[PGT] St. Louis Blues at Vancouver Canucks | Aug. 17, 2020 | Series tied 2-2

[Googlie]

2 hours ago, CanucksJay said:

Thats exactly right. 

Canucks style of play in our own zone is to keep everything outside and lean on Markstrom to make the save. It relies greatly on zone defence position and communication. Same as PK. This results in less pressure on the puck carrier which means more zone time for them but limiting their quality chances. 

There was a communication breakdown on that one ROR goal. 

Right now, the Blues are making their shots count while the Canucks aren't. 

For instance, before that Schenn OT goal, Miller had a great chance to win it all alone in the slot. This series could have been 3-0 heading into yestersay if he buried that. I think Motte also had a breakaway too if Im not mistaken. 

Those goals went in for us against Minni and the first 2 games against the Blues. 

I feel that we are capable of Scoring those again.

 

How?

 

4.5 GAA vs Binnington 

1.5 GAA vs Allen

 

Powerplay: 6 for 11 first 3 games ....... 0 for 7 game 4  -  they have figured us out

[CaptKirk888]

11 hours ago, canuck73_3 said:

Lol at people who thought this series would be a cake walk. 

I like cake

[JM_]

9 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

How can anyone criticize Markstrom the way this series has gone. He's playing great. STL is just a great team that's met that challenge & elevated their game. 

I don't think many are, but his history has shown he stands on his head if he gets just a little bit more rest. Even being a little off he still gave the team a chance to win last night. 

[Silent Man]

18 minutes ago, knucklehead91 said:

And just like our team, our coach staff is still pretty young in terms of time spent behind the bench. Its an entire team that is learning. We were not expected to make the playoffs at the start of the year, personally I felt like we could. But a lot of so called “experts” had us near the bottom. Compare last year to this year, we have done an entire 180. Its our first time in the playoffs and its a whole new animal to control. It is great experience nonetheless. We took on Minnesota who has a very deep team with experience and leadership. They are extremely deep down the middle, when Koivu is your 4th line centre and is your captain, you know you are strong in the faceoffs. We took that series in 4. We are now taking on the defending champs and not rolling over. Games 2, 3 and 4 have been tight in scoring and we have kept it close. Prior to last nights game, STL had a lead in the series for a total of 37 seconds after 3 games. Last night was the first time we actually trailed for an extended period of time. The team went from a far cry from playoffs to competing with the team who won it all and still had the large majority of that team intact. Take the positives from this and not focus on the fact we lost 2 close games, cuz you know, we also WON 2 IN A ROW AGAINST ST LOUIS.

Its been a major turn around in a short time for Vancouver and the window is only a crack open. 

Yes, 100%. This. It is like watching a sunrise here on the west coast- you see that light behind those mountains , but is it still semi-dark and the air is cool. But you know that everything will change in 2 hours

[theo5789]

41 minutes ago, CanucksJay said:

Also we are missing a top 6 in Toffoli and a top 4 in Myers. 

 

Thats akin to taking out Perron and Scandella. 

 

Still very proud of this team. I still believe we can do this. 

They are without Steen, Tarasenko and Bouwmeester currently. There's a reason they are the defending champs. The fact that we are currently tied in the series with them is pretty darn amazing for a team that was considered by many to be another tank roster. We have already accomplished our season goal (and got a bonus series in as well). All this additional experience is all just gravy to soak in atm. Of course I hate to see this team lose, but sometimes you have to step back and look at the bigger picture. And you're right, we are still in this and we have shown that we can beat them, so there is still hope yet.

[HockeyHarry]

Blues schooled Canucks and showed them why they’re the defending champs. 
that #90 guy on the blues is a playoff beast. 

Canucks PP is Hot or is Cold theres no inbetween. Really need 5 on 5 going.
 

Its now the best of 3 ,just need 66%. Which is a passing C grade.

 

If you made it this far on my post notice i just stated the obvious. We and Canucks both know what needs to be done. Just Winn.

 

Go Canucks Go.

 

 

[MikeyD]

10 hours ago, amplified0ne said:

Has anyone looked at RW depth to choose from, not much there really.  I get probably need someone to get in there bang and crash to retrieve pucks...not like there's an Alex Burrows on this team right now.  Boeser just has to pretend he's playing Minny every game.  He did make a good play on the Miller goal, kept the puck alive on that play.

Justin Bailey or Graovac? I'm sure they could play right side. 

[JM_]

8 minutes ago, Googlie said:

How?

 

4.5 GAA vs Binnington 

1.5 GAA vs Allen

 

Powerplay: 6 for 11 first 3 games ....... 0 for 7 game 4  -  they have figured us out

or Allen has. We're also not getting in front of him enough. This is the shot map from last night (https://www.icydata.hockey/games/13560#xgraphs). 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Robert Long

[IBatch]

20 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Markstrom gave us a chance to steal last game.

 

Ultimately no answer for ROR & our PP let us down. We simply can't be second best on special teams & win.

 

Atleast we get a day off.

 

 

Markstrom hasn’t been a problem for us the past 8 games ... sure he let in a couple bad goals against MIN in game four but he was money when he needed to be and said as much then (shades of Furh).    And he has stole a game for us in a way too even though he probably didn’t need to.   So far against St Louis I’m sure he wants the Schenn goal back more then any of them.    I’m sure if we knew coming into this playoffs that Markstrom’s save percentage 8 games in would be .927 nobody but a total idiot would balk at that.     He’s been sharp and right up or even better then the standards we’ve come accustomed too, and if anything so far he’s proving he also has an extra playoff gear. 
 

Edit:  That said if we need to rest him for game 6 playing Demko wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.  So far in a very small sample size he’s owned St Louis.   And on the other side (and said this before the series - what worries me the most about St Louis is Allen) in another small sample size this playoffs - right on top of the leader boards almost is Allen.    Got to get in his face ... doubt he can pull off four good games in a row winning tomorrow would be absolutely huge for us ..

Edited August 18, 2020 by IBatch

[CaptKirk888]

11 hours ago, Beary Sweet said:

Wasn’t our night tonight. Blues dominated puck possession and it cost us. Marky was great but he can’t do it on his own. We need our top guns to be at their best. Sucks Huggy Bear and Petey weren’t able to extend their point streaks respectively. Hope they start new ones next game. GCG!

Marky was great, had some luck with the posts, but that is because he was positionally set and wasn't giving any space. It was a hard fought game and overall the Blues outplayed us. As many others have said in this thread it's time to regroup as it is now a best of 3. I am happy, as a lifetime fan, that we are finally in the playoffs again. It's all good.

[CanucksJay]

6 minutes ago, theo5789 said:

They are without Steen, Tarasenko and Bouwmeester currently. There's a reason they are the defending champs. The fact that we are currently tied in the series with them is pretty darn amazing for a team that was considered by many to be another tank roster. We have already accomplished our season goal (and got a bonus series in as well). All this additional experience is all just gravy to soak in atm. Of course I hate to see this team lose, but sometimes you have to step back and look at the bigger picture. And you're right, we are still in this and we have shown that we can beat them, so there is still hope yet.

Good points on not having JBo and Steen and Tarasenko although Tarasenko is a healthy scratch I think?

Deep team indeed.

[swizzey]

As a loyal Canuck fan I will do the honours and contract COVID-19, sneak into the bubble in the wee hours of the night. I will locate the rooms of ROR, Perron, Allen, and Pietrangalo. I will not run in loudly and cough all over them to cause attention as I would get kicked out without making my rounds to the other rooms. I will quietly and cautiously stand over them face to face as they sleep and breathe the breath of COVID-19 for approximately 40 minutes in honour of my favourite player Pettersson. Following my rounds to the rooms of those listed above, I will sneak out of the bubble and enjoy the rest of the series. 
 

I am Canuck.

[ruilin96]

11 minutes ago, Googlie said:

How?

 

4.5 GAA vs Binnington 

1.5 GAA vs Allen

 

Powerplay: 6 for 11 first 3 games ....... 0 for 7 game 4  -  they have figured us out

They figured out that Binnington was nervous 

[24K PureCool]

Just now, CanucksJay said:

Good points on not having JBo and Steen and Tarasenko although Tarasenko is a healthy scratch I think?

Deep team indeed.

Just shows we still have a very long way to go

[CanucksJay]

4 minutes ago, Robert Long said:

or Allen has. We're also not getting in front of him enough. This is the shot map from last night (https://www.icydata.hockey/games/13560#xgraphs). 

 

 

Just goes to show how brutal second period was.  1 shot from the slot (Was that Miller tip?)

It also shows that we might have had the edge on periods 1 and 3?

[nux4lyfe]

Jake Allen looks like he's going to be hard to beat..They figured out our PP and clog up the middle..no shooting lanes.

[CaptKirk888]

11 hours ago, DeNiro said:

Here come the trolls!

 

[MikeyD]

10 hours ago, theo5789 said:

Why are we so bipolar on CDC? When we were up 2-0 (winning 5 in a row), people were planning the parade already. Now we've lost 2 in a row and it's series over (and back to fire everyone)?

 

St Louis overcame a 2-0 deficit. Now is the time to regroup and bounce back like they did. Not the time to become defeatist.

 

I think this series goes to 7 games. Who wins is anyone's guess, but this team will give it all.

Because too many people are absolute Homer's and not enough hockey fans on this forum. They see a sport and they understand it, but they don't have the knowledge and the foresight to predict when this team isn't playing great. They see 5 game win streak and think the team is amazing, but during the streak aren't able to see the details of the game and just how much luck can be involved in a streak like that. 

 

Hockey is a game largely based around patterns and is often times more predictable than people think. There were a few of us who were able to see that game 3 and certainly game 4 were likely going to be evened out. 

 

They see, "Hey we are beating the cup Champs! We must be an amazing team!!!" instead of, "This powerplay is bound to be figured out by the cup Champs soon. Not enough looks to it. Puck possession numbers are too weak to squeek away with wins consistently. They're being too passive. Etc." So naturally you have monumental highs when the team wins against a formidable opponent, and low lows when you don't understand why the team looks abysmal the next night. 

 

This series is the Canucks regular season wrapped up into a condensed set of games. The Canucks have always been Jekyll and Hyde. 

[theo5789]

1 hour ago, Robert Long said:

the lotto line got most of the shift time in the 3rd, but Jake didn't look out of place there with Bo either. Its the 0/7 PP that really killed us, even with Sutherland being Sutherland.

 

If there is going to a change Jake for Loui is a pretty easy one to make. Jake doesn't have it in him to be a $&!# disturber, but he can go hard to the net if he wants to. 

Well it's what Jake himself said he wanted to be. If he doesn't have it in him, then that's on him. He's got the speed to match any player and the size to do some damage. He's got to keep skating hard when he gets his shifts and earn that bump up. We all want to see his offense get going, but he needs to get into the game and utilize his assets.

 

Personally I think the team is just getting burnt out. We've had to deal with a play-in series, so this is our "2nd round" while the Blues got to coast before getting going (the advantage of being a top team in the regular season). We carried our momentum into the start of this series, but it's worn off. The one thing I'm hoping for is for Green to start balancing out the minutes more. I get wanting to go with the go-to guys, but the guys look tired.

[-DLC-]

shotssshotsshotssshotsshotsshots

 

I can only offer that:

 

1.  I'm still proud as hell of this team...they're in there, battling hard and anyone not seeing that isn't looking hard enough.  (Hint:  it's easier from home)

2.  I feel like when we've had a bit of success the team gets too fancy.  They look to set up perfect plays and that allows the d to set up (too). And to crowd them....fire quick and fire often.  Get traffic in front of the net and crash the crease.  Allen's having an easy time of it for much of the game.  Make his life hell.  Get some quick shots off where it surprises him/them rather than a calculated play all the time.  

3.  I do love that mixing it up means they have to focus on 3-4 guys rather than 1 or 2.  But sometimes we seem to have the puck in what seems like a perfect opportunity to shoot and we ... look to pass it.

 

That's my expertise in coaching based on nothing at all.  I don't pretend to know but that seems kind of obvious at times for me.

 

Stech had a tough game...doesn't every one at times?