St. Louis Blues 21-22

pruman91 · May 16, 2022

Blues notebook: Leddy ready for next playoff challenge

Twice over the last month, the Minnesota Wild knocked Nick Leddy out of the lineup. He responded by helping to knock the Wild out of the playoffs.

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Jim Thomas
Twice over the last month, the Minnesota Wild knocked Nick Leddy out of the lineup. He responded by helping to knock the Wild out of the playoffs.
On April 16, a stick to the face by Kevin Fiala in the second period resulted in 10 stitches below Leddy’s eye. Fiala got four minutes for high-sticking. Leddy missed the rest of that game and the following game (against Nashville) as well.
On May 2, Leddy was slammed from behind by Matt Boldy into the end boards in the first period of Game 1 of the first-round series between the teams.
Boldy was not penalized on the play, and Leddy sidestepped the question when asked if he agreed with the non-call.

“It’s not really for me to decide, especially now that the series is over and it’s time to look at Colorado,” Leddy said Saturday, in his first comments to the media since Game 1.
In any event, Leddy kept playing and finished the game but experienced symptoms the next day and missed the next three games.
“It’s tough to sit out any game, especially in playoffs when you want to be there for your team,” Leddy said. “But I think that’s a great sign of a good team is guys can step up and fill that role.”

Leddy returned for Game 5 and played well. He was even better in the Blues’ Game 6 series clincher, keeping the lid on Wild star Kirill Kaprizov, playing a key role on the Blues’ penalty kill and scoring the game’s first goal in a 5-1 Blues victory.

pruman91 · May 16, 2022

Blues' Toropchenko gets feet wet in playoffs

One of the youngest Blues, Toropchenko has a veteran helping on the fourth line in Tyler Bozak.

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Jim Thomas
Rookie forward Alexei Toropchenko isn’t the youngest Blue. But it’s close — very close. At age 22, he’s seven days younger than Robert Thomas.
Thomas, however, is finishing up his fourth NHL season and has 241 regular-season games and 39 playoff games already on his resume.
In comparison, Toropchenko has played a mere 28 regular-season games. And the six games he played in the Minnesota Wild series marked his first NHL postseason action.
On a largely veteran team, he’s one of five Blues to have made their postseason debuts this season. The others: Calle Rosen, Ville Husso, Scott Perunovich and Dakota Joshua. With the exception of the 23-year-old Perunovich, the others in this group are at least four years older than Toropchenko.

For Toropchenko, playoff hockey: “It’s like incredible. The only word I can say is incredible. ... First playoff game probably more nervous than first NHL game — like regular season. But it’s OK. First shift, get in game and get it going.”
Toropchenko isn’t getting huge minutes — just 7:49 per game in the Minnesota series, or almost three minutes less per game than he got in the regular season. But he’s making his time count on the fourth line and gaining valuable experience.
He’s had a revolving cast of linemates. Nathan Walker in Games 1 and 2; Joshua in Game 3. And then several top nine forwards in Games 4 through 6 as coach Craig Berube went with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

pruman91 · May 17, 2022

Blues hope history doesn't repeat itself vs. Avs

Blues were swept in four games — and embarrassed — in playoff series against Colorado last year.

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In hockey, as in life, sometimes you’re the bug. And sometimes you’re the windshield.
The Blues definitely were the bug in the playoffs last season against the Colorado Avalanche, who swept the Blues in four games, hit their windshield wipers a couple of times, and sped on down the road.
“I know going into that series, we didn’t expect to sweep anyone,” said forward Brandon Saad, who was a member of the Avalanche last season. “So you just try to take it game-by-game; the series ended up how it did and you kind of move on from it.”
The Blues were outscored 20-7 in the series. Colorado had almost as many empty-net goals (six) as the Blues had goals (seven). The Avs’ trio of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen was basically unstoppable, combining for nine goals and 16 assists.

It wasn’t until the second period of Game 4, on a Vladimir Tarasenko goal, that the Blues took their first — and only — lead of the series. It lasted all of seven minutes, 12 seconds. End highlight reel.
Afterward, Tarasenko summed things up succinctly: “This is embarrassing. … There’s no words. Not much you can say.”
Exactly 12 months to the day that the Blues opened that first-round series — May 17 — here we go again with a Blues-Avs second-round playoff series opening at 8:30 p.m. CST at Ball Arena in Denver.

pruman91 · May 17, 2022

Blues notebook: Skate's on the other foot for Saad

Last year at this time, the veteran forward was facing the Blues as a member of the Colorado Avalanche.

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Jim Thomas
Brandon Saad inflicted some pain on the Blues last postseason, scoring three goals for Colorado in the Avalanche’s four-game sweep of St. Louis in the first round.
Now he hopes to do the same against the Avalanche as a member of the Blues.
“It’s obviously fun to score and win,” Saad said. “That was good. But it’s a new year, it’s a new team and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
It’s normal, practically a tradition, for a player to have dinner with a few members of his old team when coming into town. But for Saad, that custom doesn’t carry over to the playoffs.
“In the playoffs, I don’t think you see it too much,” Saad said. “I think it’s more regular season, but playoffs is more team dinners — hanging around your teammates, watching hockey. At least that’s my plan. I’m not sure what other guys do.”

Besides, it’s not as if Saad set down roots with Colorado. He was with the team just one season before signing a free-agent deal with the Blues last offseason.
“You kind of move on pretty quickly,” Saad said. “It’s not like I was there a long time. But it was a fun year. A lot of success. You get to know the guys and establish relationships. But it’s a hockey series. We’re gonna face it like any other team and focus on ourselves.”

pruman91 · May 17, 2022

A closer look inside the Blues-Avalanche second-round series

This will be only the third time the teams have faced off in the playoffs, with the Avalanche winning both previous meetings.

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pruman91 · May 17, 2022

Gordo on the NHL: Coaching carousel whirls, offseason intrigue builds

Add the Vegas Golden Knights to the list of teams seeking a new head coach. Peter DeBoer got the axe on Monday and NHL offseason got more interesting.

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Jeff Gordon
While the NHL’s Elite Eight march on in postseason play, the other teams will continue working on next season.
And there is no shortage of intrigue, starting on the coaching front. Islanders hockey czar Lou Lamoriello cashiered highly successful Barry Trotz and replaced him on Monday with Trotz’s long-time assistant Lane Lambert.
Also, the Vegas Golden Knights gave Peter DeBoer the short haircut Monday for missing the playoffs. That was hardly a shock from a front off known for making impetuous moves.
Lamoriello has always had a jumpy trigger finger when it comes to firing coaches. Trotz did a marvelous job with the Islanders, taking them on two surprisingly deep playoff runs before circumstances beyond his control derailed this season.

While Lamoriello said his team needed a “new voice” behind the bench, he then turned to Lambert, a coach who helped and implement Trotz’s famous defensive structure.

So much going in a different direction.

If Trotz wants to coach again – rather than sit back and simply collect the $4 million the Islanders owe him – then the Winnipeg Jets would be an obvious destination.
Trotz is a Manitoba guy. Winnipeg has a playoff-caliber talent base that didn’t rise up for coach Paul Maurice or interim coach Dave Lowry this season.

pruman91 · May 17, 2022

Games between the Blues and Avalanche got a bit chippy this season

Avalanche showed Blues just how skilled and swift they are during regular season, but the Blues displayed their scoring prowess and resiliency.

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It’s difficult to take much out of the Blues’ three games with Colorado this season. The first two games were played way back in October, including the Blues’ season opener. The last game in the season series was played six months later — the Blues’ road finale, and at a time in which both teams already had an eye on the postseason.
Even so, the Blues got an eyeful of just how skilled and how swift the Avalanche play hockey. And the Avalanche got a taste of the Blues’ goal-scoring ability and resiliency.
There were high-end players for both teams missing in all three contests, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around. Colorado won two of the three contests on its way to the Central Division title.

A look at the how the games played out:

pruman91 · May 18, 2022

Blues fall in overtime, 3-2 in Game 1 against Avalanche

Late goal by Kyrou sends it into overtime before OT goal by Manson wins it for Colorado.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER – When the Avalanche get skating and get their speed game going, it can be mesmerizing, hypnotizing, demoralizing for the opposition.
Such was the state of affairs for the Blues in the second period Tuesday at Ball Arena. The Blues couldn’t put up a roadblock. There were no on-ice officers to catch the Avalanche in a speed trap.
It was an impressive display unless you were the Blues.
But somehow, the Blues survived that storm. They tied the score on a Jordan Kyrou power play goal with 3:14 to play and forced overtime despite being outshot 41-25 in regulation.
"Yeah, we're right there,” coach Craig Berube said. “You're one shot away in OT. I mean, that's the bottom line. (Brandon Saad)’s almost in on a breakaway, and that could have been the difference right there. It is what it is, we'll regroup and get ready for Game 2."

The problem was, the Blues never got that one shot in overtime. Not one.
Colorado began the overtime with 41 seconds left on a power play that carried over from the end of the third period. The Avalanche played the rest of OT as if they were on one continuous power play – outshooting the Blues 13-0 in extra time.
The 13th shot proved to be unlucky for the Blues. With Josh Manson – yes, Josh Manson – scoring the game-winner from distance through traffic at the 8:02 mark.

pruman91 · May 18, 2022

Blues notebook: Perunovich the 'other' Hobey Baker winner in this series

While Perunovich is getting his first playoff experience for the Blues, Cale Makar is one of Colorado's top stars.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER — It took a while to figure out exactly what was wrong with Scott Perunovich’s wrist, and when he finally underwent surgery March 9, that seemed to be it for the rookie defenseman this season.
Maybe, just maybe, he’d be back to get some games in with Springfield at the tail end of the regular season or in the AHL playoffs.
Not that long ago, Perunovich was seen skating at Centene Community Ice Center. He’d come out near the end of the Blues’ full squad practice and skate at the other end of the ice by himself holding his stick with one hand. He simply wasn’t ready to use the surgically-repaired wrist.
Fast forward maybe a couple of weeks, and there was Perunovich running the Blues’ first power play unit in practice. Surely he was just a placeholder for the injured Torey Krug.

But he wasn’t. After completing those 10 or 15 minutes of power play practice, he played for the Blues for the first time since Jan. 15 — in the playoffs, no less.
It still kind of defies logic. But Perunovich played in the final three games of the Minnesota series, and he was out there again Tuesday, running the first power play and getting the occasional defensive shift in Game 1 of the Blues’ second-round playoff series with Colorado.
“Pretty surprising,” Perunovich conceded on Monday. “Didn’t know if I was getting in or not. And then a couple injuries, and it’s just the bounces.

pruman91 · May 18, 2022

Hochman: Except for minor detail of him being an opponent, Blues fans will be mesmerized by Colorado's Makar

“Paul Coffey got up the ice like Makar,” Berube said. “You know, Paul Coffey was one of the D-men that picked the puck up behind his neck and pretty much

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Benjamin Hochman
DENVER — So this is what watching Bobby Orr must’ve been like.
Now, some St. Louisans of a certain age remember Boston’s Orr and his famous soar after he scored the Cup-winner against the 1970 Blues. And these folks likely recall this unstoppable force wearing No. 4.
Orr is the standard for offensive defensemen.
And, now, the standard is being redefined.
Cale Makar. He’s 23. Born in 1998. He’s the defensive wizard (and offensive wizard) for the Colorado Avalanche. In this series against St. Louis, Makar will surely make Colorado a dynamic attack. In the last series, he notched 10 points, which would be an incredible total in any series, but then consider that the series was just the minimum four games.

And that included a game-winning overtime goal in Game 2.
“Makar is an elite player back there — I don’t know if we’ve seen that in some time,” Blues coach Craig Berube said before Game 1. “A guy that can skate like that and do the things he does, score goals. I mean, a pretty high-end player, you know, we got to do our best to check them and take their speed away as much as possible. And it takes all five guys on the ice. They can’t just expect one or two guys or the D-corps to do it. It’s all five guys got to understand who’s out there and be aware who’s out there and do a job.”
Makar’s postseason experience dates back four years ago, even though this is just his third season in the league. Right after leading the University of Massachusetts to a national championship in the spring of 2019, he joined the Avalanche in the postseason. The kid played in 10 games, scoring a goal with five assists. He finished a plus-three in the playoffs. He was still finishing college classes along the way.

pruman91 · May 19, 2022

Blues notebook: Binnington rising to the moment

On a night when the Blues were thoroughly outplayed, Binnington gave team a chance to steal Game 1.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER — Veteran Blues forward Brayden Schenn aptly summed up Tuesday’s overtime loss to Colorado.
“I liked our goaltending, that’s about it,” Schenn said.
If Jordan Binnington’s 51-save performance wasn’t the best of his NHL career, it certainly made his Mount Rushmore.
“We know he’s capable of it,” said Schenn, with Binnington sitting next to him during Wednesday’s Blues media session at Ball Arena. “You get good goaltending throughout the series, and it’s nice as players to have that. We’ve got to be better in front of him.”
It marked only the fifth time in franchise history that a Blues goalie had posted more than 50 saves in a playoff game. The team postseason record is 61 saves by Curtis Joseph against Toronto in 1993.

“Every game is different, and that’s kind of the fun part about it, just kind of adapting and seeing what’s coming at you,” Binnington said. “You’ve just got to be prepared for what’s coming at you.”
It was the latest and most resounding example of Binnington’s late-season revival.

He went 5-1-0 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .916 save percentage over the final four weeks of the regular season.
He’s been even better in the playoffs: 3-1-0 with a 1.94 GAA and .944 save percentage.

pruman91 · May 19, 2022

Hochman: Blues’ clues to beating Avalanche reside in film of Vegas-Colorado series

This could still be a long series. But that will only work if Berube and the boys make adjustments — be it to the lines or their approach.

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Benjamin Hochman
DENVER — Wait, you’re telling me a team once beat the Avalanche not just in a playoff game but in an entire playoff series?
After Colorado’s first-round sweeps of the Blues and Predators the past two years — and the Game 1 domination of the Blues this year in the second round — it’s sure hard to believe. But it happened. The Vegas Golden Knights ended the Avs’ postseason in the second round last season.
So to win this year’s second-round series, the Blues must look to the Vegas series for clues.
“Their forecheck really turned it around for them,” Blues coach Craig Berube said Wednesday of the 2021 Golden Knights. “They were good in the forecheck and didn’t give up odd-man rushes. They nullified (Colorado’s) attack. And it starts with the forecheck, 100%.

“Our forecheck was not very good last night. We didn’t get numbers in there. We didn’t stall pucks. And when you don’t do that, they’re up the ice quickly. ... We were probably a little bit on our heels at times, you know? Too cautious. You’ve got to be smart, but you’ve got to be aggressive.”
The Avs roared toward the Blues’ net, possession after possession, tallying a not-a-typo total of 106 attempts — 54 shots, 25 missed shots and 27 shots blocked by a Blue. But perhaps here’s some hope for the St. Louis brethren — last year, Vegas lost its Game 1 in Denver ... and its Game 2, too.

pruman91 · May 19, 2022

Hochman: Blues got the loss they deserved. Here's what they should do for Game 2

This game shouldn’t have been there for the Blues to steal — but this game was there for the Blues to steal. And they lost it.

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DENVER — The Blues didn’t deserve to win with the way they played.
So, sure, it was pretty impressive and exciting that Game 1 went to overtime. All they needed was one shot to win.
Fittingly, they didn’t even get off one shot in the overtime.
The Blues lost here at Ball Arena, 3-2, and it easily could’ve been 6-2. Or 16-2. Take the airtight outcome out of it — the Blues didn’t look like were in the same league as the Avalanche. Decision after decision on the ice seemed forced and ill-fated. And now, coach Craig Berube has some decisions to make — and I think the top one involves the top offensive-producing line.

Shake it up. The line centered by Robert Thomas, featuring wingers Pavel Buchnevich and Vladimir Tarasenko, was out of sorts Tuesday. Thomas sure didn’t help things with his embarrassing performance on the face-off dot. He was 4-for-15. That’s 11 times that this offensive-minded line started in a defensive mode. And Tarasenko, the Blues’ best shooter, didn’t shoot. Not one shot. Actually none of the guys tallied a shot.
So, shuffle Ivan Barbashev back at center with his fellow Russians — that’ll give the line some oomph, both offensively and physically (“Barby” had four hits in Game 1).
"It's all about work and competing — really, it is,” Berube said when asked about the Thomas line. “You've got to fight for space, you've got to fight for pucks, especially this time of year and especially against this team. That's it. It really boils down to that — and being connected. You've got to have numbers around the puck. They're a little bit too spread out, too 1-on-1 and they're not trying to possess pucks enough."

pruman91 · May 19, 2022

'Compete' level wasn't there for Blues in Game 1, Berube says

It was evident in puck battles, on faceoffs, and in puck play in the team's Game 1 loss to Colorado.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER — Craig Berube will forgive a lot of sins on the hockey rink. But a lack of compete level? Well, that aggravates the Blues coach above just about anything else.
And he didn’t see nearly enough of it in Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
“I’m big about competing for sure,” Berube said Wednesday. “Because if you don’t compete, you’re not going to give yourself a chance. I don’t care who you are. And we weren’t competitive enough.”
Which seems like a strange sin to commit in the playoffs.
You can rave all you want about the Colorado speed. And it certainly is rave-worthy, to the point where this could be the Avalanche’s year. (Imagine that, a Super Bowl title and a Stanley Cup for Stan Kroenke-owned teams in the same year.)

The Avalanche may simply be a bad matchup for St. Louis (and a lot of others). Colorado, after all, is 12-4-0 against the Blues since the start of the 2020-21 season.
But speed has little to do with winning a puck battle. And nothing to do with winning a faceoff. The Blues were subpar, to put it mildly, in both areas Tuesday.
For starters, it’s hard to possess the puck when you’re losing 64% of your faceoffs — or nearly 2 out of 3.

pruman91 · May 20, 2022

Hochman: With the ‘BOP’ line boppin’, Berube’s moves produced vital Game 2 win

DENVER — Craig Berube coaches as bravely and boldly as he played.

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Benjamin Hochman
DENVER — Craig Berube coaches as bravely and boldly as he played.
Think about it — how many National Hockey League coaches would’ve gone with a brand-new line combination in Game 2 of a second-round game?
Well, Berube went with two.
Yes, two lines that hadn’t once been constructed this whole season. And both lines played well in Thursday’s Game 2 win, notably the top line featuring Pavel Buchnevich along with Ryan O’Reilly and David Perron.
The “BOP” line was boppin’.
The Blues won, 4-1, due to numerous Berube-inspired adjustments in strategy. But the impact of the top line was imperative, starting with a forceful forecheck and scoring chance in the first three minutes.

With that line on the ice, the Blues generated 14 shots (counting on-ice defensemen) — the next-highest total was six, per the stat site MoneyPuck.

“We were pretty comfortable,” Perron said after the Blues tied the series with the Avalanche. “(Our line) made some good plays. We also can be even better, which is a good sign when you play a good game. It was exciting to play with ‘Buch.’”
On the morning of Game 2, as Perron discussed the possible contributions of his new linemate, Perron flashed a little smile.

pruman91 · May 20, 2022

Tipsheet: Blues elevate their play, so now Avalanche must do the same

The Blues found another level in Game 2 at Colorado, so now the Avalanche will need to do the same in Game 3 -- or else.

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Jeff Gordon
To make a deep playoff run in the NHL, a team must enter the postseason with confidence and then find higher performance levels from game to game and series to series. They must morph into a better team.
That’s just what the Blues did in Game 2 at Colorado while rolling to their 4-1 victory.
“They were better, and we were worse,” Avalanche Jared Bednar surmised during his postgame news conference.
“We were bad. We were really bad tonight,” Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon told reporters. "We just didn't have our jump tonight. Our execution was off. Just weren't feeling it. Just fighting it out there, and it's unfortunate, but it's 1-1. We get to go on the road and hopefully steal one there, hopefully two, and we got to forget about it and move on and get back to the way we can play.

“We still feel like we're a great team. We have to forget about it and move on."
The Blues will try to gather more steam in front of their fans at Enterprise Center, so the Avalanche must elevate their game as well. This is the first time they've really been tested in this postseason.
“We knew this was going to be a long, hard series,” Bednar said. “This is a really good team. They answered back after a bad night in Game 1. Now the onus is on us. We have to do the exact same thing.”

pruman91 · May 20, 2022

Perron, Blues even things up with 4-1 win over Avs

Perron scores twice, giving him a team-best seven goals in the postseason.

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DENVER – There is hope for the Blues after all. Remember – and how could you forget - they were outshot by about a million to one in Game 1 as Colorado put on a dazzling display of speed and skating.
But in the playoffs, what happens in one game frequently has no bearing on what happens in the next one. And somehow, the Blues found a way to escape Denver with a 4-1 victory Thursday over the Avalanche, tying the best-of-seven playoff series at one game apiece.
On Tuesday, Colorado had an astounding 106 total shot attempts; on Thursday, the Avs had 59.
On Tuesday, Colorado won 64 percent of the faceoffs; on Thursday, the Avs won only 39 percent.

The Blues won wall battles, they made cleaner zone exits. There was less frazzle, and even some dazzle.
What an adjustment. Coach Craig Berube expressed confidence after the morning skate that his team would play better Thursday night, and they did just that – by a mile in the Mile High City.
“Well, I’ve seen it all year,” Berube said. “We’re a good team. We played good hockey all year. It’s a good group of guys that want to win.
“They know Game 1 they didn’t do well enough, and all year they’ve responded. You go over things, and you tell them why and you show them why, and they respond.”

pruman91 · May 20, 2022

Blues notebook: Buchnevich gets first ride with O'Reilly line

Berube makes changes on his top three lines in Game 2.

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Jim Thomas
DENVER — Blues coach Craig Berube shuffled his top three lines for Game 2 on Thursday, resulting in two lines that had not opened a game together all season, and a third line that hadn’t played together since January.
Pavel Buchnevich joined the Ryan O’Reilly-David Perron line for the first time to open a game.
Perron said he remembered playing with Buchnevich for a couple of third-period shifts in a blowout loss to Calgary on Jan. 24. But that’s it.
“For O’Ry and I, it’s a lot similar every single night,” Perron said after the morning skate. “We want to go play deep, hang onto the puck, make the other team defend more than they did the first (game). And I think Buchy can really add to that the way he hangs onto the puck, the way he makes plays, and trying to get that goal that he’s talking about a lot.”

After scoring 30 goals during the regular season, Buchnevich had not scored a goal in seven postseason games going into Thursday’s contest. He did have four assists, however. Buchnevich also played in eight prior postseason games over five seasons with the New York Rangers without scoring a goal.

pruman91 · May 20, 2022

Hochman: The Blues' Bortuzzo embodies the toughness needed to succeed in the playoffs

Robert Bortuzzo put his face in front of a point-blank shot against Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs

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DENVER — It’s tough to quantify “tough.” In an era of advanced statistics, in which you can measure seemingly every aspect of a hockey player, no number can classify who’s the biggest bad(butt).
But what makes playoff hockey so cool is the incalculable facet of perseverance through pain.
“You ask any winning team and that’s what it takes — it’s physical sacrifice and a mental sacrifice,” said Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. “And all the good teams are willing to do it.”
During this Blues-Avalanche series, St. Louis coach Craig Berube pointed that, per usual, many players are playing hurt. It’s part of playoff culture. Hockey culture. I’ll never forget being in Nashville for the Blues’ playoffs in 2017. After the team’s final loss, Alexander Steen spoke to a few reporters in the bowels of the arena. He revealed he had been playing with a broken foot.

A broken foot!
“It’s not just me, there are several guys in here that dug deep,” Steener said that day. “There are guys that played through shoulders, hips, knees, feet, heels, ribs, backs.”
But during the series themselves, players won’t admit injuries. The most you might get from a coach is a reference to something “upper body” or “lower body.” But any tidbit of information can be intel for an opponent.

IlliniFaninHoosierLand · May 20, 2022

Heard a great comment from Chris Kerber on the radio during Game 1. So the Colorado fans have been using pom poms instead of towels which you see in most other NHL cities. So Kerbs said that Kroenke had to use pom poms instead of towels because of all the money he has had to pay the city of St. Louis.

Granted I think Colorado has used the pom poms for years but I still thought it was a funny comment.

whatahack · May 20, 2022

pruman91 said:
Hochman: The Blues' Bortuzzo embodies the toughness needed to succeed in the playoffs

Robert Bortuzzo put his face in front of a point-blank shot against Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs

www.stltoday.com

DENVER — It’s tough to quantify “tough.” In an era of advanced statistics, in which you can measure seemingly every aspect of a hockey player, no number can classify who’s the biggest bad(butt).
But what makes playoff hockey so cool is the incalculable facet of perseverance through pain.
“You ask any winning team and that’s what it takes — it’s physical sacrifice and a mental sacrifice,” said Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo. “And all the good teams are willing to do it.”
During this Blues-Avalanche series, St. Louis coach Craig Berube pointed that, per usual, many players are playing hurt. It’s part of playoff culture. Hockey culture. I’ll never forget being in Nashville for the Blues’ playoffs in 2017. After the team’s final loss, Alexander Steen spoke to a few reporters in the bowels of the arena. He revealed he had been playing with a broken foot.

A broken foot!
“It’s not just me, there are several guys in here that dug deep,” Steener said that day. “There are guys that played through shoulders, hips, knees, feet, heels, ribs, backs.”
But during the series themselves, players won’t admit injuries. The most you might get from a coach is a reference to something “upper body” or “lower body.” But any tidbit of information can be intel for an opponent.

Hockey players are a different breed...

pruman91 · May 21, 2022

Blues notebook: An about-face on faceoffs

Blues follow one of their worst faceoff nights of the season with one of their best in Colorado series.

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Jim Thomas
The Blues won a paltry 36 percent of their faceoffs Tuesday in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series with Colorado, their second-worst faceoff night of the season — regular-season and postseason games included.
Forty-eight hours later, the Blues won 61 percent of their faceoffs in Game 2, which tied for their sixth-best night in the circle.
The 25-percent game-to-game improvement was the biggest of the season.
So what was the difference? What was done to get the faceoff crew back on track?
“Nothing much,” coach Craig Berube said, nonchalantly. “They just had a bad night (Tuesday). A lot better night for sure (Thursday). I thought everybody was really good on faceoffs, which is important. We start with the puck and they don’t.”

There’s some technique involved and some pre-scouting can help. But for Berube, the biggest key to success on faceoffs is who wants it more.
“It’s being a little bit more competitive there,” he said. “There’s guys that watch the faceoffs, too, and they look at what they can do better and how the other team — their players — are taking draws. Things like that.”
After Tuesday’s bad night, captain Ryan O’Reilly was seen working on faceoffs at the end of Thursday’s morning skate at Ball Arena in Denver.

pruman91 · May 21, 2022

BenFred: No more coasting for ballyhooed Avalanche after Blues grabbed wheel in Game 2

The Blues showed in Game 2 that if they get to their game, they can compete with any opponent in a best-of-seven grind

www.stltoday.com

Ben Frederickson
Colorado can be beaten.
Can you believe it?
One loss, one win and what seemed like an avalanche of change in between.
After the Blues played passenger in their Game 1 loss of this second-round playoff series and before they grabbed the wheel in Thursday’s Game 2 win, coach Craig Berube sat his players down for a video review of Game 1 moments that just looked wrong. Preparation for Saturday’s Game 3 should be more fun. Berube can point to three periods full of Game 2 moments that just looked right.

When one says the Blues found their game in Game 2, this is what it looks like.

It looks like Vladimir Tarasenko sacrificing his body to block a Samuel Girard shot with a minute left in a game the Blues led by three goals. The Blues played this one through the final horn. Tarasenko’s sacrifice was symbolic. No letting up. That’s Berube hockey in a nutshell. If Brayden Schenn’s first-period wallop of Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon set the tone from the start, Tarasenko’s selflessness toward the end set the tone for Game 3. The Blues refused to hit cruise control before heading home.

pruman91 · May 21, 2022

After impressive Game 2 win, can Blues do it again?

Defense and goaltending have kept Blues in the Colorado series so far, and were keys in Thursday's 4-1 victory.

www.stltoday.com

Jim Thomas
The significance of defeating the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena cannot be overstated. During the regular season, the Avs racked up 68 of a possible 82 points at home, tied for the NHL’s best with the Florida Panthers.
Throw in postseason games, and the Avalanche were 35-5-4 at Stan Kroenke’s ice rink entering Game 2 of the second-round series with the Blues on Thursday. That’s a points percentage of .841.
Home or away, preseason or postseason, the Blues had won only four of their previous 16 games against Colorado, dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season. But they got it done Thursday with an impressive 4-1 victory.
Which begs the question: Now that they’ve slain the dragon once, can the Blues replicate that performance?

“Get some rest tonight, and get some rest tomorrow,” coach Craig Berube said late Thursday night at Ball, mere minutes after the victory. “Just prepare for another battle. You look at tape, and you go over things. Maybe there’s some things that you can expose a little better.”
It was a typical Berube answer in the sense that he never overcomplicates things.
“But again, it’s playoff hockey,” he continued. “It’s gonna come down to competing at a high level, winning battles, making sure you’re playing with good structure.

pruman91 · May 22, 2022

BenFred: 'The Kadri Game' will go down in Blues infamy if tossed trash is strongest response

Playing it cool after a questionable collision is one thing. The Blues went cold.

www.stltoday.com

Ben Frederickson
Call this one, ‘The Kadri Game.’
Hashtag it #Bottlegate.
You had to know the most polarizing man with a vested interest in the Avalanche not named Stan Kroenke was going to stir the pot eventually.
Kadri’s Game 3 performance, complete with another tired Mr. Misunderstood song and dance after Colorado’s 5-2 win, could have just swung this second-round series in favor of the Avalanche.
Kadri’s first-period collision with Blues defenseman Calle Rosen turned into a two-man collision into Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, who left the game with a lower-body injury and was not heard from again – at least not until he and Kadri crossed paths in the Enterprise Center hallway that connects locker rooms after the game, and Binnington, according to multiple witnesses cited by media covering the Avalanche, sent an empty water bottle in Kadri's direction.

But that wasn’t the only thing Kadri did Saturday.
Blues fans won’t want to admit this, but Kadri played great after Ville Husso was tasked with the tough assignment of hustling into the game from the bench to fill in for the Blues' most important player in this postseason.

Kadri scored a goal after the collision. Kadri notched an assist after the collision. Kadri took Jordan Kyrou’s stick away from him after the collision. Did you see that one? It was the kind of thing a big brother does to a little brother in a street hockey game. Kadri was on the ice a lot after the collision, including late, after things got lopsided, and he was seemingly unafraid of any sort of potential retribution from the Blues.