GDT Game 1: 4/16/15 | 8:30PM CST | v Wild | FMSW/NBCSN/KMOX

[ecbm]

Yes, Curt. I think they played poorly in the first. Not as poorly as in the second, when they pretty much quit for large stretches. They played directly into the Wild's game and never looked to threaten. It's like they didn't understand that the Wild would let them have meaningless possession while keeping them outside in the offensive and would look to break from turnovers. It's like they didn't realize you need to get some traffic in front of Dubnyk.

Just another really slow start. And the jitters and too long break stuff? Nonsense. They weren't as prepared for the game as the Wild were, simple as. That needs to be fixed now.

[theohall]

Haven't seen this mentioned, yet.

Hitch has repeatedly said shoot the pucks at the net and have the forwards crash - especially when a team is keeping you on the outside and letting you have meaningless possession.

Well, the Wild shot the puck from darn near the blueline several times and had the forwards crash behind it creating opportunities. The Blues didn't really even try this until half-way through the 3rd period and it's worked in many games this season, because the Blues have forwards talented enough to convert rebound opportunities in to goals.

Instead, we are seeing the grind it out in the corners thing and the Wild are just waiting for puck to come out front for the TO while using token pressure on the walls. It's like watching 4 4th lines play for St Louis. This game looked darn near like a mirror image of what the Blues did to Chicago in that last meeting with the Wild doing it to the Blues.

Granted - that changed in the 3rd period and that's what we should be seeing from the Blues for 60 minutes.

We shall see what happens on Saturday. And put Bortuzzo in the damn lineup. Let him beat up on these putzes when they are in the Blues zone. Yes, they can afford to sit Gunnarson.

[not_a_wings_fan]

I thought the Blues played well in the first period and very well in the latter half of the third.

I thought the second was abysmal, and they ran out of time for a comeback because they wasted that second period.

The Wild are playing two men high to crush the points, and that means there should be a seam between the dots in the high slot. The Blues are going to have to alter their structure or change their rotation in the zone to break the positioning. It was really frustrating our offense because there was always a stick or a player in the lanes from the points.

They will let us circle behind the net and in the deep corners all day because there's very little risk of shots getting in the net from those spots. I am anxious to see if the Blues stick to the same game plan or put in some wrinkles to force something different from the Wild.

It's game 1, so I am not going to freak out yet, but I stand by my earlier statement that I don't think this team can get out of round one until I see them actually get out of round one. They still have issues converting chances, and until that breaks, this team is dead in the water.

The puck was bouncing way too much and too many guys were missing chances because they didn't just fire the puck or tried to get cute and it rolled away from them. We cancelled our own rush too much... just get something on the goalie and good things will happen.

As far as Wild first goal, that was an elite individual play. I don't blame Allen at all - he did his part and made a save. That puck was a lucky bounce that the guy buried. We didn't convert our bounces and we lost.

[big d note]

I thought Michalek was terrible on that first goal. He got flat out beat by Zucker, let him cut to the inside and get a shot on net, then did nothing to stop or slow him down as he gathered up the rebound and tucked in the wraparound. Michalek was a complete spectator on that play. That goal was more his fault than Allen's.

[ViPeRx007]

Maybe an early loss is what this team needs to shake them up a bit and reset their focus on the basics. All they need to do is play their system.

Firstly, those of you talking about Allen are out of your minds. That's all I'm saying on that, it's not even worth talking about. I'm so sick of the goalie blame game.

I didn't think the Blues played bad in the 1st. They were clearly a bit over-amped up. Their brains were a step a head of the play and they were missing passes and losing handles on shots, etc. The goal by Minnesota wasn't wonderful, I'm sure Allen would have liked a do-over, but it was a great individual effort by Zucker. The Blues seemed to control parts of the period but never really pushed the pedal down on them. Too much thinking, not even JUST PLAYING HOCKEY.

The second period was by far the worst for the Blues; just very lackluster. The Wild were jumping all over them and the Blues did little of anything. They were physically there, but that's about it.

The third was better, specifically toward the end. The scary thing is the whole "oh let's actually play now that there's 5-10 minutes left in the game" mentality that we used to see with previous iterations of the team was there last night. We get the Blues team that played the last 5-10 minutes of that game for 60 minutes and we'll be ok.

Overall, for long stretches I saw a bunch of individuals out there, not a team. They were forcing way too many plays that weren't there, they weren't hitting. They need to take advantage of their size. They can't just expect to win a skills battle with these guys. Also, how many shots did the Blues take from the point that wound up off Minnesota shins and taken back for odd-man rushes?

It's 1 game. I'm not too worried yet. The response tomorrow will tell me a lot more. Let's hope it's a good one.

[glen a richter]

Maybe an early loss is what this team needs to shake them up a bit and reset their focus on the basics. All they need to do is play their system.

Firstly, those of you talking about Allen are out of your minds. That's all I'm saying on that, it's not even worth talking about. I'm so sick of the goalie blame game.

I didn't think the Blues played bad in the 1st. They were clearly a bit over-amped up. Their brains were a step a head of the play and they were missing passes and losing handles on shots, etc. The goal by Minnesota wasn't wonderful, I'm sure Allen would have liked a do-over, but it was a great individual effort by Zucker. The Blues seemed to control parts of the period but never really pushed the pedal down on them. Too much thinking, not even JUST PLAYING HOCKEY.

The second period was by far the worst for the Blues; just very lackluster. The Wild were jumping all over them and the Blues did little of anything. They were physically there, but that's about it.

The third was better, specifically toward the end. The scary thing is the whole "oh let's actually play now that there's 5-10 minutes left in the game" mentality that we used to see with previous iterations of the team was there last night. We get the Blues team that played the last 5-10 minutes of that game for 60 minutes and we'll be ok.

Overall, for long stretches I saw a bunch of individuals out there, not a team. They were forcing way too many plays that weren't there, they weren't hitting. They need to take advantage of their size. They can't just expect to win a skills battle with these guys. Also, how many shots did the Blues take from the point that wound up off Minnesota shins and taken back for odd-man rushes?

It's 1 game. I'm not too worried yet. The response tomorrow will tell me a lot more. Let's hope it's a good one.

I'm happy about the fact that it's a relatively quick turnaround. It's not like we have to wait until the ass end of the day for game 2 to happen. They can get themselves righted in an afternoon tilt and then have some time to digest what went right on the trip to Minnesota and build on it. Or figure out a way to dig out of a 2-0 hole. Hopefully not the latter.

Blaming Allen is a cowards way out. As mentioned, Dubnyk gave up just as many goals, and as I pointed out, the empty net gave up 2. It wasn't Allen's fault by any stretch of the imagination. It was the fault of the lousy passing, lethargic play and rotten forechecking.

[cprice12]

I thought Michalek was terrible on that first goal. He got flat out beat by Zucker, let him cut to the inside and get a shot on net, then did nothing to stop or slow him down as he gathered up the rebound and tucked in the wraparound. Michalek was a complete spectator on that play. That goal was more his fault than Allen's.

Michalek wasn't at fault. He kept Zucker to the outside and didn't let him cut in. It was a bad angle shot that Allen made the easy save. The only way Michalek slows him down is to hook or hold him as he wasn't trying to go through Michalek, he went behind the net.

Honestly, I don't know why someone has to be at fault on every goal. It was a hell of a nice goal by Zucker that he got pretty lucky on when the puck came right back to him off the rebound. He made a world class move on that wraparound. I tip my cap to him. Nobody was to blame on that goal. The 2nd goal however, was on Jackman and Pietrangelo. Jackman failed to clear the puck and they score shortly after, and Pietrangelo moved out of the way of the shot instead of blocking it. Which is fine if Allen could see the shot, but Petro was screening him, so...