***Official 2013-2014 NHL Season Thread***

[DaFace]

Go.

Playoff Bracket Challenge:
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Password: chiefs

Scores and Schedules:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/scores.htm

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by DaFace

If he was pissed about the hold, I can understand that (though, similar to Landy's snowing penalty, those are the types of things refs usually swallow their whistles about late in a game). I don't buy the whining about the offside - it certainly wasn't egregious.

He was mad about the snowing too. Said the refs were garbage and the tying goal never should have happened.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Well Path in what excruciating way do we get knocked out today?

[CaliforniaChief]

C'mon guys, there's no damned reason you can't win this thing.

Hopefully you can get over that mental block and find a way to win one today.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by PGM

Well Path in what excruciating way do we get knocked out today?

Jesus. So many possibilities considering how snakebit this organization is.

Late Chicago power play on a phantom call?

Seabrook scoring the winner?

Crazy bounce off the boards/glass on a dump in?

Blow a 3rd period lead?

Missed offsides call?

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by PGM

He was mad about the snowing too. Said the refs were garbage and the tying goal never should have happened.

He was right. The wrong team's trailing the series.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

C'mon guys, there's no damned reason you can't win this thing.

Hopefully you can get over that mental block and find a way to win one today.

I can't man. Same as the Chiefs.

I kid you not...I started thinking about the Houston Buffalo game when the Chiefs were up 28.

This series is an EXACT replica of last year against LA. It is down right creepy.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by PGM

I can't man. Same as the Chiefs.

I kid you not...I started thinking about the Houston Buffalo game when the Chiefs were up 28.

This series is an EXACT replica of last year against LA. It is down right creepy.

So what happened in Game 6 last year?

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by DaFace

So what happened in Game 6 last year?

Blues lost 2-1.

LA scored on a 60 footer with less than a second to go in the 2nd period, and STL couldn't find the tying goal in the 3rd.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Good read from Bernie:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colum...29c5f494d.html

Good morning ...

To survive Game 6 in Chicago, the Blues need a few things to go their way.

Much of the pregame emphasis has been shifted to goaltender Ryan Miller. He's been good (but not great) in the series.

The Blues will almost certainly need Miller to play great -- or at least his best game of the series -- today.

That said, I think it's simplistic to put just about all of this on Miller.

Making him the advance centerpiece of the Blues' Game 6 fate essentially removes much of the responsibility from the backs of the other Blues, and that's a cop-out.

The other Blues should also be held accountable for their play.

The Blues require great performances from a lot of players in Game 6. The goalie often stands in isolation on his little island, but he's hardly alone on the ice.

I was unaware of a new NHL rule that prevents other Blues players from stealing, grabbing, snatching or winning a critical game.

I didn't know there was a regulation that prevents the Blues' best players from coming up big when goals are desperately needed.

At the time of the trade that brought Miller here from Buffalo, I seem to remember a lot being said and written about how Miller couldn't do it alone, that he wasn't a miracle man, and that the other players would have to step up come playoff time.

Evidently, those opinions have been discarded. But this is how we generally do it in The Lou come Stanley Cup playoff time. When in doubt, blame everything on the goaltender.

If I may make a few points:

* Miller's .911 save percentage in the series isn't solid gold, and it is less sturdy than that of Chicago's Corey Crawford (.927.) But a more productive offense can make up a relatively minor difference. For instance, the San Jose Sharks have a 3-2 series lead over Los Angeles even though goaltender Antti Niemi has the worst postseason save percentage (.882) among NHL goalies that have started at least three games. That's because the Sharks are averaging 4.0 goals per game, tied with Montreal for the best in the postseason. And speaking of Montreal, the Canadiens swept Tampa Bay even though Carey Price had a save percentage (.904) that's inferior to Miller's. And Miller and the Blues are going up against a more skilled team that's led the NHL in goals over the past four-plus seasons.

* After taking a 2-0 series lead, the Blues have lost three in a row to the Blackhawks. And in the three losses the Blues have scored a grand total of five goals. Vladimir Tarasenko has scored two of the five; T.J. Oshie, Maxim Lapierre and Alex Pietrangelo each have one goal. There's been nothing from Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka, etc.

* Since scoring the winner to end Game 1, Steen has one assist and is a minus 3 overall. He led the Blues with 33 regular-season goals. This isn't about Steen's effort or versatility. It's all there. But this team needs goals, and Steen has been blanked for four consecutive games - three of which went into overtime.

* The Blues have had a barrage of scoring chances. Crawford has been very good in net for the 'Hawks, but the Blues have made it a helluva lot easier for him by constantly firing pucks over the net, or wide of the net. Or by running a predictable power play that makes it simple for Chicago to clog the shooting lanes to block pucks. I guess that's Miller's fault, too.

* The Blues' forwards that have received the most ice time per game over the last three games are Oshie, Steen, Schwartz and Sobotka. They've scored one goal (Oshie's) and are a combined minus 11.

* Take a look at some of these plus-minus ratings in the three consecutive losses: Schwartz minus 5; Berglund minus 4; Oshie minus 3; Steen minus 2; David Backes (one game) minus 2; Sobotka minus 1.

* During their three-game winning streak the Blackhawks have outscored the Blues 9-5 and have gotten goals from seven different players.

* Unlike the Blues' top guys (Tarasenko excluded) the Blackhawks' best forwards have taken control later in the series. During the three-game win streak Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews each have two goals and two assists and are a combined plus 8. Bryan Bickell and Marian Hossa each have a goal and an assist.

* And when the Blackhawks needed a lift while defenseman Brent Seabrook served his suspension in Games 3, 4 and 5 they got it from replacement defenseman Sheldon Brookbank. With Seabrook out, Brookbank had two assists and was a plus 2.

* The coaching is a factor as well. Why has Tarasenko averaged only 18:11 of ice time over the past three games? The Blues are struggling to score, and Tarasenko has four goals in five games. Shouldn't he be out there more?

* You're not going to beat a Chicago team that has so much offensive firepower by averaging 1.66 goals per game -- as the Blues have over the past three losses.

Please understand what I am saying here.

Yes, Miller needs to be better.

Yes, it's fair to ask Miller to steal a game.

Yes, Crawford has outplayed Miller.

But I absolutely refuse to let the other Blues off the hook.

Your top forwards are supposed to make a big difference and give your team a winning edge in closely contested Stanley Cup playoff games. And over the past three games, that simply hasn't happened for the Blues.

They have an opportunity to change that today.

If Miller is awful or just mediocre in Game 6, you won't have to nudge me to rip him.

And if the Blues lose today, or in Game 7, we'd likely see Miller served up as the convenient fan-media scapegoat. And if that's how things go, just understand that Miller will have plenty of company. This truly would be a team loss.

Thanks for reading...

-Bernie

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by PGM

I can't man. Same as the Chiefs.

I kid you not...I started thinking about the Houston Buffalo game when the Chiefs were up 28.

This series is an EXACT replica of last year against LA. It is down right creepy.

Oh I understand...and felt the same way against Indy. Actually not until the strip fumble. God, now I'M pissed off for you.

Well either way, I'm definitely rooting for you guys. Someone needs to shit-can Chicago, and no better team to do it than you guys.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Blues lost 2-1.

LA scored on a 60 footer with less than a second to go in the 2nd period, and STL couldn't find the tying goal in the 3rd.

Well, here's to breaking the mold. Though I think the Avs match up better against the Hawks, I'm pulling for the Blues just because this thread would be fun.

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Jesus. So many possibilities considering how snakebit this organization is.

Late Chicago power play on a phantom call?

Seabrook scoring the winner?

Crazy bounce off the boards/glass on a dump in?

Blow a 3rd period lead?

Missed offsides call?

Actually, the most excruciating way would be to find a way to win today, then lose Game 7 on home ice.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

He was right. The wrong team's trailing the series.

I just refuse to buy that mentality. Yes, that was a call in a key moment, but there have been plenty of others in this series that haven't gone the Avs way. Hell, just from yesterday:



Wild scored about 30 seconds after this - the Avs still had a man without a stick.

The Wild had plenty of chances to put it away, and they could've won it in OT. They didn't. Them's the breaks.

[Shag]

Originally Posted by DaFace

There were some questionable calls perhaps, but it's not like the Wild didn't get any calls either. They almost never call unsportsmanlike for Landeskog's snowing over the goalie's shoulder - and you especially don't call that in a critical situation at the end of game 5 in a playoff series.

Agreed that the snowing was an odd call, but the holding was egregious, and directly influenced the outcome of that game. I'm baffled they didn't call that.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Shag

Agreed that the snowing was an odd call, but the holding was egregious, and directly influenced the outcome of that game. I'm baffled they didn't call that.

How many times over the course of a season do you see refs award a goal on an empty net due to a penalty? I think I've seen one this year. Couple that with it being a playoff game (where refs tend to swallow their whistles in key situations), and I'm not surprised they let it go.

Should it have been called? If the NHL didn't change the rules to some extent in the playoffs, sure. Would a majority of ref crews have called it? I have trouble believing that.

Anyway, I'm done with that game. It is what it is, and now the Avs have to figure out how to win in Minnesota.