What are your expectations for this postseason?

[ohio BLUES]

I want and expect to get out of the first round. Beyond that, I have no expectations. I would like to at LEAST get 6-7 games into the 2nd round. We get to that point this year I'll be happy.

</realist>

I'll give you a "realist" statement...
Fans of teams in contention for the President's trophy should not be happy with a 2nd round exit.

Yup, conference championship round should be any fan/annalist/players lowest expectations. From there out, it's a crap shoot.

Anna list? Is that thread active again?

And if not, why not?

[WaukeeBlues]

I want and expect to get out of the first round. Beyond that, I have no expectations. I would like to at LEAST get 6-7 games into the 2nd round. We get to that point this year I'll be happy.

</realist>

I'll give you a "realist" statement...
Fans of teams in contention for the President's trophy should not be happy with a 2nd round exit.

You're right, I should've said pessimistic.

Even still: with as BAD as they looked last playoff go-around (granted, years ago), general lack of playoff experience and a generally poor franchise playoff history, I cannot say I EXPECT them to get to the Conference Finals.

I'll be ecstatic to be proven wrong but I just don't think it will happen. This year.

[Oz-iz-God]

This sounds a hell of a lot like being a Mizzou basketball fan.

Everyone knew...absolutely knew in their heart of hearts that Mizzou was going to (Frank) it up. Why? Because that's what they do. Nevermind the fact that absolutely nothing in the world made that the rational outcome. Nevermind the fact that there was every reason to believe that this would be the year Mizzou basketball finally made the leap to a legit Final 4 squad (and pulled alongside the evil Beakers...)

Well, we know how that turned out. Mizzou did Mizzou things, our hated rivals did Beaker things.

The Blues will do Blues things. Its what they do.

Doesn't mean I'll enjoy it any less, but the Mizzou thing really broke me as a sports fan. At this point I'm resigned to the fact that some teams simply have a lot in life. The Tigers are one of those teams, the Chiefs and their historic run of playoff failures are one of those team....the Blues are one of those teams.

But hey, if rape is inevitable, you might as well relax and enjoy it, right?

[not_a_wings_fan]

I expect them to play well.

There are lots of bounces in playoff series and odd stuff happens all the time. We get beat, it happens. We win, that's great.

Just show up, play hard, play smart, and don't embarrass us.

[kodos]

I have a new set of expectations for the team. My goal is for them to do better than they did last year.

So far, they've done that. So I should be happy.

That said, I think the best any hockey fan can hope for is that on the first day of playoffs, you look around the league and can say with 100% certainty that your team has as good of a shot as any other team. Your team is built to win and could very easily win. There is no reason to believe that other teams have an advantage over your team. You are an official "Stanley Cup Contender". Every year there are 4 or 5 of those... and this year, the Blues are in that group.

The top tier.

What will they actually accomplish? Who the hell knows. I've learned that for even the best teams the playoffs are a crap shoot. It takes a great team playing their best and a lot of luck to win it all.

The Blues have as good of a shot as anyone, and I'm happy with that.

If they can win one round, I'll consider this season a big success and look forward to the next season. If they burn out in the first round, I'll take that as a rather large black eye on this great season.

I guess my expectations are pretty low.

[Oaklandblue]

I expect us to make it to the finals.

While I'm not a huge Halak fan, Halak in the playoffs is like money in the bank. Elliott does nothing but give us incredible depth at goal and make the oppposition wonder 'Do we REALLY want to blast Halak when his backup man is the Real Deal?'. In a year where the #1 netminders have fallen down like flies to injuries and lackluster seasons, we're walking in with the best, which has to intimidate the opposition, and with our D looking top drawer and with Hitch at the Helm (whose won Cups based on D) this could be our year.

I'm not insomuch concerned with our intermittent scoring offense, to be honest. The playoffs change everything and I feel when we hit the postseason people like Stewart will pick up their game and catch fire because now it's for The Cup. And if you're not passionate about that, frankly you shouldn't be playing Hockey.

[cardsfan04]

I expect us to make it to the finals.

While I'm not a huge Halak fan, Halak in the playoffs is like money in the bank. Elliott does nothing but give us incredible depth at goal and make the oppposition wonder 'Do we REALLY want to blast Halak when his backup man is the Real Deal?'. In a year where the #1 netminders have fallen down like flies to injuries and lackluster seasons, we're walking in with the best, which has to intimidate the opposition, and with our D looking top drawer and with Hitch at the Helm (whose won Cups based on D) this could be our year.

I'm not insomuch concerned with our intermittent scoring offense, to be honest. The playoffs change everything and I feel when we hit the postseason people like Stewart will pick up their game and catch fire because now it's for The Cup. And if you're not passionate about that, frankly you shouldn't be playing Hockey.

What do you mean by the bolded? I can't imagine any team in the history of sports saying "we shouldn't score because it will be hard to score on the replacement."

[Oaklandblue]

I expect us to make it to the finals.

While I'm not a huge Halak fan, Halak in the playoffs is like money in the bank. Elliott does nothing but give us incredible depth at goal and make the oppposition wonder 'Do we REALLY want to blast Halak when his backup man is the Real Deal?'. In a year where the #1 netminders have fallen down like flies to injuries and lackluster seasons, we're walking in with the best, which has to intimidate the opposition, and with our D looking top drawer and with Hitch at the Helm (whose won Cups based on D) this could be our year.

I'm not insomuch concerned with our intermittent scoring offense, to be honest. The playoffs change everything and I feel when we hit the postseason people like Stewart will pick up their game and catch fire because now it's for The Cup. And if you're not passionate about that, frankly you shouldn't be playing Hockey.

What do you mean by the bolded? I can't imagine any team in the history of sports saying "we shouldn't score because it will be hard to score on the replacement."

Halak in the playoffs is pure awesome. The regular season I cringe whenever he's in goal, not going to lie, but he's totally different in the offseason, at least what I've seen when he was a Hab. I trust him between the pipes a heck of a lot more in the postseason. But how many teams can say, based on stats, is the better netminder? You don't think that'll play a psychological effect on the opposition? I think it might, especially in Halak plays like Habs Halak, which I expect. Because if they are able to blast Halak, there is NO relief for them and they know it. I didn't say it to diss Halak, I said it because for the first time period, we can't lose at goal. If Halak fails, which I seriously doubt, we got a backup whose going to hang tough and dominate. If we win the Cup, it's going to be because of both of them, not one or the other.

EDIT: I didn't exactly answer your question, sorry . I'll put it this way, would a team prefer to play against Rinne or his backup? If Rinne got blasted, the opposition would be relieved that they're getting the backup. They do that to us and regardless who we got between the pipes, the opposition's situation doesn't improve, it just gets worse .

[Nyghtewynd]

I expect a first round win. That's it.

I don't know whether it's because I'm completely jaded or bitter or what. But I can't expect a team that has so little playoff experience to win the whole thing. I mean, it could happen. They might be young enough that they don't even know to be worried about playoff hockey. But they might find out that they're going to need a year to get ready to play in it.

[xbleed83bluex]

Sorry for being a pessimist here but I don't think we'll get very far. It'll most likely be another first round loss. We have the goaltending and defense, but we lack scoring. Big time. The Blues are now on a winless streak right before the playoffs because they can't score. We need an offensive superstar; we lack that guy who can give us 30+ goals every season. Depth with a bunch of guys scoring 15-20 goals a season isn't going to cut it in the playoffs.

We don't even have an offensive favorite like we had with Hull. There's no one offensive guy that stands out. I hope I'm wrong, though.

[sparty09]

At this point, I just pray that they make it to the second round.

[goon attack]

you pansies need to buck up. a few late season losses are no big deal.

[theohall]

I expect us to make it to the finals.

While I'm not a huge Halak fan, Halak in the playoffs is like money in the bank. Elliott does nothing but give us incredible depth at goal and make the oppposition wonder 'Do we REALLY want to blast Halak when his backup man is the Real Deal?'. In a year where the #1 netminders have fallen down like flies to injuries and lackluster seasons, we're walking in with the best, which has to intimidate the opposition, and with our D looking top drawer and with Hitch at the Helm (whose won Cups based on D) this could be our year.

I'm not insomuch concerned with our intermittent scoring offense, to be honest. The playoffs change everything and I feel when we hit the postseason people like Stewart will pick up their game and catch fire because now it's for The Cup. And if you're not passionate about that, frankly you shouldn't be playing Hockey.

What do you mean by the bolded? I can't imagine any team in the history of sports saying "we shouldn't score because it will be hard to score on the replacement."

Halak in the playoffs is pure awesome. The regular season I cringe whenever he's in goal, not going to lie, but he's totally different in the offseason, at least what I've seen when he was a Hab. I trust him between the pipes a heck of a lot more in the postseason. But how many teams can say, based on stats, is the better netminder? You don't think that'll play a psychological effect on the opposition? I think it might, especially in Halak plays like Habs Halak, which I expect. Because if they are able to blast Halak, there is NO relief for them and they know it. I didn't say it to diss Halak, I said it because for the first time period, we can't lose at goal. If Halak fails, which I seriously doubt, we got a backup whose going to hang tough and dominate. If we win the Cup, it's going to be because of both of them, not one or the other.

EDIT: I didn't exactly answer your question, sorry . I'll put it this way, would a team prefer to play against Rinne or his backup? If Rinne got blasted, the opposition would be relieved that they're getting the backup. They do that to us and regardless who we got between the pipes, the opposition's situation doesn't improve, it just gets worse .

Have to repeat this. What was Halak's GA in his first 3 playoff games and his last 5 playoff games. Then come back and tell me how "awesome" Halak is in the playoffs. He had a great run in the middle of those 8 games but was far from just outright awesome overall in the playoffs. It was ONE playoff season. ONE. And the thing is - he was the backup playing better than the starter, so he got the playoff nod. Asking this again - if Elliott is playing better than Halak, why should he not get the playoff nod, just like the opportunity Halak received in Montreal? Basing it on one playoff season is ridiculous, especially considering how poorly Halak started and finished that playoff season. Were Halak a proven multiple playoffs successful goaltender, I would believe he should start. He is not PROVEN yet. ONE playoff season does not prove crap about a goaltender.

[philco_3]

you pansies need to buck up. a few late season losses are no big deal.

I just hope they are limping into the playoffs to amaze us. A convincing win tonight would be huge.

[xbleed83bluex]

Off topic, but I get castrated every time I make a new thread.

Does anyone know off hand what the mezzanine level playoff prices are going for?

[kodos]

As of a few days ago, only single seats were available and they were like 65 bucks.

[cardsfan04]

Off topic, but I get castrated every time I make a new thread.

Does anyone know off hand what the mezzanine level playoff prices are going for?

Face for my dad's and my seats w/o buying a strip is $55 for round 1 and $59 for round 2. On Stubhub, I've seen them going for $75-125+.

[cprice12]

Sorry for being a pessimist here but I don't think we'll get very far. It'll most likely be another first round loss. We have the goaltending and defense, but we lack scoring. Big time. The Blues are now on a winless streak right before the playoffs because they can't score. We need an offensive superstar; we lack that guy who can give us 30+ goals every season. Depth with a bunch of guys scoring 15-20 goals a season isn't going to cut it in the playoffs.

We don't even have an offensive favorite like we had with Hull. There's no one offensive guy that stands out. I hope I'm wrong, though.

I'd love an offensive star on this team....however...
We had a team with Shanahan & Hull up front, and we never got to the 3rd round.

Would anyone be surprised if the Capitals with their offensive weapons lost in the 1st round?

I know you have to score to win...but everyone knows defense & goaltending is what wins in the playoffs.
And who has the best defense and goaltending in the NHL?
That's right.

I'd rather have what we have, than a team with some offensive superstars that can't keep the puck out of the net. We've had that before and never did anything with it.

[Steve Levy Sucks]

My expectations are that the Blues will lose to the Sharks and the Wings will beat the Preds. I have no other expectations than to be chided for these expectations.

[ohio BLUES]

My expectations are that the Blues will lose to the Sharks and the Wings will beat the Preds. I have no other expectations than to be chided for these expectations.

Expected.