Blues last 20 games

[callitwhatyouwant]

The Blues are 10-9-1 in their last 20 games. Almost perfectly .500. There are a few things to highlight here and a few ways to look at this. Some highlights.

The Positives

---Hofer has played exceptionally well across that time period. He has the best or 2nd best save percentage during that period. His last 10 games he started has him at 7-3 with a 2.37 GA and .920 save percentage.
---The Blues are playing the 9th youngest or 24th oldest however you want to phrase it lineup in the league. They are playing youth and they are hanging in there.
--- As of today 5 Blues will get the chance to represent their country at the Olympics

The Negatives

--- Binner has been wildly inconsistent in the same stretch. Just like the Husso season, for whatever reason the team is playing better in front of Hofer.
--- The scoring from the top guys hasn't really gotten much better. Schenner, Buchy, and Thomas have started to awake from their slumber, but they still are below their career numbers.
--- Kyrou has again gone into the witness protection protection program and is being outplayed by waiver wire guys and rookies


Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

[theograce]

Such a troll

Laughing

[Army's Mom]

The Blues are 10-9-1 in their last 20 games. Almost perfectly .500. There are a few things to highlight here and a few ways to look at this. Some highlights.

The Positives

---Hofer has played exceptionally well across that time period. He has the best or 2nd best save percentage during that period. His last 10 games he started has him at 7-3 with a 2.37 GA and .920 save percentage.
---The Blues are playing the 9th youngest or 24th oldest however you want to phrase it lineup in the league. They are playing youth and they are hanging in there.
--- As of today 5 Blues will get the chance to represent their country at the Olympics

The Negatives

--- Binner has been wildly inconsistent in the same stretch. Just like the Husso season, for whatever reason the team is playing better in front of Hofer.
--- The scoring from the top guys hasn't really gotten much better. Schenner, Buchy, and Thomas have started to awake from their slumber, but they still are below their career numbers.
--- Kyrou has again gone into the witness protection protection program and is being outplayed by waiver wire guys and rookies


Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

The thing is, whether you want to play for today (win the wildcard) or tomorrow (tank), the path forward from this mushy middle (picking 10th-15th) is looking the same either way.

Want to win now?
Hand the reigns to Hofer. Find somewhere else for Binner to rehabilitate his game/reputation ahead of the Olympics. Maybe a Canadian team is patriotic enough to give him starts?
Play the kids up front. Neighbours, Snuggerud, Dvorsky, Stenberg, Berggren. Buch and Thomas should be the only vets in the top 6, Schenn and Holloway (when back) round out the top 9. Honestly, Fabbri can do whatever it is that Kyrou is doing with his roster spot. Waive him if he declines the best trade offer Army has on the table (and waive him if there are no offers). We played better without him, and had better results.
Sell any veterans you can as the deadline approaches, looking to replace them with hungrier players from Springfield. It's worked better than playing the veterans has. Hope the replacements continue to outperform the guys who are traded.

Want to tank?
Sell off all the veterans you can, and plug in the best prospects you have to replace them and get experience. This includes:
-unload Binnington to any team that might still believe he needs a change of scenery/reset. Retain if you have to.
-unload Kyrou for whatever return you can get today, or waive him. He's your best offensive weapon on a team starved for goals, but it's not like he's scoring. If you can get a 2nd back for him, at least you've recouped the pick you spent on him.
-unload other veterans as the opportunity arises. Faulk, Schenn, Parayko. Yes, it'll be hard to replace Parayko in the short term, there are sure to be top pairing RHD prospects available in the top halves of the next two entry drafts. We're aiming for high picks this year and next, one of which should eventually supplement Jiricek and Mailloux.
-hope the prospects don't outperform the guys who are traded.

Either way, you have to jettison the pieces that don't fit. Kyrou doesn't fit. Binner doesn't fit. The only difference is maybe you don't trade all of Faulk, Parayko, Schenn if your goal is the Wild Card.

The longer you wait to excise the misfit pieces (in the hollow hope they rehabilitate their value and you get a better return), the more damage you do to the locker-room by letting the toxic loser attitude sink in. We don't want the next wave contaminated by this expectation to lose.

[blues2112]

Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

Appreciate the post.

LA holds the last wild card with 46 points in 42 games. If Kings go 20-20, Blues would need to go 22-16 to tie.

AND, Blues would need to pass all of Anaheim, Utah, Chicago and Nashville.

[Frank Underwood]

Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

Appreciate the post.

LA holds the last wild card with 46 points in 42 games. If Kings go 20-20, Blues would need to go 22-16 to tie.

AND, Blues would need to pass all of Anaheim, Utah, Chicago and Nashville.

Let’s also keep in mind that the last wild card spot would earn you a first round matchup with Colorado! So you realistically have to shoot for the first wild card to avoid the Avs. Making the playoffs just to get embarrassed by Colorado doesn’t really appeal to me!

[Harry S Deals]

We are a little more than halfway thru and the Blues are sitting with the 4th draft pick, Lawrence would seem likely unless they move from this spot in the lottery. The Blues would have a 9.5% chance for #1 and #2 but also a 44% chance to slip to #5

So it could be:


O. Stenberg Thomas Snuggerud
Neighbours Lawrence Kyrou
Holloway Dvorsky Berggren
Walker Suter Torop

Buch/Bjugstad/Sunny

Broberg Parayko
Fowler Jiricek
Tucker Mailloux

Lindstein

Hofer
Zherenko

Would you want to see somethign like this next season, assumes Faulk, Schenn, Joseph, Fabbri, Binnington are going away

[Harry S Deals]

Berggren in STL - 9GP 3g 2a 5pts +3
Stenberg - 10GP 1g 5a 6pts +5
Dvorsky (last 5GP) 1g +3


This is the #1 line, Monty is far, far too slow to react. Hes continually rewarding veterans with ice time

Thomas (last 5 GP) 1g -5
Buch (last 5 GP) 2a -4
Kyrou (last 5GP) 1a -1


Continually doing the same thing over and over. Perhaps Army needs to do a Billy Beane and remove the guys who arent performing so they arent even options

[Army's Mom]

Berggren in STL - 9GP 3g 2a 5pts +3
Stenberg - 10GP 1g 5a 6pts +5
Dvorsky (last 5GP) 1g +3


This is the #1 line, Monty is far, far too slow to react. Hes continually rewarding veterans with ice time

Thomas (last 5 GP) 1g -5
Buch (last 5 GP) 2a -4
Kyrou (last 5GP) 1a -1


Continually doing the same thing over and over. Perhaps Army needs to do a Billy Beane and remove the guys who arent performing so they arent even options

That's EXACTLY how I feel when poster's keep insisting on shoehorning Kyrou into their top 6. To me, he's as close to the source of the rot as it gets. Either he goes, or we remain stuck winning 2 our of every 5 (ie just enough to pick 15th and miss the playoffs).

[blues2112]

Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

Appreciate the post.

LA holds the last wild card with 46 points in 42 games. If Kings go 20-20, Blues would need to go 22-16 to tie.

AND, Blues would need to pass all of Anaheim, Utah, Chicago and Nashville.

Good point! Last thing I need is more taunting from my Avs friends!

[callitwhatyouwant]

Overall view

The West is a mess after the top few teams. This means the wild card which is what the Blues were going to be playing for from the start of the season is still an attainable goal. Even after last season, Army and Monty stated that we aren't in the same league as Avs and Dallas so the only avenue is the wild card. Well, it's still a reasonable get.

Just wanted to highlight with all the doom and gloom, they are at least playing .500 record while the team is banged up.

The Blues would have to go on a 7-3 run over 10 and then do it again over the next 10, or they need something exceptional like a 8-2 9-1 run to really put themselves in contention.

Appreciate the post.

LA holds the last wild card with 46 points in 42 games. If Kings go 20-20, Blues would need to go 22-16 to tie.

AND, Blues would need to pass all of Anaheim, Utah, Chicago and Nashville.

Good point! Last thing I need is more taunting from my Avs friends!

While I don't see this Blues teams doing it, the playoffs are MUCH different than regular season. Teams can develop plans to slow down a team once they have seen them repeatedly. You might be starting from a 2-0 hole, but if you can get that first game at home, you have a shot. While the Avs are the favorite, I don't usually put too much stock into teams going on tears like they are for them to hold up. All it takes is one fluky injury or a goofy bounce in the playoffs and the whole trajectory changes. The plus for the Avs is it looks like they are making it easy so maybe it's not too taxing on their bodies. But teams that got for records usually end up falling short. Look no further than Boston, Tampa, Jets all numbers 1s in the last year where 2 of them got eliminated and the 3rd should have.