Let's Go Blues

BLUES (32-10-5) at RED WINGS (21-17-10)

TV: FS-MW, FS-D

Last 10: St. Louis 7-3-0; Detroit 4-5-1

Season series: This is the first game of the season between these former Central Division and Western Conference rivals; they play again on the final day of the season April 13.

Big story: The Detroit Red Wings are the only team in the NHL challenging for a playoff berth who currently own a losing record at home. The Red Wings are 7-10-7 at Joe Louis Arena, and will need to improve that record when they continue a season-long, five-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

The Red Wings are off to a successful, but shaky, start after a wacky-bounce goal allowed them to force overtime in the homestand’s opener Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

The Blues are in the midst of a rare mini-skid, with three regulation losses in their past four games. St. Louis still sits third in the Western Conference with 69 points, but the margin for error grows smaller.

Team Scope:

Blues: In St. Louis' most recent three losses to the Vancouver Canucks, Kings and Anaheim Ducks, the opposition has scored first. Coach Ken Hitchcock made it clear after a 3-2 loss to the Ducks on Saturday that the slow starts would not be tolerated.

"It's really just the same movie, different day," Hitchcock said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to fix it. ... We're going to have to have better starts, we're going to have to have more people engaged, we're going to have to play on our toes. Can't beat good teams playing on your heels.”

Blues forward Alexander Steen played 20:56 against the Ducks, his first game time since missing 11 games with a concussion.

Red Wings: It was almost certainly a lucky goal, but it might’ve been just the break Detroit needed. With a laundry list of injuries and an sub-.500 home record, the Red Wings’ chances against Los Angeles appeared slim. When Los Angeles scored a go-ahead goal with 2:15 remaining, that fate was confirmed.

Until it wasn’t. The Red Wings drew a late penalty and with 27 seconds left, Niklas Kronwall’s deflected shot flew into the mesh, bounced back into play, off goalie Jonathan Quick’s back and into the goal. The game eventually went to a shootout, where Tomas Tatar sealed it for the Red Wings.

The Red Wings may need a few more breaks with upcoming home games against St. Louis, the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers.

“Really big homestand, we got some great teams coming in here,” goalie Jimmy Howard told the team’s website. “It’s going to take 60 minutes or more these next four games.”

Who’s hot: Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg had a goal and an assist against Los Angeles. Zetterberg averages better than a point a game against St. Louis in his career, and had three goals and six points against them in 2013.

Injury report: Blues center Maxim Lapierre (lower body) is on injured reserve. … Red Wings centers Pavel Datsyuk (lower body), Stephen Weiss (sports hernia surgery), Darren Helm (shoulder, groin) are on injured reserve, and center Joakim Andersson (lower body) is day-to-day. Forwards Johan Franzen (upper body) and Daniel Alfredsson (groin, back), defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (shoulder, rib), and goalie Jonas Gustavsson (groin, neck) are on IR.

sseagle wrote:Oakland is about to jump off a bridge.
Again.

Oaklandblue wrote:

sseagle wrote:Oakland is about to jump off a bridge.
Again.

Here's an idea: Why don't you post this in the thread it belongs in and not in the GDT?

Here's another idea: Figure out why we can't beat a California team beyond a) We don't play hockey until 5mins BEFORE the end of the game and b) They're simply better than our fully-loaded team and then tell the forum about it, since I'm sure we'd all love to know why a team spending to the cap can't beat a team like, say, San Jose, this year.

Don't try to compare jumping off a bridge to telling the truth. We can't beat them, we get outplayed and we get outshot at goal. There are exceptions to that rule, and that's exactly what they are: Exceptions.

Halak made an amazing run in the Eastern Conference. Had he to do that with the same team in the West, they would have never made the playoffs and gotten blown out in the first round. Yet, this is the Halak people criticize and say is an elite netminder when his entire experience has been as a backup and an overpaid, ofthen-injured starter.

If we were in the East, we'd go to the finals, that's the truth. We own the East. The sad truth is, the West is better and we're not playing well enough and maybe, just maybe, we're not quite good enough and Miller isn't going to be that upgrade we need unless he starts scoring goals.

And I don't think what I'm bringing up is total lunacy and insanity. It's pretty much been proven in front of our eyes. My question, and it's to Hitch is: Whatcha gunna do about it? And I think that, given the circumstances and the organization making it clear that they want the up, is a fair question to address, because this:

<clip>
"It's really just the same movie, different day," Hitchcock said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to fix it. ... We're going to have to have better starts, we're going to have to have more people engaged, we're going to have to play on our toes. Can't beat good teams playing on your heels.”
<clip>

Ain't gunna cut it.

sseagle wrote:

Oaklandblue wrote:

sseagle wrote:Oakland is about to jump off a bridge.
Again.

Here's an idea: Why don't you post this in the thread it belongs in and not in the GDT?

Here's another idea: Figure out why we can't beat a California team beyond a) We don't play hockey until 5mins BEFORE the end of the game and b) They're simply better than our fully-loaded team and then tell the forum about it, since I'm sure we'd all love to know why a team spending to the cap can't beat a team like, say, San Jose, this year.

Don't try to compare jumping off a bridge to telling the truth. We can't beat them, we get outplayed and we get outshot at goal. There are exceptions to that rule, and that's exactly what they are: Exceptions.

Halak made an amazing run in the Eastern Conference. Had he to do that with the same team in the West, they would have never made the playoffs and gotten blown out in the first round. Yet, this is the Halak people criticize and say is an elite netminder when his entire experience has been as a backup and an overpaid, ofthen-injured starter.

If we were in the East, we'd go to the finals, that's the truth. We own the East. The sad truth is, the West is better and we're not playing well enough and maybe, just maybe, we're not quite good enough and Miller isn't going to be that upgrade we need unless he starts scoring goals.

And I don't think what I'm bringing up is total lunacy and insanity. It's pretty much been proven in front of our eyes. My question, and it's to Hitch is: Whatcha gunna do about it? And I think that, given the circumstances and the organization making it clear that they want the up, is a fair question to address, because this:

<clip>
"It's really just the same movie, different day," Hitchcock said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to fix it. ... We're going to have to have better starts, we're going to have to have more people engaged, we're going to have to play on our toes. Can't beat good teams playing on your heels.”
<clip>

Ain't gunna cut it.

Whatever, we are 6 points out of first with 4? games in hand. Every team plays poorly for a stretch, I'm stopping here. Have a good day.

Oaklandblue wrote:

sseagle wrote:

Oaklandblue wrote:

sseagle wrote:Oakland is about to jump off a bridge.
Again.

Here's an idea: Why don't you post this in the thread it belongs in and not in the GDT?

Here's another idea: Figure out why we can't beat a California team beyond a) We don't play hockey until 5mins BEFORE the end of the game and b) They're simply better than our fully-loaded team and then tell the forum about it, since I'm sure we'd all love to know why a team spending to the cap can't beat a team like, say, San Jose, this year.

Don't try to compare jumping off a bridge to telling the truth. We can't beat them, we get outplayed and we get outshot at goal. There are exceptions to that rule, and that's exactly what they are: Exceptions.

Halak made an amazing run in the Eastern Conference. Had he to do that with the same team in the West, they would have never made the playoffs and gotten blown out in the first round. Yet, this is the Halak people criticize and say is an elite netminder when his entire experience has been as a backup and an overpaid, ofthen-injured starter.

If we were in the East, we'd go to the finals, that's the truth. We own the East. The sad truth is, the West is better and we're not playing well enough and maybe, just maybe, we're not quite good enough and Miller isn't going to be that upgrade we need unless he starts scoring goals.

And I don't think what I'm bringing up is total lunacy and insanity. It's pretty much been proven in front of our eyes. My question, and it's to Hitch is: Whatcha gunna do about it? And I think that, given the circumstances and the organization making it clear that they want the up, is a fair question to address, because this:

<clip>
"It's really just the same movie, different day," Hitchcock said. "We're going to have to figure out a way to fix it. ... We're going to have to have better starts, we're going to have to have more people engaged, we're going to have to play on our toes. Can't beat good teams playing on your heels.”
<clip>

Ain't gunna cut it.

Whatever, we are 6 points out of first with 4? games in hand. Every team plays poorly for a stretch, I'm stopping here. Have a good day.

We're playing poorly against the SAME teams and we'll be seeing at least one of them in the playoffs, maybe two. What's our answer to that?
I don't think we want another Presidents Trophy, I think we'd want the Cup.