MiamiLaw wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:40 pm
Suter with that lazy clear at the end…this team is so freakin nuts 6 on 5. It’s crazy
I believe he was avoiding the icing. You know. That thing that has killed us in these situations in game 7 and ever since.
Yea but it was TOO soft and it did pretty much the same thing
Geesh. Anything a fraction less than perfect is unforgiveable.
Huh? It wasn’t an icing but it also wasn’t a smart play. He had time and instead softly gave it right back to the Habs, giving them possession with 10 seconds left. They almost scored. Sorry I’m not thrilled with it…
Given his options, or lack thereof, what was the better play?
Short of icing it, pretty much anything else. Taking a few strides. Passing to a teammate. Clearing the zone and then eating it at the boards. Anything but passing it right to MTL. Watch the play again. He was not under pressure.
I'll re-watch again tomorrow, I guess.
Icing the puck outright compared to playing puck into neutral zone to force opposition to regroup is, by physics and time spent, tactically better.
blackinkbiz wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:41 pm
Any other team's goalie throws that puck in the corner with less than 3 seconds and it's game over as that puck never leaves that corner.
Not the Blues ... lol wouldn't be a Blues game if there wasn't a heart-stopping point-blank shot with 1 second to go.
So true. The other team ALWAYS gets a prime shot with 3 or less seconds. Never seen anything like it
Love the back to back Ws on the road in tough buildings but it really is amazing.
First they can’t simply hold a 2+ goal lead. These were RARE games when they had 2 goal leads in the 3rd and they gave up a goal with under 5 minutes in both. Last time they had a 2 goal lead in the 3rd had to be waaaay back at the Islanders in mid NOV.
They gave up a goal with about 3 minutes there too!
Back to the puck in the corner…..throwing it back to the slot is their ONLY play yet nobody blocks the pass OR ties up the guy’s stick who is standing in the slot!!! I think Colt was standing right next to him!!! 6 for 5 and doesn’t lay a finger on him. Slash his stick out of his (bleep) hands, doesn’t matter
If there is a penalty
Like most of this team’s brain just overloads with the clock ticking down…both on offense and defense
MiamiLaw wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:40 pm
Suter with that lazy clear at the end…this team is so freakin nuts 6 on 5. It’s crazy
I believe he was avoiding the icing. You know. That thing that has killed us in these situations in game 7 and ever since.
Yea but it was TOO soft and it did pretty much the same thing
Geesh. Anything a fraction less than perfect is unforgiveable.
Huh? It wasn’t an icing but it also wasn’t a smart play. He had time and instead softly gave it right back to the Habs, giving them possession with 10 seconds left. They almost scored. Sorry I’m not thrilled with it…
Given his options, or lack thereof, what was the better play?
Short of icing it, pretty much anything else. Taking a few strides. Passing to a teammate. Clearing the zone and then eating it at the boards. Anything but passing it right to MTL. Watch the play again. He was not under pressure.
I'll re-watch again tomorrow, I guess.
Icing the puck outright compared to playing puck into neutral zone to force opposition to regroup is, by physics and time spent, tactically better.
Anyone who's played competitive hockey knows your coach calls line changes and instructions on whether or not to dump and change WHILE the play is ongoing. If I were an NHL coach, I'd practice and treat these closing-out-game situations exactly like any line change.
Players don't have eyes in the back of their heads and as we've seen many times, these situations can go very wrong very fast. I'd designate one distinct voice on my bench to have instructions for what to do with the puck and how hard to move it there:
"YOU HAVE TIME, HIGH FLIP TO THEIR ZONE!"
"THEY'RE ON YOU, HARD OFF THE BOARDS TOWARD THEIR SLOT!"
"SHOOT IT!"
"EAT IT INTO THE BOARDS!"
Now considering how often players make dumb[ash] moves like tonight with a soft giveawaysto the opposition, it doesn't seem the Blues follow this kind of strategy. lol
blackinkbiz wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:41 pm
Any other team's goalie throws that puck in the corner with less than 3 seconds and it's game over as that puck never leaves that corner.
Not the Blues ... lol wouldn't be a Blues game if there wasn't a heart-stopping point-blank shot with 1 second to go.
So true. The other team ALWAYS gets a prime shot with 3 or less seconds. Never seen anything like it
Love the back to back Ws on the road in tough buildings but it really is amazing.
First they can’t simply hold a 2+ goal lead. These were RARE games when they had 2 goal leads in the 3rd and they gave up a goal with under 5 minutes in both. Last time they had a 2 goal lead in the 3rd had to be waaaay back at the Islanders in mid NOV.
They gave up a goal with about 3 minutes there too!
Back to the puck in the corner…..throwing it back to the slot is their ONLY play yet nobody blocks the pass OR ties up the guy’s stick who is standing in the slot!!! I think Colt was standing right next to him!!! 6 for 5 and doesn’t lay a finger on him. Slash his stick out of his (drat) hands, doesn’t matter
If there is a penalty
Like most of this team’s brain just overloads with the clock ticking down…both on offense and defense
Saw that! Was thinking the same thing. Cross check the guy, trip him, hack him, pull a shank and stab him, but just don't let him stand there!
blackinkbiz wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:41 pm
Any other team's goalie throws that puck in the corner with less than 3 seconds and it's game over as that puck never leaves that corner.
Not the Blues ... lol wouldn't be a Blues game if there wasn't a heart-stopping point-blank shot with 1 second to go.
So true. The other team ALWAYS gets a prime shot with 3 or less seconds. Never seen anything like it
Love the back to back Ws on the road in tough buildings but it really is amazing.
First they can’t simply hold a 2+ goal lead. These were RARE games when they had 2 goal leads in the 3rd and they gave up a goal with under 5 minutes in both. Last time they had a 2 goal lead in the 3rd had to be waaaay back at the Islanders in mid NOV.
They gave up a goal with about 3 minutes there too!
Back to the puck in the corner…..throwing it back to the slot is their ONLY play yet nobody blocks the pass OR ties up the guy’s stick who is standing in the slot!!! I think Colt was standing right next to him!!! 6 for 5 and doesn’t lay a finger on him. Slash his stick out of his (bleep) hands, doesn’t matter
If there is a penalty
Like most of this team’s brain just overloads with the clock ticking down…both on offense and defense
In Game 7 last year in those last 5 seconds I was screaming to just tackle them. Who cares if you take a penalty? You probably won’t even touch the puck so the clock runs
I missed the game, but Bjug was a healthy scratch? I'm not ready to jump aboard the hate-Monty bandwagon yet, but that is a puzzling one for sure. He's been one of our only reliable players the entire season from what I've seen. I'd like to see the Stl sports media press Monty on that one.
MiamiLaw wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:40 pm
Suter with that lazy clear at the end…this team is so freakin nuts 6 on 5. It’s crazy
I believe he was avoiding the icing. You know. That thing that has killed us in these situations in game 7 and ever since.
Yea but it was TOO soft and it did pretty much the same thing
Geesh. Anything a fraction less than perfect is unforgiveable.
Huh? It wasn’t an icing but it also wasn’t a smart play. He had time and instead softly gave it right back to the Habs, giving them possession with 10 seconds left. They almost scored. Sorry I’m not thrilled with it…
Given his options, or lack thereof, what was the better play?
Short of icing it, pretty much anything else. Taking a few strides. Passing to a teammate. Clearing the zone and then eating it at the boards. Anything but passing it right to MTL. Watch the play again. He was not under pressure.
I'll re-watch again tomorrow, I guess.
Icing the puck outright compared to playing puck into neutral zone to force opposition to regroup is, by physics and time spent, tactically better.
Right. What he did was better than icing it (maybe) but those were not his only two options. He had many, and chose the second-worst one. It is a mind boggling issue with this team
DawgDad wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:28 pm
That shot was a laser.
Hah, was that a joke?
Don't know if it was the Habs or Blues announcer but one of them called it a "rocket."
Then he was corrected by his cohort that it was a 70mph knuckle-puck "rocket."
It was a confounding knuckle puck and Faulk skated leisurely by Binner just in time to perfectly screen him. The Hab announcer called it a rocket because it actually rang the post as it went in.
DawgDad wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:28 pm
That shot was a laser.
Hah, was that a joke?
Don't know if it was the Habs or Blues announcer but one of them called it a "rocket."
Then he was corrected by his cohort that it was a 70mph knuckle-puck "rocket."
It was a confounding knuckle puck and Faulk skated leisurely by Binner just in time to perfectly screen him. The Hab announcer called it a rocket because it actually rang the post as it went in.
I thought it was further out and Buchnevich was the screener.
blackinkbiz wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 20:41 pm
Any other team's goalie throws that puck in the corner with less than 3 seconds and it's game over as that puck never leaves that corner.
Not the Blues ... lol wouldn't be a Blues game if there wasn't a heart-stopping point-blank shot with 1 second to go.
So true. The other team ALWAYS gets a prime shot with 3 or less seconds. Never seen anything like it
Love the back to back Ws on the road in tough buildings but it really is amazing.
First they can’t simply hold a 2+ goal lead. These were RARE games when they had 2 goal leads in the 3rd and they gave up a goal with under 5 minutes in both. Last time they had a 2 goal lead in the 3rd had to be waaaay back at the Islanders in mid NOV.
They gave up a goal with about 3 minutes there too!
Back to the puck in the corner…..throwing it back to the slot is their ONLY play yet nobody blocks the pass OR ties up the guy’s stick who is standing in the slot!!! I think Colt was standing right next to him!!! 6 for 5 and doesn’t lay a finger on him. Slash his stick out of his (drat) hands, doesn’t matter
If there is a penalty
Like most of this team’s brain just overloads with the clock ticking down…both on offense and defense
In Game 7 last year in those last 5 seconds I was screaming to just tackle them. Who cares if you take a penalty? You probably won’t even touch the puck so the clock runs
Exactly and Colt was the guy in the slot for that game tying game 7 goal….he didn’t cover or slash anyone then either!!! To Colt’s defense, I do also remember Justin the (bleep) Faulk being the other dman who decided to vacate the slot and screen Binnington on that shot, thinking it was better to leave Colt alone and try and block the shots himself instead of Binner seeing puck clearly
JR1 wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 21:04 pm
I love Sunny but let’s face it, he just doesn’t have it anymore. I know it’s probably not a popular opinion around here. He’s definitely a warrior out there but he’s lost at least a step. The game is too fast for him because he has trouble keeping up.
Spot on if you ask me. That he was playing with Bjug as a healthy scratch is bonkers to me.
I'm fine with him playing one out of every few games and I'm fine with him being an injury fill-in. But as a regular in the top 12? Nahhhhh
Monty is absolutely smitten with him.
Lost step or no, there is no higher hockey IQ on this roster. He runs his line well, is aces on the PK, and is a treasure in the room, on the bench, and on the ice.
JR1 wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 21:04 pm
I love Sunny but let’s face it, he just doesn’t have it anymore. I know it’s probably not a popular opinion around here. He’s definitely a warrior out there but he’s lost at least a step. The game is too fast for him because he has trouble keeping up.
Spot on if you ask me. That he was playing with Bjug as a healthy scratch is bonkers to me.
I'm fine with him playing one out of every few games and I'm fine with him being an injury fill-in. But as a regular in the top 12? Nahhhhh
Monty is absolutely smitten with him.
Lost step or no, there is no higher hockey IQ on this roster. He runs his line well, is aces on the PK, and is a treasure in the room, on the bench, and on the ice.
Yea I agree he’s one of the few with some hockey iq. Best on the team? It’s a low bar so maybe
JR1 wrote: ↑07 Dec 2025 21:04 pm
I love Sunny but let’s face it, he just doesn’t have it anymore. I know it’s probably not a popular opinion around here. He’s definitely a warrior out there but he’s lost at least a step. The game is too fast for him because he has trouble keeping up.
Spot on if you ask me. That he was playing with Bjug as a healthy scratch is bonkers to me.
I'm fine with him playing one out of every few games and I'm fine with him being an injury fill-in. But as a regular in the top 12? Nahhhhh
Monty is absolutely smitten with him.
Lost step or no, there is no higher hockey IQ on this roster. He runs his line well, is aces on the PK, and is a treasure in the room, on the bench, and on the ice.
Yea I agree he’s one of the few with some hockey iq. Best on the team? It’s a low bar so maybe
Yes bro 100%
Sunny has solid IQ but likely below that of Neighbor’s and Thomas.
Btw I always thought Parayko was low IQ but slowly improved it over the years (so there is hope for others). He has such a size/athletic advantage I still think he’s underachieved a bit for his career.
