San Jose outplayed the Blues last night 5 on 5, but the Blues power play was the difference.  San Jose also was the more physical team.

End of the day, a win is a win, and now the Blues have 2 to San Jose's 1.  I think some of the young 'uns (Oshie in particular) are learning that playoff hockey is about 100 levels of intensity higher than the regular season.  The good news is they're winning games while learning.

And I really wish they'd stop going into a shell at the end of games.  I know they had a 4-1 lead, but it was 4-2 when the Blues had that last power play.  I'd have liked to have seen them try to score rather than simply be content running 2 minutes off the clock.  The way they played enabled San Jose to get the goalie off the ice quickly after the penalty expired which led to the 3rd goal.  It cost them in Game 1, and damn near cost them last night.

I dunno fors, on the scoreboard they were weaker in 5v5, they only scored one goal 5v5. We scored 0, but goal 1 was a PP goal, and a fluke mistake by Russell. Goal #3 was empty net, while the Blues had no incentive to even ice the puck it was so late with a 2 goal lead.

From what I watched, the Blues almost never allowed sustained pressure, blocked a buttload of shots when San Jose did accomplish the blue line, and overpowered them almost the entire game 5v5. We didn't score, but there's wasn't a lot of room for San Jose to do anything. Until they found some openings at the tail end of the game, which is indeed disturbing. We beat them in game 1, and let them off the hook. We destroyed them in game 2, and embarrassed them for almost all of game 3 in their own building. Their own crowd was booing them. Their powerplay was almost non-existant until the last one, and their penalty kill got humiliated.

There was a lot to criticize in that last 5 minutes, but the first 55 reminded me of the team that went 6-1 on that road trip, and came to be expected to win every night. They played with poise and confidence, and while the score was close there for a while, you felt it was just a matter of time before St. Louis blew the doors off the place. That happened! The collapse at the end.... Great to learn from and still walk away with a win, that was dangerous. I don't think Hitch will allow it in Game 4. I'd expect a little more effort from San Jose, and a lot chippier of a game if they are losing. Going down 3-1 is nearly always fatal in the NHL Playoffs, and I would expect they get some attitude if it looks like that's their destination.

Hossa definitely had his head down and looked as if he was out for an afternoon skate with the kids rather than being in the middle of an NHL playoff game, but Torres definitely left his feet, and it wasn't just a little hop, it was a full blown jump.  As flagrant as that play was, combined with Torres' past record, he should get a double-digit game suspension.

Don't take this the wrong way because I love the physicality of playoff hockey, and I appreciate the chippiness that comes from playing the same team night after night, but these playoffs have turned into a street fight.  Shanahan fucked this whole thing up when he turned a blind eye to Weber's elbow and head slam on Zetterberg.  He needs to fix it by throwing the book at Torres.

No one is going to want to watch a Stanley Cup finals played by 3rd and 4th line players and a half dozen kids called up from the minors.  At the rate this is going, every 1st or 2nd line player is going to be in the hospital or in the press box with a concussion.

One last thing, how in the hell to the officials completely miss that call?  I know the linesmen aren't supposed to call penalties, but I thought they had input on intent to injure plays, and its embarrassing that four separate sets of eyes didn't see the Torres hit as a penalty.

Last edited by forsberg_us (4/18/2012 9:38 am)

Sadly, the only thing Torres did wrong was leave his feet. It was way wrong, but the hit by itself is straight up, shoulder through chest. Legal hit if he doesn't jump.

The baffling thing to me is Hossa. I'm not saying he deserved this or had it coming, but this is the playoffs. What he does is remarkably stupid from a man I would almost otherwise credit with brilliant ice vision. Unfortunately, he paid a dear price for this. People say his head bounced off the ice, and I don't know that I see that. It never looks like his helmet actually hits the ice to me, but that might have been a bad angle. It's likely he has a concussion however, and how long did that sideline Perron? McDonald? Kariya? ... I hope he's okay, but I have a feeling we're not going to see Hossa for a while.

I get you and agree with you, I was just making an observation about how close that line is between good clean tough hitting, and bullshit cheapass dirty hockey. If he doesn't leave his feet, it's a solid legal hockey play, and he's commended for making it. Pretty sure with Hossa's level of attentiveness, he's in the hospital either way.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that when the hearing is conducted in person, the potential suspension is greater than 5 games.  Again, I think Torres' history plays into this a lot, but I think he's done for a while.

ETA: Did you see this story?  LMAO!!! I always hated Tyson Nash

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/story/_/id/7828158/phoenix-coyotes-announcer-tyson-nash-received-death-threats-call-marian-hossa-hit

Last edited by forsberg_us (4/18/2012 2:51 pm)

forsberg_us wrote:

I seem to remember reading somewhere that when the hearing is conducted in person, the potential suspension is greater than 5 games.  Again, I think Torres' history plays into this a lot, but I think he's done for a while.

ETA: Did you see this story?  LMAO!!! I always hated Tyson Nash

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/story/_/id/7828158/phoenix-coyotes-announcer-tyson-nash-received-death-threats-call-marian-hossa-hit

Wonder if Bartman authored the post in the comment section about Chicago being "better than that" for issuing death threats?

"Nash was one of the biggest pussies I ever saw put on skates."

Claude Lemeiux.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"Nash was one of the biggest pussies I ever saw put on skates."

Claude Lemeiux.

Great call

I understand Alz, and you certainly weren't the only person who liked him.  I just hate that style of player, even if he benefits the team I root for.  I hate the NHL for changing the rules in a way that allowed players like this to thrive.

I have greater disdain for Avery simply because without all of his nuisance bullshit (and the rules that allow him to get away with his nuisance bullshit), he'd be lucky to have a job in the NHL.  Hell, Avery's lucky to have a job in the NHL anyway.

Lemieux at least had skill.  He scored almost 400 career NHL goals and another 80 in the playoffs.  Lemieux was a part of 3 Stanley Cup winning teams and was the Conn Smythe trophy winner on one of those.  I hated Claude Lemieux, but my hatred was more similar to the hatred I had for guys like Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour.

I hate the Sean Averys of the game simply because they exist, not because I'm worried they're going to beat the team I'm rooting for.

Fairly accurate although I'm sure we could add a few more categories to the list.  The one that comes to mind is:

The Teacher- This "fan" hasn't been to a Blues game in years, but comes to the game with someone who has never seen a hockey game.  The teacher doesn't know the difference between the red line, blue line or goal line, confuses the trapezoid and the crease and doesn't know the icing or offsides rules, but will spend the entire game incorrectly explaining the game of hockey to the person he brought to the game in a voice loud enough to be heard by the entire section in which he is sitting.