off. Honestly, if the Blues come out and take it to Detroit, I'd be concerned if I were a Wings fan. Detroit SHOULD want this game a whole lot more than St. Louis. But I guess that's why they play the games.

The Blues have slipped a little in their last two games. They didn't play that well in either game. St. Louis is pretty much locked into the #2 seed in the West, so this game doesn't mean a whole lot, aside from trying to turn around their recent two game skid. Glad Elliott is in net...he currently has a 3 game shutout streak going...188 minutes straight or something like that. We'll see how this game goes since it obviously means a whole lot more to the Wings than the Blues.

Take it easy? Uh...ok?

Not really true. While Oshie & Perron play important roles offensively, St. Louis has a balanced attack spread across three lines. No superstars, but all are contributing. Backes leads the team in points, but Petro and Shattenkirk play an important offensive role on the blueline. Not sure where that comment comes from. Backes leads the team in scoring and while Berglund has underachieved offensively this year, he plays a solid & important two-way game. (he needs to be better offensively though) Like I said earlier...getting Steen back is huge. He is a catalyst on offense and plays superb in his own zone. He was our best player when he got hurt earlier in the year...and has looked great since he came back. Stewart has been the huge disappointment for the Blues this year. We were expecting pretty much over twice his current point production. He can make up for it by stepping it up in the playoffs though.

How so? edit...I went back and made 5 on 5 a push... the last I heard, St. Louis led the league in 5 on 5 ratio...but Detroit is right there with them, and actually a tick ahead right now.

Taking it one series at at time. Not predicting jack squat. With that said, this is the most fundamentally sound Blues team I have ever seen...and they have turned in the best team goaltending stats in modern history and their defensive system is rock solid. Injuries were an issue earlier in the year, but that didn't seem to slow the team down much. And barring any more injuries, they are expected to have everyone back and healthy going into the playoffs. Getting Steen back a few games ago was huge. He's such a big part of this team and has missed most of the season with a concussion. I like their chances against anyone...especially with home ice advantage, where the Blues have been freakishly dominant. Red Wings vs. Blues Matchup Offense = Detroit Defense = St. Louis Goaltending = St. Louis Special Teams = St. Louis 5 on 5 = Push Playoff Experience = Detroit Coaching = Push Anything can happen in a 7 game series. A goalie can get red hot for a few games, steal a couple and that's enough. I'm only cautiously optimistic about the Blues because I've been let down in the past when the Blues have had good teams, but this team has the goaltending and system that those teams didn't have. I'm just really excited that the Blues are back in the playoffs and could realistically make a run at it for the first time in a while. It's good to be back. We'll see what happens.

If you say so. You missed my point. Yes and no. It can be successful by interchanging some parts, but not any parts. This team is better with Steen, McDonald & Perron in the lineup...they can't be replaced by anyone in the system. The Blues benefit from a balanced attack and depth at the forward lines. No superstars, but players who contribute on every line, so if a key member goes down, it's easier to absorb most of the lost production on another line or from a call up. Which is a strange thing to see. I can't remember the last time Detroit had this many injuries to it's core group of players. It's happened to the Blues quite often the past few years...and it probably cost them a playoff berth last year.

You're saying that the Wings were going to surpass the Blues had they not had injury issues? Might I remind you that the Blues have gone 9-1-1 over their last 11. Were the Wings going to go 11-0-0 over that stretch? Where were the extra points going to come from? And FYI... Perron & McDonald were out at the same time. Steen & D'Agostini are out at the same time (still out). Other players are still out as well. We've had significant members of this team out at the same time too. No, they aren't at Datsyuk's level, but Steen was our best player when he went down and was a huge part of this team on the PP, PK and 5 on 5. I didn't say injuries to players don't make a difference. I don't feel that way at all. What I am saying is, don't act like the Blues injuries to Steen, Perron, McDonald, Langenbrunner, etc. are insignificant compared to the Wings injuries.

McDonald Steen Perron Langenbrunner D'Agostini Arnott All missed significant time this season due to injury (there are a couple others who missed time as well, but I don't feel like looking it up). Steen, whom at the time he got hurt, was the Blues best player. He's been out for a long time and he's still out, and it's looking more and more like he is done for the season. D'Agostini is still out as well, and probably won't be back either. We've been hit with injury issues too. I'll have my lawyer call your lawyer.

That's an opinion...and you are welcome to it. But one could easily argue that from top to bottom, this is the best Blues team ever assembled. From coaching, to goaltending, to defense, to offensive depth. The only thing they don't have is an explosive offense with a superstar or two up front...yet they have been scoring at a higher clip lately, so that's promising. But again, good/great Blues teams of the past have nothing to do with this team except for playing in the same city and being called the Blues. I'm not sure why some like to bring that up. Kind of stinks of desperation during a discussion. The Blues President's trophy team from 12 years ago has nothing at all to do with how well the 2012 team will do. I'm not predicting anything, because anything can happen, and it often does. I'm just enjoying the return to respectability, being cautiously optimistic, and hoping for the best.

Uhhh....usually when someone says so and so team is playing "playoff type hockey", they aren't implying that they could lose in the first round. I'm not saying they can't lose, it f'ing happened to them the last time they won the President's trophy. But I appreciate the attempt at making a smart-ass comment. Nice effort.

When folks say, "The Blues are playing playoff style hockey", that doesn't mean anything other than they are playing very well. It doesn't mean they can't find a higher gear or can't play any better. It's just gibberish really.

St. Louis has owned San Jose this season going 4-0 vs. them, I think with two or three shutouts. San Jose isn't scaring anyone...especially not St. Louis. Chicago scares me just because they aren't playing as well as they can play, and you never know when they will kick it into gear. And with Toewes out and maybe out for the playoffs, that's a huge blow. But their goaltending is by far their weakest link. I just don't see them doing anything with that goaltending and without Toewes. But, of course...anything can happen...any goalie can get hot and steal a series.

I wouldn't want to play Nashville solely because of Rinne. He can steal a series all by himself. If he gets on a roll, that could be all Nashville needs. Same thing with LA. Quick would scare me a bit in a short 7 game series.

Or....or.... I'm just conversing with fellow hockey fans in a thread about the team of which I am a die hard fan of. So there's that. Just to clarify, they're not "among the best"...they ARE the best right now. Just sayin'. And since when did winning a cup become a pre-requisite before a fan base can get excited about their team??? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Fans get excited when their team is playing well and is a legitimate cup contender late in the season...that's the way it is always going to work, no matter how many championships a team has won. You're not going to meet any Blue fan who is predicting the Blues will win the cup...but they are in a great position to make a run at it. And to be honest, Blues fans are more excited about the return to exciting hockey, the return to the playoffs, and the return to respectability after the rebuild. I don't need a history lesson. I've been a die hard Blues fan for about 30 years. Finishing high in the standings doesn't guarantee anything, HOWEVER...don't downplay the importance of playing a 6, 7 or 8 seed in the 1st round as opposed to a 3 or 4 seed. It's also important for the Blues to finish as high as possible to get home ice for as many rounds as possible...St. Louis has the best home record in the NHL, which could be the difference in them going deep or not...even though they have been MUCH better on the road lately. The Blues started a 7 game trip tonight with a win. Going up 6 pts. on Detroit was huge. Now, the Blues could finish the trip going 3-3 and would at worst be tied for 1st in the division, and that would be with Detroit going 6-0-0 over that span. After this road trip, I think the blues have 4 of their final 6 at home, where they dominate..something like that. Assuming the Blues don't go into a funk on the rest of this trip, winning the division is a real possibility.

Turek was such a head case.

A decade? Not quite. They missed the playoffs 5 of the last 6 years. And why such a small sample size? I like to look at it and say we've been competitive/very good and made the playoffs 26 of the last 31 years. No, there isn't much to show for it...but they were a lot of fun to watch. And saying so and so "sucks" is part of the game. It's just how it is. And ummm, I'll let you in on something...saying "Detroit Sucks" or "Vancouver Sucks" doesn't mean we think they are actually a bad hockey team. Does that even need to be said?? Come on.

Why? What does 20 years ago have to do with right now? Nothing really.

At first glance, you'd think they didn't have much playoff experience. But that's not really true. Arnott and Langenbrunner have loads of playoff experience and are very vocal in the locker room. Halak took Montreal to the Conference finals a couple years ago. McDonald has won a cup. And most of the Blues roster got a taste of the playoffs a few years ago when they were bounced by Vancouver in the first round. They may not have a vast amount of playoff experience from top to bottom, but the veteran leaders on this team have a lot of playoff experience.