The Stars are perfectly fine with giving up lots of shots from areas that are not dangerous to an NHL goaltender. The Blues shot a lot of pucks, but the vast majority of these shots had no prayer of going in against Jake Oettinger. The problem was more getting pinned down in their own end at times, especially in the 2nd period. They miss Heiskanen. A lot. And at times they didn’t have much of a forecheck. But they did a brilliant job of taking advantage of Blues mistakes and defensive breakdowns, and this is what decided the game as decisively as it was decided. Oh, and other teams need to stop putting the Stars on the power play. Not a good plan.
A couple of 4th line comments. Stankovan seems to show up way more when he's not on the 4th line - his size seems to hamper him when he's on a checking line, unlike when he's on one of the top lines. And on Faksa, I loved how his 4th line seemed to always be in the offensive zone when he was on the ice with the Stars. They never played on their heels like some 4th lines and were always a threat to score. And he was so good on the PK. Glad to see the tribute last night.
It'll be interesting to see which of Bourque and Stankoven is playing up the lineup in April. I think Bourque can be more effective on the fourth line than Stankoven, but there's a lot more to weigh than just that.
Thanks! If you have any specific criticisms (or things you like), I love to hear those. The idea is to make this thing as enjoyable and informative as possible, but y'all will be the judge of whether I'm succeeding or not.
When you were listing our Blue Line Woes, you forgot to mention Lundkvist, who was having his best year (low bar, I know) and seemed to be finally earning the coaches’ confidence.
The Stars are perfectly fine with giving up lots of shots from areas that are not dangerous to an NHL goaltender. The Blues shot a lot of pucks, but the vast majority of these shots had no prayer of going in against Jake Oettinger. The problem was more getting pinned down in their own end at times, especially in the 2nd period. They miss Heiskanen. A lot. And at times they didn’t have much of a forecheck. But they did a brilliant job of taking advantage of Blues mistakes and defensive breakdowns, and this is what decided the game as decisively as it was decided. Oh, and other teams need to stop putting the Stars on the power play. Not a good plan.
Will always love it when we beat up on the blues!! 2019 still feels very fresh.
Fun is encouraged at hockey games.
This is good.
A couple of 4th line comments. Stankovan seems to show up way more when he's not on the 4th line - his size seems to hamper him when he's on a checking line, unlike when he's on one of the top lines. And on Faksa, I loved how his 4th line seemed to always be in the offensive zone when he was on the ice with the Stars. They never played on their heels like some 4th lines and were always a threat to score. And he was so good on the PK. Glad to see the tribute last night.
It'll be interesting to see which of Bourque and Stankoven is playing up the lineup in April. I think Bourque can be more effective on the fourth line than Stankoven, but there's a lot more to weigh than just that.
Love this format!
Thanks! If you have any specific criticisms (or things you like), I love to hear those. The idea is to make this thing as enjoyable and informative as possible, but y'all will be the judge of whether I'm succeeding or not.
The only failure last night was not showing the Faksa rail slide and goal from Patrick Sharpe(!) during his video montage...
My conspiracy theory is they scrapped a bigger video after his hit on Lyubushkin. (but not really)
When you were listing our Blue Line Woes, you forgot to mention Lundkvist, who was having his best year (low bar, I know) and seemed to be finally earning the coaches’ confidence.
I sure did! Might as well add that. His wasn't an in-game injury, which is why it didn't feel the same. But the loss was a big one.