Selective quoting follows...
cprice12 wrote:This is the most impressive Blues team I have ever seen. Defense and goaltending win in the playoffs.
I have been following the Blues since approximately 1977 when a friend of my father took me to a game. Been hooked ever since. Had season tickets from 1989-1992 - yes, the midst of the Brett Hull "area."
The key difference between what I see now and what the Blues had then - defense, goaltending, and multi-line depth. When MacDonald returns, the Blues will be capable of rolling THREE scoring lines and only one checking line while having solid defense behind them. Those Hull teams had one scoring line, three checking lines and one really good defensive pairing. While some are somewhat critical of the Blues current 3rd defensive pairing, I would take them over any of the 4 guys who were playing in the Brian Sutter coaching area.
Defense and goaltending win championships. This has been true for who knows how long? Yes, the Oilers won 5 Cups in their ridiculous offensive era, but they also lost several times purely due to teams having better goaltending and defense.
This is by far the best Blues team I have ever seen - going on 35 years of following the Blues and understanding the game.
I expect them to make the Finals. Winning the Cup?? Not so sure, because the other team is just as likely to have good goaltending and all it takes is a goalie being hot to win a series.