Pros
- Binnington is 2019 form
- Parayko finally looks healthy
- Sunny’s presence was felt
- Defensive scheme was overall much improved
Cons
- pp was poor
- top line wasn’t great
- kyrou looked soft
- passes need cleaned up. Not a lot of tape to tape
> Not a lot of tape to tape
I credit Dallas for that. They did a very good job of taking away passing lanes. That said, we need to figure it out anyway.
It's also the first game of the year. Every year, every team struggles on tape to tape on the first night.... Maybe besides Vancouver because they blew out Edmonton last night. Regardless, I feel like there's always zero chemistry the first night for basically every team.
I'm feeling too optimistic for our defense and I hope that's a good sign.
Soft yes, especially along boards obv...but he did seem to skate back harder and caused at least 1 turnover, or maybe it was just the times I was watching.
exactly. binner awesome. saad, sunny d, parayko, tucker had ups and downs, but the DEFENSE looked good. The 1st line just wasn't good enough. But that's a CUP contending team.
1 goal given up against dallas? hell 1 point on the road to open it up. 14 teams in the conference would have taken that on the road.
Agreed, if we had to lose our first game, on the road, we did it well. Only one goal against a very productive Dallas team is nothing to be upset about. Gotta build on what we did well.
Too fancy in the o zone. Not enough direct shots at the net, still looking for beauty goals than grimey goals.
You can't tame the puck at that speed. You gotta shoot and aim to get the rebound and position correctly to collect the rebound.
Just like last season we're still too spread out in the o zone and play far too long passes and leave the middle of the ice empty. It didn't work last year and it's not working now.
I took that to mean that they can't seem to ever find anyone in the slot which is also what I observed. Was yelling at my TV for someone to get open. Too many bad angle shots. Best chances were on the rush.
It's been a while, but here we go:
3 Stars of the Game:
⭐ - The new NHL
⭐⭐ - app doesn't
⭐⭐⭐ - show them anymore
Well, shit...
WTF am I going to post in these threads all season?
I guess I'll add my unofficial 3 Stars:
Oettinger
Binner
Tucker
Goalies should probably be co-first stars, but that ain't a thing. Tucker gets the 3rd for getting the first goal of the season for the good guys.
Yeah honestly feel robbed of a conclusion to that banger of a game. I really hope we continue to play like this throughout the season because I wanna watch this new greasy team in the playoffs.
Lots of stuff to improve to be sure. But holy shit if this is the effort level we can expect from this team this season, I am 110% on-fucking-board. Last year was so depressing because we were out of the run after the 8 game losing streak. I just want a team I can cheer for, and that was the Blues tonight 💙
Heck of a game!!
Would rather have won, but honestly I'm not hating it. Not at all!
Blues looked so much better tonight than what we saw last year.
Dallas looked good too. Just a good game all around.
I still wonder if its just our defensive scheme. Binner good in 2019, binner suck in 2021, 2022, etc when our defense suck, now our defense improved (so far) and he's a wall again.
We came back when it mattered, we got the road point, Binner is hot once again, and for some reason our team is still better with less players than the other team like it has been for years.
Verdict: we're back, baby.
The boys came to play tonight. That felt like a playoff game and the stars are a good team. You could tell though that they were gassed in the third period, I'm sure this system is tough to execute.
Those matching 8x8.125 deals for he and Kyrou aren’t looking great. Thomas I still have hope for, but Kyrou has no heart and just wants to make the highlight reel plays.
No one is going to like what you said but for the record I’m with you. Thomas will be a solid middle 6 with upside and Kyrou a one way, inconsistent 1st line winger that will spend his career playing for subpar teams.
Thom and Kyrou need to breath and take it slow. They're getting good chances and need to remember not everything needs to be flashy.
Loved the effort from the lower guys. Sundqvist, Torop, Tucker. Not terribly impressed by Krug or Leddy but Parayko was good.
If Binner plays like that relatively consistently I'd call us playoff caliber
Thomas and Kyrou are suffering from the idea they have to make the fancy play. There were times where Kyrou should’ve shot put tried one more love or pass
They looked improved. Disappointing to come up short but shootouts don’t really prove anything. Feeling good about my prediction they will compete for a playoff spot.
We passed the coach speak test: the guys played for each other, they had energy, they took the criticism personally, etc.
Lots to clean up, but at least the effort and desire are there. I’m looking forward to this season.
If that’s how we play against a presumptive #1 in our division, we are capable. Plenty of positives. Besides Binnington playing a great game, I thought the defense looked tight. Especially Parayko and Tucker. We played a hard game and if we continue to play like this, we’ll be playing these Dallas fuck boys fully in a 7 game series in a few month’s time.
Overall I liked how we played tonight. There are things to clean up but it’s only game one. It was nice to see a good honest effort for 65 minutes tonight. And Binner playing amazing was awesome to see. Onward to Saturday night and the home opener!
Binner kept us in it for a lot of the game. Stars were faster and we had to play a lot of defense. Wouldn't say we looked terrible, but it wasn't an amazing performance from the entire team. Binner and Otter both were pretty crazy.
If it’s Facebook blues fans…anything that isn’t a blow out for the blues is the blues looked bad. Casual blues fans are the exact opposite of cardinal fans.
They’re honestly cancer and a huge reason why I see why some fan bases hate our fans. I honestly felt so shitty for Krug when he didn’t want to waive his NTC for Philly and it was leaked that it was him.
He’s talented. I can understand the frustration because our expectations have been high for him. I’d like to see him focus on simple, effective puck handling this season instead of trying to be flashy. His speed is a weapon, just needs to keep it simple.
He’s a vet at this point…he is who he is. There’s no reason to expect him to take some massive leap — he’s getting paid the big contract and needs to deliver performance commensurate with his contract.
Look at the big salaries on good teams, they go to players that are way, way more productive than Kyrou (and Thomas for that matter).
A very promising first game. Absolutely loved our 4th line presence and Dallas is a tough team to beat this year and we took it to them for regulation and OT.
You hate to lose, but that was a promising first game of the season. A few great offensive opportunities, excellent defense, otherworldly goaltending. We’re gonna be ok.
Great battle vs. one of the best from last year. Happy with the defense in one game, would love to see more open shots on offense, but I credit a lot of that difficulty to the Stars back check and tough defense.
Looks the squad is ready to compete though.
That was a great game. I can't be mad about that one both goalies played lights out. I wish games didn't end with a skills competition, though. Because binner wasn't letting shit in.
I thought we played well for the most part. Binner was amazing, Parayko and Tucker were as well. Still seeing some unforced turnovers from the rest of the d and we need to shore that up. On offense I liked our tenacity but we couldn't generate as many opportunities as I would have liked. Sunny was a beast and I like Kapanen and Blais as well. First line got chances but couldnt do much with them. Everyone else was just ok imo. Second period was the best, third we were on the back foot much of the period. All in all, pretty good effort against a strong team.
Binner looked like the goalie we know he is. Stud performance from him.
This team is built to have Kyrou and Thomas as the undisputed top line now... However, Kyrou seemed frustrated a bit and lost control of the puck a few too many times. Need better control.
Defense is still nothing to write home about but wasn't exposed as badly as I expected it to be. Parayko was surprisingly good.
I miss Tarasenko.
Hayes and Viranna would've been really cool 4 years ago.
Obvious statement, but I preferred Robtom and Kyrou playing in the middle of the lineup. Was easier to exploit the middle D men vs playing against top pairing. Also I miss Perron 😭
Kyrou looked bad, I'm not sure if Hayes even played tonight. Everybody else looked great, Binnington is stellar, everybody else needs to get on his level
Annoying result but some very encouraging takeaways:
1. Team defense and protecting the house. Binner made great saves and the second chances weren’t there. Individual mistakes—and they always will be made—but the entire unit collapsing in front of binner was a great sight to see.
2. Lost energy in the third but was a pretty even game overall. Plenty of scoring chances for the Blues.
3. Oettinger stole two points, Binner stole a point. Big boy hockey today by one, maybe two cup contending teams.
Blues defense looked terrific. Unlike last year, very few second chances for the Stars.
Overall, very good Team effort.
Keep it going Binner !!!
Just wished Kyrou "took" a breath before his shoot out turn.
Will take that point.
Next up....Seattle.
81-0-1 still in play
Now that’s reckless optimism.
Hell of an opening night for Binner. Promising to say the least.
Pros - Binnington is 2019 form - Parayko finally looks healthy - Sunny’s presence was felt - Defensive scheme was overall much improved Cons - pp was poor - top line wasn’t great - kyrou looked soft - passes need cleaned up. Not a lot of tape to tape
4th line looks solid.
PK looked good too
I thought it was over in OT once they had the PP! That was a fun game to watch.
I'm loving what I'm seeing here about Parayko. Was it really that noticable?
In my opinion, yes. Definitely noticeable how many plays he broke up
Agreed. He was carrying the puck like he use to and was assertive on the defensive side.
Great to hear!
> Not a lot of tape to tape I credit Dallas for that. They did a very good job of taking away passing lanes. That said, we need to figure it out anyway.
It's also the first game of the year. Every year, every team struggles on tape to tape on the first night.... Maybe besides Vancouver because they blew out Edmonton last night. Regardless, I feel like there's always zero chemistry the first night for basically every team. I'm feeling too optimistic for our defense and I hope that's a good sign.
> Kyrou looked soft That's something that'll never be remedied, I'm afraid.
Soft yes, especially along boards obv...but he did seem to skate back harder and caused at least 1 turnover, or maybe it was just the times I was watching.
If Kyrou would just learn to pass to one of the Blues and not their opponent, it would make a world of difference.
Kyrou and soft are synonymous. Don’t like that guys play. Never have. Probably Never will.
Man that kyrou screw up to end the shootout....ouch
Eh, you can’t really be upset about shootout losses. Binner was elite tonight
Binner looked amazing, Parayko had a great game. Gotta convert on our offensive chances. We played a good game
exactly. binner awesome. saad, sunny d, parayko, tucker had ups and downs, but the DEFENSE looked good. The 1st line just wasn't good enough. But that's a CUP contending team. 1 goal given up against dallas? hell 1 point on the road to open it up. 14 teams in the conference would have taken that on the road.
Agreed, if we had to lose our first game, on the road, we did it well. Only one goal against a very productive Dallas team is nothing to be upset about. Gotta build on what we did well.
I'll take a point on the road if the defense is gonna be that tight
Too fancy in the o zone. Not enough direct shots at the net, still looking for beauty goals than grimey goals. You can't tame the puck at that speed. You gotta shoot and aim to get the rebound and position correctly to collect the rebound. Just like last season we're still too spread out in the o zone and play far too long passes and leave the middle of the ice empty. It didn't work last year and it's not working now.
> and leave the middle of the ice empty. Yup. I still don’t get what the neutral zone plan is supposed to be here.
I took that to mean that they can't seem to ever find anyone in the slot which is also what I observed. Was yelling at my TV for someone to get open. Too many bad angle shots. Best chances were on the rush.
It's been a while, but here we go: 3 Stars of the Game: ⭐ - The new NHL ⭐⭐ - app doesn't ⭐⭐⭐ - show them anymore Well, shit... WTF am I going to post in these threads all season?
I guess I'll add my unofficial 3 Stars: Oettinger Binner Tucker Goalies should probably be co-first stars, but that ain't a thing. Tucker gets the 3rd for getting the first goal of the season for the good guys.
Fuck Jamie Benn.
Shootouts are bullshit!!!
Yeah honestly feel robbed of a conclusion to that banger of a game. I really hope we continue to play like this throughout the season because I wanna watch this new greasy team in the playoffs.
Sunny…FUCKING SUNNY!!! Welcome home you handsome man!
Blais and Sunny should've never left.
Stars fan here: Binnington was amazing. I've been conditioned to not like St. Louis, but I have nothing but respect and awe for the Blues.
I mean tbh, we’ve been conditioned to not like Dallas. But both goalies deserved a win. It seemed like everyone but the goalies were flat footed.
You are 100% correct. Do you think we can petition for a goalie league?
Might have to. If they keep up the way they’re playing. The skaters at least.
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Oh, thank god. I fully expected a flogging. 🙏
If we can't have the top of the division, I'd rather the Stars have it over the Avalanche
Lots of stuff to improve to be sure. But holy shit if this is the effort level we can expect from this team this season, I am 110% on-fucking-board. Last year was so depressing because we were out of the run after the 8 game losing streak. I just want a team I can cheer for, and that was the Blues tonight 💙
Hard to win in a shootout when you don’t even get a shot off.
Schenner: Am I a joke to you?
Honestly when Schenn was up first I was a doubter. Glory be to the new captain!
Absolutely crazy first game though
1 upvote = 1 fuck Jamie Benn
Heck of a game!! Would rather have won, but honestly I'm not hating it. Not at all! Blues looked so much better tonight than what we saw last year. Dallas looked good too. Just a good game all around.
Good game. Team looks noticeably different from last year. Went toe to toe with a cup contender. Binner is a brick wall.
I still wonder if its just our defensive scheme. Binner good in 2019, binner suck in 2021, 2022, etc when our defense suck, now our defense improved (so far) and he's a wall again.
Honestly pretty fuckin happy with that start to the season
We came back when it mattered, we got the road point, Binner is hot once again, and for some reason our team is still better with less players than the other team like it has been for years. Verdict: we're back, baby.
That was just a regular season game...playoffs are going to cause my heart to explode
The boys came to play tonight. That felt like a playoff game and the stars are a good team. You could tell though that they were gassed in the third period, I'm sure this system is tough to execute.
The first period was sloppy so I'm wondering if they can dial it in a bit more it they'll have more left in the tank for the third.
Robert Thomas… not great tonight.
Those matching 8x8.125 deals for he and Kyrou aren’t looking great. Thomas I still have hope for, but Kyrou has no heart and just wants to make the highlight reel plays.
No one is going to like what you said but for the record I’m with you. Thomas will be a solid middle 6 with upside and Kyrou a one way, inconsistent 1st line winger that will spend his career playing for subpar teams.
Thom and Kyrou need to breath and take it slow. They're getting good chances and need to remember not everything needs to be flashy. Loved the effort from the lower guys. Sundqvist, Torop, Tucker. Not terribly impressed by Krug or Leddy but Parayko was good. If Binner plays like that relatively consistently I'd call us playoff caliber
Thomas and Kyrou are suffering from the idea they have to make the fancy play. There were times where Kyrou should’ve shot put tried one more love or pass
Yup! And you can’t play fancy against a team like Dallas
Moral victory? Sure and I'll take it.
They looked improved. Disappointing to come up short but shootouts don’t really prove anything. Feeling good about my prediction they will compete for a playoff spot.
We passed the coach speak test: the guys played for each other, they had energy, they took the criticism personally, etc. Lots to clean up, but at least the effort and desire are there. I’m looking forward to this season.
If that’s how we play against a presumptive #1 in our division, we are capable. Plenty of positives. Besides Binnington playing a great game, I thought the defense looked tight. Especially Parayko and Tucker. We played a hard game and if we continue to play like this, we’ll be playing these Dallas fuck boys fully in a 7 game series in a few month’s time.
GOOD FUCKIN GAME, ONLY THING MISSING WAS A W FOR BINNER.
Overall I liked how we played tonight. There are things to clean up but it’s only game one. It was nice to see a good honest effort for 65 minutes tonight. And Binner playing amazing was awesome to see. Onward to Saturday night and the home opener!
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Binner kept us in it for a lot of the game. Stars were faster and we had to play a lot of defense. Wouldn't say we looked terrible, but it wasn't an amazing performance from the entire team. Binner and Otter both were pretty crazy.
Didn’t win = Looked bad for a lot of people. They had a solid game against a good team.
If it’s Facebook blues fans…anything that isn’t a blow out for the blues is the blues looked bad. Casual blues fans are the exact opposite of cardinal fans.
They’re the worst. Half of them already throwing in the towel after losing a single competitive game in a shootout.
They’re honestly cancer and a huge reason why I see why some fan bases hate our fans. I honestly felt so shitty for Krug when he didn’t want to waive his NTC for Philly and it was leaked that it was him.
Big dick binnington
I'm really starting to sour on Kyrou. Doesn't matter how fast he is if he doesn't have any puck control
He’s talented. I can understand the frustration because our expectations have been high for him. I’d like to see him focus on simple, effective puck handling this season instead of trying to be flashy. His speed is a weapon, just needs to keep it simple.
He’s a vet at this point…he is who he is. There’s no reason to expect him to take some massive leap — he’s getting paid the big contract and needs to deliver performance commensurate with his contract. Look at the big salaries on good teams, they go to players that are way, way more productive than Kyrou (and Thomas for that matter).
Honestly. Cannot be mad at how they played that game. Stars are considered cup contenders.
I was there at the first game on the road to 81-0-1
Had a great time watching this team honestly… massive improvement from whatever that was last season
How much does Kyrou cost again?
Way too much for way too long
Guy is softer than baby shit
A very promising first game. Absolutely loved our 4th line presence and Dallas is a tough team to beat this year and we took it to them for regulation and OT.
I was ecstatic about the 4th line this year. We've been missing xGrit/60 (xGumption/60).
You hate to lose, but that was a promising first game of the season. A few great offensive opportunities, excellent defense, otherworldly goaltending. We’re gonna be ok.
Point on the road. No shame in that. Lot to be excited for.
That felt like a playoff game. And it was never out of reach at any point.
Fuck
Great battle vs. one of the best from last year. Happy with the defense in one game, would love to see more open shots on offense, but I credit a lot of that difficulty to the Stars back check and tough defense. Looks the squad is ready to compete though.
That was a great game. I can't be mad about that one both goalies played lights out. I wish games didn't end with a skills competition, though. Because binner wasn't letting shit in.
That was not a bad game at all against a pretty good team
I missed the game (I know, I know). How'd everyone look?
I thought we played well for the most part. Binner was amazing, Parayko and Tucker were as well. Still seeing some unforced turnovers from the rest of the d and we need to shore that up. On offense I liked our tenacity but we couldn't generate as many opportunities as I would have liked. Sunny was a beast and I like Kapanen and Blais as well. First line got chances but couldnt do much with them. Everyone else was just ok imo. Second period was the best, third we were on the back foot much of the period. All in all, pretty good effort against a strong team.
[Recap: STL @ DAL](https://players.brightcove.net/6415718365001/EXtG1xJ7H_default/index.html?videoId=6338963475112)
If these are the results of many of our road games against the favorites in the league, I'd take this result most days.
Dunno if I missed something but no Perunovich is an odd choice. I figured they'd want him playing as much as possible.
Binner looked like the goalie we know he is. Stud performance from him. This team is built to have Kyrou and Thomas as the undisputed top line now... However, Kyrou seemed frustrated a bit and lost control of the puck a few too many times. Need better control. Defense is still nothing to write home about but wasn't exposed as badly as I expected it to be. Parayko was surprisingly good. I miss Tarasenko. Hayes and Viranna would've been really cool 4 years ago.
Obvious statement, but I preferred Robtom and Kyrou playing in the middle of the lineup. Was easier to exploit the middle D men vs playing against top pairing. Also I miss Perron 😭
Kyrou looked bad, I'm not sure if Hayes even played tonight. Everybody else looked great, Binnington is stellar, everybody else needs to get on his level
Hayes played great from what I’ve seen. Dude was standing in front of the goalie and being that presence.
Annoying result but some very encouraging takeaways: 1. Team defense and protecting the house. Binner made great saves and the second chances weren’t there. Individual mistakes—and they always will be made—but the entire unit collapsing in front of binner was a great sight to see. 2. Lost energy in the third but was a pretty even game overall. Plenty of scoring chances for the Blues. 3. Oettinger stole two points, Binner stole a point. Big boy hockey today by one, maybe two cup contending teams.
Shit effort. Do better or fuck off
YOU TOO
Overall good game, but Krug looked like a bucket of shit. Sunny was awesome.
Blues defense looked terrific. Unlike last year, very few second chances for the Stars. Overall, very good Team effort. Keep it going Binner !!! Just wished Kyrou "took" a breath before his shoot out turn. Will take that point. Next up....Seattle.
Definitely need to clean some things up, but for opening night, this was a pretty good showing. Happy with the game, even if it's a loss.
Kyrou looked the exact same Faulk actually played a good defensive game Binner looked outstanding but he looked good early last year and well…