If Ken Hitchcock knows who his starting goalie will be for the winner-take-all game Wednesday, the St. Louis Blues coach isn't letting on.
"I'll let you know tomorrow," Hitchcock said Tuesday before the Blues boarded a flight for Dallas.
It could be a ploy to keep the Dallas Stars guessing, but Hitchcock did say after a 3-2 loss in Game 6 on Monday that he wanted to sleep on his decision of whether to start Brian Elliott, who was pulled in the first period after allowing three goals on seven shots, or Jake Allen.
But to the players, it's a unanimous choice: Elliott, who has started all 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games for St. Louis.
"[Elliott's] been the MVP of our team for the first two rounds," Blues captain David Backes said Tuesday. "We've given up some glorious chances that he's bailed us out on. Even the goals last game, I think it's the timing of it, three goals on seven shots to start the period. ... Jake comes in and does a heck of a job, but Brian Elliott's been our best player and if it's not him tomorrow, I'd be surprised. But those aren't my decisions; that's [Hitchcock's] decision. He's been awesome for us. He has no faults in those goals yesterday."
Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo agreed.
"[Elliott's] been unbelievable for us," Pietrangelo said. "Jake filled in great yesterday. ... He's been standing on his head the whole playoffs. I've said to you guys before, we can stand here all day and talk about how great he's been down the stretch and in the playoffs. Everybody sees, everybody knows he's been lights-out for us.
"... I haven't heard anything about [who starts]. It's a question for [Hitchcock]."
Stars coach Lindy Ruff said center Tyler Seguin (Achilles) is not ready to play in Game 7 after Seguin skated before and during an optional skate Tuesday.
"Tyler still remains day-to-day," Ruff said. "He's just working on trying to get back."
Seguin has played in one game (Game 2 of the first round against the Minnesota Wild) since March 17. The fact he skated Tuesday seemed to indicate he might be available for Game 7, but Ruff said he doesn't expect him to be.
"No, he's been ramping up the skating again and it's just all part of the process," Ruff said. "That's a good sign. That's a real good sign for us. It's just another step in his process.
"He's not available to play right now. I'm not going to try to deceive you, he's not ready to play yet. He's just hit his next step on the way back again. He's closer than he was a couple days ago."
Blues team scope: The Blues may make some lineup changes after losing Game 6. Defenseman Joel Edmundson could re-enter the lineup after being a healthy scratch Monday. Also, Steve Ott or Ryan Reaves could take Dmitrij Jaskin's forward spot on the fourth line. Hitchcock is 4-2 in Game 7s. Forward Troy Brouwer will be playing in a Game 7 for an NHL-record eighth straight playoff series; he's 3-4. Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko went five straight periods from the third period of Game 4 through the first period of Game 6 without a shot on goal. "I think there's opportunities for him probably to play a little bit more give-and-go," Hitchcock said. "I looked at the tape this morning. He had a number of attack chances that either got blocked or didn't hit the net. When you're a shooter, everybody gets in the lanes."
Stars team scope: Forward Travis Moen, who sustained a hand injury in Game 5, is out for the remainder of the playoffs. "[He] is going to be out for a good period of time," Ruff said. "That cast is on I believe for at least three weeks. I didn't even ask how it happened. It happened early in the game. He played the whole game with it." Forward Radek Faksa is OK after blocking a shot late in Game 6. Also, forward Patrick Sharp got a bit of a scare after a collision with Backes in the first period but is fine. "We've got some guys with minor bumps, bruises," said Ruff, who is 0-3 in Game 7s. "We've got some players that are hurt, and I think they might have some players hurt too. It's been a hard series so far, but all our bumps and bruises are available to play."
I have to come to the conclusion that Hitchcock doesn't like Brian Elliott. For almost 4 months, Elliott has been frickin phenomenal for us, and earned that starting spot. One bad period and now Hitch doesn't know who he is starting? Yes, I know, it could be all a ruse, but this isn't exactly the first time he's done this.
And this is nothing against Jake. He's been great too, and kept us in the game on Monday night. It just seems like Hitch keeps Elliott on a much shorter leash than Allen.
That said, I fully expect Elliott in net. No more excuses, no trite "do or die" quips.
fargoblues wrote:Good news: No pee-air tonight.
Bad news: Doc and Eddie O.
You don't like doc and Eddie O? Why?
I don't mind Doc. There was a time last series that he started to call a Hawks goal only to realize it didn't go in and sounded genuinely disappointed. That's the only time I've really had an issue with him though. I think he does a good job for the most part.
Eddie O is awful though. I remember when Perron got concussed by Thornton and he accused him of faking it after the game. Perron missed over a year with the concussion. He's also an absurdly huge Hawks homer. That's fine. Chase is somewhat that way on our side. Homerism isn't a good trait for a national broadcast though. Maybe it will be different tonight since the blackhawks aren't playing.
Nervous energy today. I can see this thing going either really well, or very badly for the Blues. I just want to wake up tomorrow knowing the Blues will be playing in the WCF, already.
fargoblues wrote:Good news: No pee-air tonight.
Bad news: Doc and Eddie O.
You don't like doc and Eddie O? Why?
I personally don't mind Doc at all. Eddie on the other hand has just always come across as a giant douche. Plus I get sick of him somehow working horse racing into every game.
cardsfan04 wrote:
He's also an absurdly huge Hawks homer. That's fine. Chase is somewhat that way on our side. Homerism isn't a good trait for a national broadcast though. Maybe it will be different tonight since the blackhawks aren't playing.
People say that but I listen to him and I don't see it - he's not the play-by-play guy and I think he analyzes the game pretty well. I have never heard him cheerleading for the Hawks or against any other opponent. I think a lot of it is just perception - because he does a bunch but not all of our games as an analyst people on other teams see him as being biased.
cardsfan04 wrote:
He's also an absurdly huge Hawks homer. That's fine. Chase is somewhat that way on our side. Homerism isn't a good trait for a national broadcast though. Maybe it will be different tonight since the blackhawks aren't playing.
People say that but I listen to him and I don't see it - he's not the play-by-play guy and I think he analyzes the game pretty well. I have never heard him cheerleading for the Hawks or against any other opponent. I think a lot of it is just perception - because he does a bunch but not all of our games as an analyst people on other teams see him as being biased.
Just going to point out that you're a Hawk fan not seeing pro-Hawk bias, the same one that was surprised that Blues fans would dislike Keith. That's not a criticism. Just an observation that people tend to miss bias when they agree with that bias.
cardsfan04 wrote:
Just going to point out that you're a Hawk fan not seeing pro-Hawk bias, the same one that was surprised that Blues fans would dislike Keith. That's not a criticism. Just an observation that people tend to miss bias when they agree with that bias.
I didn't understand the Keith thing cause nothing happened this year involving the Blues and him so I was wondering why he was being booed in game 1 and 2 when he touched the puck. It seemed to me Blues fans wouldn't care about his suspension from his hit on a Wild player. And the Wakey Wakey thing if it happened was 2 years ago and he never got booed during the regular season so I don't think it was tied to that.
gaijin wrote:I have to come to the conclusion that Hitchcock doesn't like Brian Elliott. For almost 4 months, Elliott has been frickin phenomenal for us, and earned that starting spot. One bad period and now Hitch doesn't know who he is starting? Yes, I know, it could be all a ruse, but this isn't exactly the first time he's done this.
And this is nothing against Jake. He's been great too, and kept us in the game on Monday night. It just seems like Hitch keeps Elliott on a much shorter leash than Allen.
That said, I fully expect Elliott in net. No more excuses, no trite "do or die" quips.
Agree with the Hitchcock / Elliott conclusion. Jake was a little shakey and not in 'playoff hockey mode' the other night. I think if we didn't absolutely taken over the game from that point on, they would have lit Jake up. If Hitch starts Jake tonight, I think it will not bode well for a win.
fargoblues wrote:Good news: No pee-air tonight.
Bad news: Doc and Eddie O.
You don't like doc and Eddie O? Why?
Doc I generally don't mind, and since we're not playing a team in red or the Penguins I think he'll do a fine job.
Eddie O, well, that's a horse of a different color. His analysis is generally good, but he brings a pretty significant taint to the table. Not surprised you don't see it though....
EDIT: I see others have answered this in a much more genteel way than I have. ++
Eddie O once described an Olympic game between the US and Canada as 'tremendously tremendous.' So...
I can see how some don't like Doc though. I think he's great...he's so calm and relaxed in the moment of a chaotic sport. Yeah his 'knifed,' 'skittered,' etc. calls are a bit annoying at times, but better than calling something the same way.
fargoblues wrote:
Doc I generally don't mind, and since we're not playing a team in red or the Penguins I think he'll do a fine job.
Eddie O, well, that's a horse of a different color. His analysis is generally good, but he brings a pretty significant taint to the table. Not surprised you don't see it though....
EDIT: I see others have answered this in a much more genteel way than I have. ++
But the Hawks aren't playing tonight so which team would he be biased against in game 7 tonight? Both teams are in our division.
EDIT: the Capitals on their board thought Eddie O was biased against them because he coached for Pittsburgh years ago. I get this brought up on multiple boards and everyone thinks he is biased against their team.
