Well I'm not positive how to feel about San Jose. On the one hand, they aren't Chicago or Dallas... On the other? They beat the Kings and Nashville. I don't suppose you're going to find a bad team in the Conference finals. 

The Sharks definitely can be beaten when they are on the road. They didn't win a game in Nashville. We need to jump them on Sunday.
 

I thought it would have been hilarious to play Central Central Central and the winner plays for Stanley, but I really didn't want to deal with Rinne either. He has a habit of making us look awful.

I'll take San Jose. Win game 1 guys!!!! Then we'll go from there.

Not a hockey buff but no team has looked as good as the Blackhawks

All very true, but they lost a couple of key guys, like Johnny Oduya, who was a real presence for them defensively. Antoine Vermette scored some big goals in the playoffs last year. Brad Richards isn't the player he once was, but I think they missed his presence in the room. And I don't think Crawford was the same guy this year as he was in the past, probably because he wasn't ever playing at full strength after his injury late in the regular season.

3 very different teams.

Besides being very good, Chicago had a presence that the Dallas and San Jose don't have because Chicago has won 3 times in 5 years.  You just always felt like Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith and/or Seabrook would do something to cause them to win.  Plus, Quennville on the bench is a huge advantage that neither Dallas nor San Jose have.

Dallas had a team that was elite offensively, but left something to be desired in their own zone.  Their best defensemen were all 185 pounds or less.  Their defensemen could be easily knocked off of the puck and the Blues could take advantage of the size difference.  And, as mentioned, Dallas' goaltending wasn't good.

With San Jose, I see a team that's as big (or bigger) than the Blues, but probably more top heavy than St. Louis.  Thornton, Pavelski and Couture are all first line forwards.  Patrick Marleau was also one, but age has caught up with him a little.  Brett Burns is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league.  But once you move past those 5 players, there isn't anyone on San Jose who necessarily scares you.  For San Jose to win, one of three things has to happen: 1) Jones plays outstanding and steals the series, 2) San Jose's top 5 continue to play at an insane level (as they did in Rounds 1 and 2 or 3) San Jose gets help from the depth of its roster.

Other than Tarasenko, the Blues don't have a forward as talented as San Jose's top 3, but other than Marleau, San Jose doesn't have a forward on the level of Backes, Schwartz, Lehtera, Steen, Fabbri, Stastny or Brouwer.  And San Jose doesn't have the defensive depth to match Pietrangelo, Bouwmeester, Parayko and Shattenkirk  

Ultimately, the Blues depth should win out, but if they can't stop that top line, they could just as easily lose the series.

"Offensively on paper, San Jose looks to be much more lethal offensively, but it just "looks" that way. It evens out a lot closer when you realize how many games were lost to Steen, Schwartz, and Berglund being out with injuries. Between San Jose's top 6 scorers, they collectively only missed 4 games."

We'll have to agree to disagree.  Tarasenko may be the most skilled offensive player in the series, but he only scored 2 more goals than Pavelski.  The Blues don't have a playmaker in the same stratosphere with Thornton who is approaching 1,000 assists for his career.  Couture is leading the NHL in playoff points scored.  Brett Burns scored 75 points--that's more than any forward for the Blues--and he's 2nd in the NHL in playoff points.

On their way to meet the Blues, the Sharks disposed of Jonathan Quick and LA in 5 games.  IMO, that's the equivalent of beating Chicago (given those 2 teams have won the last 5 Stanley Cups).  

Where the Blues have the advantage is depth.  The Blues top 9 forwards are better than San Jose's top 9 and their top 4 defensemen are better than San Jose.  Plus, at least in Game 1, Elliott was better than Jones.

I agree with you, I think the Blues should win.  But I'm not ready to hand them the Clarence Campbell Bowl just yet (not that anyone would likely touch it even if I was)  

Well, now they've gone 7 periods without a goal. Your prediction may prove correct.

There's the team I'm used to seeing. Let's see if they can do that again. 

Well, it's win or go home now. Tough to be bitter though. San Jose has been the better team in 4 of the 5 games. Tarasenko picked a shitty time to turn invisible.

On the subject of Tarasenko, I'm curious if he's hurt and needing surgery of some kind. He's dogging it, and that's really just not like him. 

Fors, 

That's the same tune 29 teams get to sing every year, and probably the wrong way to think about it. The Blues are no longer a guaranteed first round choke artist. The Blues were one of the final 4, and were 2 wins from the Stanley Cup Final. That's very unlike every other year. I'm very proud of what the Blues did personally. 

The Sharks could get their shit pushed in by Tampa Bay or Pittsburgh. Or vice versa. It doesn't mean any of those teams should hang their heads....

Like I said, 29 teams have their dreams crushed by the hockey season.

Found this on STLToday. Seems to be pretty fair to me.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/benjamin-hochman/hochman-sharks-put-blues-to-bed/article_9582e4c9-2563-5bd9-b393-be54e34268cd.html
 

Last edited by alz (5/26/2016 8:04 am)

They ran into a team that handled them very well. It sure stings a bit to get that close and not realize the dream, but we beat Chicago and Dallas this postseason. Had we started our extra gear for the entire 3rd period, maybe we don't fall down 4-0 and maybe we can get that 3rd. If we can get to a game 7, who knows. Even being that outplayed.... We were maybe 10 minutes from changing the fate of the season. 

It stinks they didn't get to the Finals, but at the same time with all of the injuries, and all of the adversity.... There's just no way not to be very proud of this team. We're a very good team that finally didn't disappoint.