In fighting video games, you're given a "tournament" of fighters to encounter. We all know the BIG fighter at the end that you must defeat to become champion; for examples Mike Tyson in Punchout!, Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat or M. Bison in Street Fighter II. As you concentrate on making it to the bad guy, there's a fighter along the way that beats the absolute piss out of you so much that you throw your controller across the room. They're frustrating and difficult, but once you get by them, oh man does the next one feel easy. Here's examples of THOSE guys, Bald Bull or Mr. Sandman in Punchout!, Vega in Street Fighter II and Goro in Mortal Kombat. Translating that to the NHL playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche were on a collision course to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, but they got a worthy challenger in the St. Louis Blues. The Blues actually tied the Avs in 1-1 in their second round series before controversy and bad luck cost the team from the Show Me State a chance at getting back to the Western Conference Finals.
21-22 Expectations: The St. Louis Blues had the second best record in the league in 2020 before the Covid 19 lockdown. In the 2020 "Bubble Playoff", they fell to the Vancouver Canucks in 6 games. In 2021, they were steam rolled by the Colorado Avalanche in a series that wasn't really competitive but contained plenty of controversy when Avs center Nazem Kadri leveled defenseman Justin Faulk with an illegal check. The result: Faulk inured & Kadri suspended. Remember that for later. The off-season was full of trade speculation around star winger Vladimir Tarasenko and his trade request. The Blues added Pavel Buchnevich from the Rangers coming off the best season of his career and set out to return to Stanley Cup contention.
21-22 Result: The Blues finished third in a very competitive Central Division behind the 2nd best team in the NHL Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild. In the playoffs, the Blues were shocked out of the Cup Run when Darren Helm scored in the closing seconds of Game 6. That Tarasenko trade request became only that; "a request" as the Blues couldn't find a trade partner. Tarasenko returned and led the Blues in scoring (34g-48a-82p). The 82 points were a career for the 2010 draft pick, but he wasn't alone in rebounding.
Defenseman Justin Faulk returned to the form he showed as a Carolina Hurricane. The Minnesota Native scored 41 points in his first two season in Missouri over 125 games. In 76 games this season, Faulk scored 47 points (16 goals, 31 assists) better than the first two seasons combined. Pavel Buchnevich continued his career trajectory he was on with the New York Rangers, but given a bigger role the Russian winger notched his first 30 goal season and a career high 78 points (30g, 46 assists).
What Went Right: Along with the three players mentioned above and solid seasons from veterans Brayden Schenn (58 points), Brandon Saad (49 points) and captain Ryan O'Reilly (58 points), they got even more from their developing talent. Breakout seasons from Rob Thomas (20g-57a-77p), Jordan Kyrou (27g-48a-75p) and Ivan Barbashev (26g-34a-60p). Every play doubled (if not tripled their production). Kyrou more than doubled his career high 35 points and Thomas' 77 points were eight points short of his career TOTAL of 85.
The Blues surprises didn't stop there. When Jordan Binnington struggled between the pipes, the Blues turned to 2014 4th round pick Ville Husso to steady the ship. The Finnish goalie did just that with 25 wins on the season and a 1.87 GAA also a JAW-DROPPING 0.936 save percentage in January and February. Husso actually took the starting job, but the heavily workload wore on him statistically with a 3.03 GAA and 0.904 Save % in March and February. He started as the team's number one goalie in the playoffs before acquiescing to the former Cup Champion Jordan Binnington. He began the playoffs with a shutout in Game 1, but everything went down hill from there. Against Minnesota, he was 1-2 with a 3.02 GAA and a 0.906 Save %. After succeeding Binnington vs Colorado (more on THAT in a second), he was worse with a 4.17 GAA and a 0.879 Save %.
What Went Wrong: In more ways than one, Jordan Binnington. The 2019 bolt of lightning that carried the Blues on his back to a Stanley Cup, struggled overall this season. His GAA BALLOONED to 3.13 and a career lower 0.901 Save % , but if you look at the splits it's actually more of a rollercoaster. His Save % from October to April: 0.926, 0.903, 0.903, 0.869, 0.928, 0.882, 0.901. And the Goals Against Average was even worse: 2.52, 2.96, 3.07, 5.02, 2.01 and 3.28. Gotta wonder what Binnington drank in March, but the rest of the year...OMG! Binnginton did get his job back in the first round against the Minnesota Wild, where he FINALLY returned to form. Binnington was 4-1 in 6 games of the 2022 playoffs with a 1.72 GAA and a 0.949 Save %. His last win was against the Avalanche, however his final game of the playoffs was in Game 3 when Avs center Nazem Kadri and Blues defenseman Calle Rosen collided in front of the net and into Binnington. The result was a knee injury to the Blues’ goalie and taking him out of the series. Check out the video below and draw you own conclusions on the hit. Binnington just got back to form...and this happened. This led to the Blues being dispatched by Colorado in 6 games. Could the Blues have pulled off the upset with Binnington in net? Hard to say they couldn't.
Reasons to be Optimistic: The Blues may have a few players on the cusp of stardom. Jordon Kyrou put on a show at times this season and Rob Thomas is about to become bigger than the other Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty. All of their veterans (Schenn and O'Reilly) are signed for one more season. David Perron is the only major vet unsigned. Maybe a full season for former Team USA's Scott Perunovich could help him solidify a spot in the defense core. The Blues roster is solid and their $9m of cap space can afford for them to make a move in free agency.
Reasons to be Pessimistic: It's honestly unreasonable to hope for Binnington to return to his 2019 form. The goalie was 24-5-1 with a 1.89 GAA and a 0.927 Save % in his Stanley Cup season. Truth is that Binnington has regressed A LOT since then, partially because you can't play at THAT level forever AND he has regressed. His GAA has risen and his Save % has dropped every season since 2019. To make matters worse, Binnington is being paid $6m every season until 2027 with a No Trade Clause. It's clear Binnington can get hot and carry the Blues, but it's not clear that he can sustain it for long periods of time. Should the Blues bring BACK Ville Husso, it may put Binnington on notice. Also what do the Blues do with the Vladimir Tarasenko trade request? Tarasenko has never pulled the request. He agreed to try again during the summer. Could the Blues mend the fence with their leading scorer and get him to come back for the final year of his deal? He will have more value this season, but the Blues will need NHL ready piece to help their "win NOW!" model.
22-23 Expectations: The Colorado Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup and the Blues were arguable BETTER against them than the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. If they could beat Colorado, they could have beaten anyone. They still have pieces in place to contend for the Western Conference and less complications than the Wild have with their cap penalties kicking in this season. The Blues can be just as good - if not better than this last season.
コメント