NHL Playoffs: Western Conference Finals: Central (#2) St. Louis Blues vs Pacific (#3) San Jose Sharks

[flyercanuck]

When a certain someone all but guarantees a Blues/Lightning final and Steve Ott as the gamechanger you all but know it's going to be a Pens/Sharks final and that Ott will be benched for taking stupid penalties.

 

 

[Samifan]

On May 15, 2016 at 10:23 PM, Hockey Junkie said:

 St Louis not only deserves to win, they are going to win.  The Blues have it all.  Including Steve Ott who will take care of anyone that tries to be a tough guy.  

Ah Steve Ott, taking care of anyone that tries to get tough in the press box! "If anyone takes too much popcorn, I'll bitch slap them!"

 

 

[J0e Th0rnton]

3 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

Not surprised by Hitch's move to Allen.  When it comes right down to it I say the two of them are pretty even.  He is looking for a shake up.  The Blues are too good for this to continue.  I expect them to show up big time tomorrow.  

Allen is definitely a better puck mover than Elliott and Elliott is tired. Historically, he has not performed well under a heavy workload, so a game rest might do him good. As long as Allen is not too rusty, it should be a positive move. The sharks are not dumping and chasing as much so the move won't curtail our system much, but they have to do something.

 

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Hmm...so the Blues FINALLY realizing if they want to win a Cup, they can't have a 'part time starter' like Elliot in, but rather a full time starter like Jake Allen.

 

Well, if their defense can handle the Sharks fierce rush, then they may have something.

 

But until they prove otherwise, the Blues remain, as I have said all along, a lane clogging team with bursts of great play (enough to get them to this point at least), but not quite the complete package to win it all.

 

Series has, and continues to be, the Sharks' to lose.

[OccamsRazor]

Great series so far. Two great teams slugging it out.

[J0e Th0rnton]

My heart was racing this whole game. Both teams played liked crap 1st period. Blues looked better in 2nd period. Sharks just went into beastmode in the 3rd and steamrolled the blues.

 

Furthest we have ever gone!!! Keep going guys! Keep going

[J0e Th0rnton]

8 minutes ago, Hockey Junkie said:

I get the battle cry from Sharks fans like Joe T.  But to count the Blues out would be a mistake.  They are for sure a different team on the road.  And if they can force game 7 as I believe they will, they have to figure out how to play defense at home.  I am not sure if Teresenko is off his game?  Choking?  Or if its coaching?  After all, he did not "choke" agains the mighty Blackhawks or Dallas.   I would argue both of those teams are better than San Jose.  Far deeper in talent for sure.  Especially the Blackhawks.  Even Joe T cannot argue against that.  I will give Jone the nod over Crawford.  But Marleau is not Kane or Teresenko.   The Blues can still get this done.  

Trust me, I don't allow myself to ever count a team out after 2 years ago. Deboer's adjustments and instilling of a "Never give up, never take your foot off the gas" attitude is infectious though. After years of watching TMac getting them to ease up and try to protect leads, take their foot off the gas, and blow 3rd period leads, it is a welcome pleasure to see the team believing in themselves and going for the throat in the 3rd with rocket fuel.

 

Seeing how the fans of both teams are reacting on social media is hilarious tho

Sharks up 2-1: Blues fans "It's over", Tied 2-2: Sharks Fans "It's over", Sharks up 3-2: Blues fans "it's over"

 

and so on. Both fanbases are so jaded.

 

Not sure why Marleau would be compared to those guys. Marleau has been playing subpar compared to the rest of the team. The big guns expected to produce have been producing. That would be Thornton, Pavelski, Couture, Burns.

Marleau has been regressing for the past few years and it is almost puzzling since his physical traits have not diminished(His speed and stamina are still there, but it is like he is holding the stick too tight and overthinking everything). He is due for one of his big games same as Tarasenko tho.

 

 

Hertl hasn't been showing up on the scoreboard as much, but his possession game has gone to Thornton levels using that big butt to protect the puck. Vlasic/Braun have been terrific in their shutdown role with Vlasic continuing to contribute offensively.

 

Were I to guess, I would say Tarasenko is injured. As we covered earlier, neither the Hawks nor Kings were their usual selves this year. And Dallas..........no Dallas is not as good as SJ. Their tiny Dmen got pushed around badly by the blues....something the blues forwards can't do to the Sharks D. Compounding the problem was the goaltending due of Niemi/Letfourin....They ain't going to steal you any games.

 

No, I comfortably felt going in the sharks were better than the Stars, and at worst, equal to or better than this years incarnation of the Hawks, who are beginning to feel the effects of those HUGE contracts Kane + Toews have eating away the team depth. The Hawks basically played with 3 good Dmen and 3 slugs and had no depth production. The kings were in the same boat but their top Dmen also pooped the bed badly.

 

Not surprisingly, the Blues and Sharks had the best depth production before this series. Blues from 3 lines and Sharks from 4 lines. But for once, the Sharks top line has gone into Beastmode during important games. Thornton and Pavelski and Burns are playing like they may never get the chance again and they might not, so I am thrilled to see it.

 

 

[B21]

On 5/20/2016 at 11:10 AM, flyercanuck said:

When a certain someone all but guarantees a Blues/Lightning final and Steve Ott as the gamechanger you all but know it's going to be a Pens/Sharks final and that Ott will be benched for taking stupid penalties.

 

 

 

I'm going to start using him for stock market advice....for obvious reasons. 

[J0e Th0rnton]

2 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

It seems like you are selling the Blues a bit short on their wins over Chicago and Dallas.  They did what the Sharks never could have done, that is knock out the mighty Blackhawks   So I do have faith that they can overcome this.  I mean, its only two games.  Granted the Sharks have played better on D than I have ever seen.  Dallas did not go quietly.  If you are right about Teresenko, Hitchcock should know.  Maybe he figures a Teresenko at 80 % is better than most players at 100%?   The guy is a monster of a player.  I am expecting him to come through tonight.  Elliot must come through.  He should not be the a answer though.  Hitchcock needs to make sure his defense is up to the task if they can get the lead.  I throw the kitchen sink at them early, and if they can get a lead, play 3 men back and play Devils hockey like the Sharks are.  

Neither the Hawks nor Kings were very mighty this year, so while both teams exorcised their demons, it was against teams that feel the cap strap and lost their depth.

 

The Hawks lost Saad, Sharp, Oduya, Richards and Vermette and Hossa is 37 years old and showing his age rapidly. I would argue that Panarin more than replaces Saad. But the rest of the depth they lost hurt. Oduya's 24 minutes a night last year allowed them to effectively play 4 defensemen since Seabrooke/Keith can eat 30 minutes each, but Rozsival/Van Riemsdyk were exposed to the detriment of the team. Panik and Anisimov are not replacements for Sharp, Richards and Vermette.

 

They still did a good job and took the blues to 7. But this is not the same Hawks team that won the cup a year ago by any means.

 

Likewise the kings, despite having some award finalists themselves, are depth strapped. Losing Voynov hurt their d the most. They probably lose Lucic to UFA this year too. They got a massive get out of jail free card by terminating Richards contract.

 

Dallas.....lol. I made my opinion on Niemi and Letfourin pretty plain. The blues pretty much ran over the smaller Dmen of the stars as well. I honestly thought the blues would beat the stars in 6. I voted as much.

 

In any case, Sharks in 6 is what I called this series. Hope I am right

[ScottM]

1 hour ago, J0e Th0rnton said:

Neither the Hawks nor Kings were very mighty this year, so while both teams exorcised their demons, it was against teams that feel the cap strap and lost their depth.

 

The Hawks lost Saad, Sharp, Oduya, Richards and Vermette and Hossa is 37 years old and showing his age rapidly. I would argue that Panarin more than replaces Saad. But the rest of the depth they lost hurt. Oduya's 24 minutes a night last year allowed them to effectively play 4 defensemen since Seabrooke/Keith can eat 30 minutes each, but Rozsival/Van Riemsdyk were exposed to the detriment of the team. Panik and Anisimov are not replacements for Sharp, Richards and Vermette.

 

They still did a good job and took the blues to 7. But this is not the same Hawks team that won the cup a year ago by any means.

 

Likewise the kings, despite having some award finalists themselves, are depth strapped. Losing Voynov hurt their d the most. They probably lose Lucic to UFA this year too. They got a massive get out of jail free card by terminating Richards contract.

 

Dallas.....lol. I made my opinion on Niemi and Letfourin pretty plain. The blues pretty much ran over the smaller Dmen of the stars as well. I honestly thought the blues would beat the stars in 6. I voted as much.

 

In any case, Sharks in 6 is what I called this series. Hope I am right

 

Sometimes exorcising those demons is more of a psychological thing than anything. I think that's also true of the "playoff choker" label. That's a label that both of these teams have worn for years, and rightfully so, I believe (no offense intended since you're a fan of one of them). In a lot of cases those psychological barriers are a bigger problem than the on ice aspects, so I have a lot of praise for both teams right now. They've both fought hard in the current series as well, so whoever advances will be a very worthy finalist. I think we can pull the choker tag from both.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Pretty sure I used up all my prayers this last week as everything's gone my way.

So for tonight, I pray to Jobu.

 

[Poulin20]

Sharks were relentless tonight.  This pretty much sums up how Ken Hitchcock felt during game 6. 

 

[sarsippius]

5 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said:

Pretty sure I used up all my prayers this last week as everything's gone my way.

So for tonight, I pray to Jobu.

Congrats Joe! At this point I'm hoping your boys win 4 more

[MadDevil]

Congrats to the Sharks. They're easily the most likeable team left for me and I'm glad to see them finally get to play for a Cup. Burns and Thornton raising the Cup with those beards would be epic. Plus Zubrus was a good soldier for the Devils for a long time and I'd like to see him win a Cup. Besides, I have a feeling they'll be playing Pittsburgh, and I can't in good conscience cheer for them again this year. 

[pilldoc]

@J0e Th0rnton

 

Congrats Joe! Congrats to the Sharks for making the Finals for the 1st time in team history.  Now seal the deal and win 4 more games!

[pilldoc]

14 hours ago, Hockey Junkie said:

It seems like you are selling the Blues a bit short on their wins over Chicago and Dallas.  They did what the Sharks never could have done, that is knock out the mighty Blackhawks   So I do have faith that they can overcome this.  I mean, its only two games.  Granted the Sharks have played better on D than I have ever seen.  Dallas did not go quietly.  If you are right about Teresenko, Hitchcock should know.  Maybe he figures a Teresenko at 80 % is better than most players at 100%?   The guy is a monster of a player.  I am expecting him to come through tonight.  Elliot must come through.  He should not be the a answer though.  Hitchcock needs to make sure his defense is up to the task if they can get the lead.  I throw the kitchen sink at them early, and if they can get a lead, play 3 men back and play Devils hockey like the Sharks are.  

 

So..... do you finally

 

 

[J0e Th0rnton]

Shame I am too busy and stressed with work to watch the games

But WHOHOOOOO

[Samifan]

Congrats @J0e Th0rnton!  

Great job by the Sharks to contain Steve Ott. I recall a certain poster claimed he was going to be a difference maker in this series. 

 

Pulling for your boys to take this home!!!

 

[pilldoc]

15 minutes ago, Samifan said:

Great job by the Sharks to contain Steve Ott. I recall a certain poster claimed he was going to be a difference maker in this series

 

LOL ... yup.  Hard to be a difference maker when you don't even play!

 

St. Louis Blues Scratches

S. Ott

Scratched

[OccamsRazor]

Good job Sharks now finish the task. I guess the best team in the West did win....right Buffalo Rick?

[OccamsRazor]

I think Joe Pavelski has to be the leading guy for the Conn Smythe.

 

13 goals 9 assists in 18 gp and 4 GWGs.

 

Wow and he ain't done.

 

Justin Williams won it with 9 goals 16 assists in 25 games.

[ScottM]

@J0e Th0rnton Go get that Cup! I'd love to see a first time winner.

[Samifan]

Ok where are my meme makers? Need to see crying Jordan on Captain Kangaroo's body!

[ruxpin]

On 5/13/2016 at 4:00 PM, Hockey Junkie said:

I love the Blues as I have all along.  And they open at home which of course is maybe not to their advantage.  They are road warriors.  They play great on the road.  I will be happy with a split in St Louis and then they go into the tank and wipe them off the ice.  They can come back home with a shark tooth necklace and a 3-1 lead.  St Louis might be the best road team in hockey along with the Blackhawks and Kings.  I do believe they will play better at home in this series.  Teresenko  and Backes are the two difference makers here.  And Brower.  Steen has to be mentioned also.  Those four guy s are just great.  San Jose has nothing to compare with them.  Goaltending is about even.  Blues win and don't forget the choke reputation lays with San Jose far more than St Louis

 

I keep trying to tell you:  bet against the Blues.  Double it each round, because they are guaranteed sure fire money if you bet against.   See you next year when we have the same conversation.   Tradition being what it is and all that.

[yave1964]

Hitch did the worst job of coaching in a conference final that I have seen in forever. He took credit fro everything that went right, pointed fingers at his players to the press when things did not go their way. Just horrible. He wanted to be the center of attention with the whole war with Deboar and all, the press loved him, he forgot to coach and IMHO cost his team the series. Actually, the Sharks were probably the better club anyway, but any chance the Blues had went out the window with Hitchcock acting like a fool for the camera.