Quote: sptsman said: Boston has plenty of its own problems. They are far from a lock to win anything. And Tampa is a very good regular season team. We'll see how it translates in the playoffs. I would not bet against them but all it takes is one good team on a roll to bounce them.
ls, I agree it is about the scoring in the playoffs but a good deal of the scoring in the playoffs is about toughness and grit. If you have noticed, many of the games where the Blues could not score, they had tons of SOG's with little or no net-front presence. When Maroon and others started getting dirty and mucking it up in front of the net, scoring came. Even in the games where they scored from the slot or D-men from the point, the physical presence had opened up shooting lanes. In the playoffs you have to play hard and be willing to hit and get hit. The game changes and unless you have Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and the rest of that Oilers dynasty-type players, you had better be ready for the battles.
I am not laying down any cash in Vegas but this could be one of those years like the 2012 Kings. Lots of similarities with the rough start, coaching change and peaking at the right time...
Rangers and Devils next. Both already eliminated from the playoffs. They really need to get 3 or 4 of the 4 available points...
Go Blues
Could not agree more on the close in work and shots from high danger areas that has to be done to score. A big part for sure. This team is tough enough to do that but getting it on net is just as important. They need to continue to finish their plays and more than likely to advance anywhere they need to get better at it or pick up new scoring winger next year.
Here's a question for you...Blues clinch PO the minute the Avs tie or lose.
Should the Blues go all out on remaining games for home ice with Preds or even 1st place Jets or do they rest some their guys an extra game or two like O'Reilly or Senko and even an extra rest day for Binner to close out the season?
Remember Hitch going hard for the Hart Trophy few years back? bwaaaaaa.......that did not work out so well.
-------------------- Sometimes you got it sometimes you get got.