WCQF: (4) St. Louis Blues vs. (5) Vancouver Canucks

[-DLC-]

My concern is that they just took a tough series and I don't want them to coast on that.  They celebrated, hard, in that locker room and it was awesome but they have to wipe that slate clean and not dwell there.  Super proud of them for accomplishing that feat but it's a reset.  I don't want them to feel too confident because they have to remember (and I'm sure they will) they're playing the SC Champs, who have something to prove.  

 

I totally agree with oldnews...very good points up there. 

 

Can hardly wait! 

[WHL rocks]

6 hours ago, NaveJoseph said:

Will be a good test for us.
Pettersson vs Binnington.
I think it will go to 7 games.

It'll be Pettersson vs Ryan O'reilly. Going to be a tough test for EP. It'll be great experience for him for the long run. 

[Zigmund.Palffy]

5 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

My concern is that they just took a tough series and I don't want them to coast on that.  They celebrated, hard, in that locker room and it was awesome but they have to wipe that slate clean and not dwell tehre.  Super proud of them for accomplishing that feat but it's a reset.  I don't want them to feel too confident because they have to remember (and I'm sure they will) they're playing the SC Champs, who have something to prove.  

 

I totally agree with oldnews...very good points up there. 

 

Can hardly wait! 

Canucks will be fine, benning signed vets around the youth for this reason. 
 

Canucks won season series 2-1 vs blues as well, so it shows they can play with blues just fine

 

GO CANUCKS GO!

Edited August 10, 2020 by Zigmund.Palffy

[oldnews]

10 hours ago, King Heffy said:

Not an advanced stats guy, but it's obvious to the naked eye that Motte and Beagle were outstanding on the PK.  Beagle actually reminds me a lot of Malhotra, who a lot of people also thought was overpaid when we signed him.  Motte is like Burrows before he developed the offense.  Just absolutely no quit in that motor.  I would argue our 4th line is better than the 2011 team.

Yeah - Motte had 9 goals last year, and was 'on pace' for 10 (per 82g) again this year, in spite of exclusively hard minutes (ie 20ish% ozone starts) - and playing 13 minutes a night with other shutdown forwards.  That is very damn good production in context imo.

He was also a Hobey Baker candidate who scored 56 pts in 38 g in Michigan.

I think it's fair to put him in a class with guys like Burrows and Hansen - a seriously under-rated young player with an exceptionally advanced defensive game very early in his career - exactly the kind of 'supporting cast' you need to win.

[-DLC-]

5 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

It'll be Pettersson vs Ryan O'reilly. Going to be a tough test for EP. It'll be great experience for him for the long run. 

The good news being that Petey has two other guys fully capable of scoring.  And, even if he's being knocked to the ice, he can still get the puck to them and they're equally dangerous.  

[WHL rocks]

11 hours ago, Robert Long said:

Petey can hang the calder around his neck and troll Binnigton with it. 

I'm pretty sure Binnington woukd rather have his Stanley Cup ring over any personal trophy.. May it be the Calder or the Hart or any other regular season trophy...

 

I'm sure Petey would rather have a Cup win over the Calder too.. he's all about team accomplishment... not much of a personal awards type. 

[Timbermen]

If the Canucks can beat the defending champs it will give them a lot of confidence. It's going to be a good match up. 

I don't consider Myers penalties 'Bad penalties'. He needs to take a couple of those early to send a message to Blues, you mess with our young guys and you're mince meat.

Also we need to show them who looks better in blue.

[canuck2288]

We can’t play scared and we cant’t play timidly 

 

need to take the game to them and play to win vs playing not to lose

 

 

[oldnews]

23 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

The good news being that Petey has two other guys fully capable of scoring.  And, even if he's being knocked to the ice, he can still get the puck to them and they're equally dangerous.  

And on the other side of the game, as elite and complete a two way center as O'Reilly is - the Canucks are no easy matchup down the middle.

O'Reilly was 56.6% in the dot this year.

But MIller was 59.2%.  Beagle was 59.1% and Horvat was 57.3%.   Sutter, when he's healthy, is typically also comfortably on the winning side in the dot.  That could really help - to start with the puck more times than not - against such a strong possession team as StL.   Nice to have that kind of wealth - where they don't have to expose EP or Gaudette - against an opponent like the Blues.

 

[JM_]

24 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

I'm pretty sure Binnington woukd rather have his Stanley Cup ring over any personal trophy.. May it be the Calder or the Hart or any other regular season trophy...

 

I'm sure Petey would rather have a Cup win over the Calder too.. he's all about team accomplishment... not much of a personal awards type. 

I knew someone would hit me with that  these guys are ultra competitive, I'm sure it bugs Binnie that he didn't get the Calder too. 

[oldnews]

7 minutes ago, Robert Long said:

I knew someone would hit me with that  these guys are ultra competitive, I'm sure it bugs Binnie that he didn't get the Calder too. 

the idea that a 26 year old goaltender - who'd spent 5 years in the AHL - and cleared NHL waivers in the past - could be a Calder candidate = strikes me as borderline absurd.  

A "rookie" that was on his 4th professional contract at the time.  Bollocks.

He didn't deserve it - and shouldn't even have been eligible.
Jake Allen was better than him this year. 

Prototypical flash in the pan.  Not a fan.  I hope he Matt Murrays and gets eaten alive by BB.

Edited August 10, 2020 by oldnews

[WHL rocks]

24 minutes ago, debluvscanucks said:

The good news being that Petey has two other guys fully capable of scoring.  And, even if he's being knocked to the ice, he can still get the puck to them and they're equally dangerous.  

The two Norris calibre big physical Dmen in Parayko and Petro will be physical on him.

 

Thing about last year's Conn Smythe winner O'Reilly is he's so good with the stick and the skill game and he is physical.  He's an elite 2 way C. He's a savy veteran who has perfected his craft. Puts up offense and elite defensively.  

 

Hughes is the puck distributor and will have to be even better than he was against Minny (if that's even possible) for Canucks to have a chance to win this series. I think the kid is special and will be up to the task.  

 

Petey is going to get a lot of attention, that'll give Boeser the opportunity to shine again like he did vs Minny. 

 

Horvat has to rise to the occasion and shut down Schenn as well as provide some offense of his own. He'll have a great learning experience watching O'Reilly do his thing. 

 

Horvat's goal is to one day become that top tier 2 way C. That along with Petey putting on a bit of weight and getting stronger is when Canucks will start going into deeper rounds. 

[JM_]

2 minutes ago, oldnews said:

And on the other side of the game, as elite and complete a two way center as O'Reilly is - the Canucks are no easy matchup down the middle.

O'Reilly was 56.6% in the dot this year.

But MIller was 59.2%.  Beagle was 59.1% and Horvat was 57.3%.   Sutter, when he's healthy, is typically also comfortably on the winning side in the dot.  That could really help - to start with the puck more times than not - against such a strong possession team as StL.   Nice to have that kind of wealth - where they don't have to expose EP or Gaudette - against an opponent like the Blues.

 

even if the Blues have better C depth, its hardly a commanding or heavily tilted advantage with the 4 guys we're going with. Plus we still need to play the games. Minni was supposed to have an insurmountable d group too. 

[CaptKirk888]

4 hours ago, canuck2288 said:

With that logic Allen is the guaranteed starter in game 1 right?

 

wont happen 

That wasn't my point, but yes you are probably right they will start Binnington. I would actually prefer they start Binnington considering his subpar performance in the round robin.

[redhdlois]

36 minutes ago, WHL rocks said:

I'm pretty sure Binnington woukd rather have his Stanley Cup ring over any personal trophy.. May it be the Calder or the Hart or any other regular season trophy...

 

I'm sure Petey would rather have a Cup win over the Calder too.. he's all about team accomplishment... not much of a personal awards type. 

Binnington said (on social media) he should have won the Calder.  
Looking forward to Petey showing him (again) why he won it.

[spook007]

2 minutes ago, redhdlois said:

Binnington said (on social media) he should have won the Calder.  
Looking forward to Petey showing him (again) why he won it.

Lets shell that little self centred punk....

[JM_]

1 minute ago, CaptKirk888 said:

That wasn't my point, but yes you are probably right they will start Binnington. I would actually prefer they start Binnington considering his subpar performance in the round robin.

I wouldn't read too much into that. But, having said that I do think we have the better goalie based purely on the stats, which Marky pulled off with a less talented defensive group in front of him. 

 

I see this series as a similar battle to Minni, F depth matches up fairly well, Blues have the better d core, we have the better goalie. I expect some very tight games and we're going to have to really capitalize on the few mistakes they make. 

[CaptKirk888]

8 minutes ago, oldnews said:

the idea that a 26 year old goaltender - who'd spent 5 years in the AHL - and cleared NHL waivers in the past - could be a Calder candidate = strikes me as borderline absurd.  

A "rookie" that was on his 4th professional contract at the time.  Bollocks.

He didn't deserve it - and shouldn't even have been eligible.
Jake Allen was better than him this year. 

Prototypical flash in the pan.  Not a fan.  I hope he Matt Murrays and gets eaten alive by BB.

Thanks for that @oldnews As I just posted I hope they start Binnington. Although I think the Matt Murray comparison is too much a compliment to Binnington. He will not last that long.

[stawns]

1 hour ago, WHL rocks said:

It'll be Pettersson vs Ryan O'reilly. Going to be a tough test for EP. It'll be great experience for him for the long run. 

good, let RoR focus on Petey which leaves Hughes to run the show

[CaptKirk888]

2 minutes ago, Robert Long said:

I wouldn't read too much into that. But, having said that I do think we have the better goalie based purely on the stats, which Marky pulled off with a less talented defensive group in front of him. 

 

I see this series as a similar battle to Minni, F depth matches up fairly well, Blues have the better d core, we have the better goalie. I expect some very tight games and we're going to have to really capitalize on the few mistakes they make. 

I totally agree with you, but I was quoting in response to @canuck2288 , see below...

 

  11 hours ago, CaptKirk888 said:

Binnington sucked for 3 games, .897 ga average. Jake Allen played great in the last game, 1 goal on 39 shots in reg. lost in ot.

With that logic Allen is the guaranteed starter in game 1 right?

 

wont happen 

 

My point was that Binnington does not seem to be ready yet, and that could be to our advantage when the Blues start him. Yes, he could find his game, but as you mentioned Marky did very well (with some exceptions) and posted far superior numbers than 'Binnie' (great nickname by the way).