Should we all bring our skates to the game tonight in case the Blues need more players?
- stljam

I wouldn't, judging from the end of last season and the start of this one, the league sent out a memo to all teams that the rules have changed and that refs are instructed to waive off the penalty as long as someone in Blue gets hurt. Not sure it's worth the risk to play in St. Louis these days.

going to be a tough challenge tonight

Good W by a short handed team. Reaves could have had two goals.

Funny side note - Reaves has more goals than Oshie, Ott, Berglund, and jaybow have points and is tied for 3rd on the team in goals.

Allen made a very, very, very good stop on a second shot moving to his left.

Gunnarsson struggled with outlet passes when he had time, much like Cole has. Gunnar made at least 4 really bad plays on those that I saw. The official box score confirms he led the team in giveaways tonight. His total ice time of 10:43 also suggests the coaching staff may have thought he was struggling. Compare that time to Cole's 14:06.

Lehtera and Lapierre were beasts in the FO circle again.

If Berglund could actually hit the net on a one-timer, he would have had two goals.

Blues got a bit of friendly officiating in the last few minutes....

Ott could have received a penalty under - "Any time a player places his hand over the puck while it is on the ice in order to conceal it from or prevent an opponent from playing the puck, a minor penalty shall be assessed for "closing his hand on the puck.""

Jaybo played the puck with a broken stick

Lapierre completely held Getzlaf on the faceoff he lost.

going to be a tough challenge tonight
- Goblues86

Hell of a game tonight. One of the Blues best played games this season. Reaves if he had some talent would have had a hatrick.

Lappy's play has been playing fantastic the last few games. I am amazed. Ott played a great game as well. That is big for us if those guys play well. I was also highly impressed by Jaskin minus his terrible penalty.

Magnus looked very good on the pp as well.

I will also say there were three plays made on Blues players that could have caused injuries and only one was called. Kessler is a worthless, gutless loser. He put a knee into Lehtera late into the game.

In the dying minutes Perry took his frustration out on Petro by giving him a dangerous hack. Petro spun away from some of it but it was still awkward.

The NHL is a joke when it comes to suspending players or players having any respect for each other.

Allen was great tonight as well. He made numerous big time saves. If he play like that consistently we finally have a big time goaltender.

Cole sadly made a ton of terrible passes. I can forgive one or even two, especially if other plays a player makes are good. But when there are no big time plays to make up for it... Leopold was steady and made some nice plays.

The big difference lately has to also be the play of JayBo and Petro. Much improved. Gunnerson looks to be still shaking off some rust be the man is steady.

Jaskin has a cannon.

As a GM you have to take note of what it is like minus big players in your games. If your team looks good consistently then you can think of making a trade when you can and pretty much always will in the cap league.

Great game by the Blues.

Hell of a game tonight. One of the Blues best played games this season. Reaves if he had some talent would have had a hatrick.

Lappy's play has been playing fantastic the last few games. I am amazed. Ott played a great game as well. That is big for us if those guys play well. I was also highly impressed by Jaskin minus his terrible penalty.

Magnus looked very good on the pp as well.

I will also say there were three plays made on Blues players that could have caused injuries and only one was called. Kessler is a worthless, gutless loser. He put a knee into Lehtera late into the game.

In the dying minutes Perry took his frustration out on Petro by giving him a dangerous hack. Petro spun away from some of it but it was still awkward.

The NHL is a joke when it comes to suspending players or players having any respect for each other.

Allen was great tonight as well. He made numerous big time saves. If he play like that consistently we finally have a big time goaltender.

Cole sadly made a ton of terrible passes. I can forgive one or even two, especially if other plays a player makes are good. But when there are no big time plays to make up for it... Leopold was steady and made some nice plays.

The big difference lately has to also be the play of JayBo and Petro. Much improved. Gunnerson looks to be still shaking off some rust be the man is steady.

Jaskin has a cannon.

As a GM you have to take note of what it is like minus big players in your games. If your team looks good consistently then you can think of making a trade when you can and pretty much always will in the cap league.

Great game by the Blues.
- BluemanGuruu

Can't really argue with any of this. Yeah I'm hoping Gunnarson is just shaking off some rust and getting used to his new team. I will say though, I love the way he defends the net front. Offensively he looks good too. He struggled a bit at times in the open ice and made some questionable decisions but I like his defense first mentality, and he seems to fit well with Shatty. Shatty has been awesome all season though. He's a hell of a player when he's playing on his toes like this.

I wonder if Cole got his pride hurt when they bumped him down off Shattenkirk's pair. He looked even more uncomfortable than usual last night. Then again playing with Jackman isn't going to make him look very good either. That pair was worrying me even during the off season.

I see why they've been giving him every opportunity to make the team for the last few years though. He does have some future value whereas Leopold is nearing the end of his career and probably will not be back next year. Personally, if the playoffs started tomorrow I'd rather have Leopold on the third pair.

Can't really argue with any of this. Yeah I'm hoping Gunnarson is just shaking off some rust and getting used to his new team. I will say though, I love the way he defends the net front. Offensively he looks good too. He struggled a bit at times in the open ice and made some questionable decisions but I like his defense first mentality, and he seems to fit well with Shatty. Shatty has been awesome all season though. He's a hell of a player when he's playing on his toes like this.

I wonder if Cole got his pride hurt when they bumped him down off Shattenkirk's pair. He looked even more uncomfortable than usual last night. Then again playing with Jackman isn't going to make him look very good either. That pair was worrying me even during the off season.

I see why they've been giving him every opportunity to make the team for the last few years though. He does have some future value whereas Leopold is nearing the end of his career and probably will not be back next year. Personally, if the playoffs started tomorrow I'd rather have Leopold on the third pair.
- fattyboubatty

Gunnar's play seemed really inconsistent last night - some very good, smart plays and then brain fart passes. With a veteran, I think we can at least initially chalk that up to rust. I hope Hitch benching him down to 10 minutes doesn't turn the rust into a mental problem. OMG, if i make a mistake i'm going to get benched and now i play scared/tentative and make more mistakes type thing...

Frankly, i would much rather have Prosser on the third pairing with Jackman than either Cole or Leopold. Prosser was much more reliable in his own end and really, all I want out of a third pair is to not get scored on, especially when you have 3 guys that are going to eat at least 75 of 120 minutes. Add Gunnar to that mix and you likely have 90-100 minutes covered. You want two guys who can split 20-25 minutes and make sure they are at least even and maybe eat some PK ice time.

Gunnar's play seemed really inconsistent last night - some very good, smart plays and then brain fart passes. With a veteran, I think we can at least initially chalk that up to rust. I hope Hitch benching him down to 10 minutes doesn't turn the rust into a mental problem. OMG, if i make a mistake i'm going to get benched and now i play scared/tentative and make more mistakes type thing...

Frankly, i would much rather have Prosser on the third pairing with Jackman than either Cole or Leopold. Prosser was much more reliable in his own end and really, all I want out of a third pair is to not get scored on, especially when you have 3 guys that are going to eat at least 75 of 120 minutes. Add Gunnar to that mix and you likely have 90-100 minutes covered. You want two guys who can split 20-25 minutes and make sure they are at least even and maybe eat some PK ice time.
- stljam

You definitely haven't been watching Prosser's play for the Wild if you would rather him over Cole or Leopold.

Allen's save on Perry was amazing. They finally got the save of the night correct.

Wasn't expecting a win last night. Left the game very happy. Nice overall game from a shorthanded team, great goaltending from Allen.

Oh, it is about time for a recap.

Hell of a game tonight. One of the Blues best played games this season. Reaves if he had some talent would have had a hatrick.

Lappy's play has been playing fantastic the last few games. I am amazed. Ott played a great game as well. That is big for us if those guys play well. I was also highly impressed by Jaskin minus his terrible penalty.

In the dying minutes Perry took his frustration out on Petro by giving him a dangerous hack. Petro spun away from some of it but it was still awkward.

Allen was great tonight as well. He made numerous big time saves. If he play like that consistently we finally have a big time goaltender.

Cole sadly made a ton of terrible passes. I can forgive one or even two, especially if other plays a player makes are good. But when there are no big time plays to make up for it... Leopold was steady and made some nice plays.
- BluemanGuruu

Reaves played a really good game especially considering how low his ice time was. I was surprised how low it was.

I'm not usually a huge Lappy fan but do appreciate some of the things he brings to the table. Late in the third though, he was excellent. He was a complete beast in the face-off circle and the only one he lost, he tied up Getzlaf by whatever method it took. Easily his best period of hockey sans the goal saving play against Chicago last year.

Perry's embellishment was terrible too.

Do you think a lot of the Cole discussion may have to do with expectations, given where he was drafted, how he was hyped and his potential talent? If you look at him as a relatively inexperienced 5 through 7 d-man, he's probably about what you would expect - doesn't cost much, has holes in his game, etc. Maybe part of the issue is people see what they think he could be. Of course, part of it is the big turnovers but imho Gunnar's turnovers were a lot worse last night.

I thought Leopold was better but still not good. He still is making bad pinch decisions (maybe its a slow down in his foot speed that he hasn't accepted/realized yet?) and made a couple of glaring gaffe's in the Blues end that caused the Blues possession (either lost or didn't gain). For a guy with his skill and experience, his play sure seems disappointing to me.

Guruu, you said you are goalie i think, right? If so, do me a favor and watch Allen's play next game to see if you think he plays unusually deep (closer to the goal line). I'm going to try and watch for it too. He was definitely playing very deep and it almost cost him a couple of times, making the saves look a lot better because they were harder to make than if he had taken the angle better. A good example was late in the third, he made a blocker save that looked like a great save because he was on the goal line. If he is out near the top of the paint, it's a much easier save because of the angle of the shot. Essentially, his positioning made him have to make a great save. As much as I didn't like Miller, I'll give him credit for a great quote. He said something like if you see me make a great save or an acrobatic save, it's probably because i got myself in a bad position or out of position.

Allen made a handful of very good stops at very key times. The timing of the saves was almost more impressive to me than the saves in some respect. Let's hope this continues. The other great thing is that it was a pretty pedestrian night for him until the last 10 or 11 minutes which can be hard to handle (not really being tested, worked hard, etc. and then having to deal with quality chances, almost cold).

Allen's save around the 10 or 11 minute mark in the 3rd on the follow up shot (Pang referred to it as a Ranford save i think) was great movement. Allen did the only thing he could in that he moved well to his left, covering as much net as he could and hoped that the shot would hit him and it did. Awesome move to block as much net as he did but still very lucky the guy didn't lift the puck into the upper 1/3 to 1/4 of the net. If the shooter lifts the puck into the upper portion of the net, it's a goal.

Also, did you notice the efficiency of Gibson's lateral movement in the net? Some of his lateral footwork was scary with how fast, tight and efficient it was. That kid really has some tools and could become scary good.

You definitely haven't been watching Prosser's play for the Wild if you would rather him over Cole or Leopold.
- Antilles

Lol, only in one game against us and the goal he scored the other night. I'm only going off of what I saw of him playing here.

Oh, it is about time for a recap.


- carcus

Or, was it you that is a goalie and not guruu?

Or, was it you that is a goalie and not guruu?
- stljam

Actually, I am both.

Ok, this is pretty cool. Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) dressed as skeletons tonight.

https://sports.yahoo.com/...ame--photo-142504926.html

From Andy Strickland

Center for disease control apparently investigating #stlblues facility according Hitch

I blame Ott.

Lol, only in one game against us and the goal he scored the other night. I'm only going off of what I saw of him playing here.
- stljam

he's had one or two good games... and otherwise been terrible. Coin toss as to who would be better at this point, him or Butler.

Actually, I am both.


- carcus

What? Both a goalie and Guruu?

Reaves played a really good game especially considering how low his ice time was. I was surprised how low it was.

I'm not usually a huge Lappy fan but do appreciate some of the things he brings to the table. Late in the third though, he was excellent. He was a complete beast in the face-off circle and the only one he lost, he tied up Getzlaf by whatever method it took. Easily his best period of hockey sans the goal saving play against Chicago last year.

Perry's embellishment was terrible too.

Do you think a lot of the Cole discussion may have to do with expectations, given where he was drafted, how he was hyped and his potential talent? If you look at him as a relatively inexperienced 5 through 7 d-man, he's probably about what you would expect - doesn't cost much, has holes in his game, etc. Maybe part of the issue is people see what they think he could be. Of course, part of it is the big turnovers but imho Gunnar's turnovers were a lot worse last night.

I thought Leopold was better but still not good. He still is making bad pinch decisions (maybe its a slow down in his foot speed that he hasn't accepted/realized yet?) and made a couple of glaring gaffe's in the Blues end that caused the Blues possession (either lost or didn't gain). For a guy with his skill and experience, his play sure seems disappointing to me.

Guruu, you said you are goalie i think, right? If so, do me a favor and watch Allen's play next game to see if you think he plays unusually deep (closer to the goal line). I'm going to try and watch for it too. He was definitely playing very deep and it almost cost him a couple of times, making the saves look a lot better because they were harder to make than if he had taken the angle better. A good example was late in the third, he made a blocker save that looked like a great save because he was on the goal line. If he is out near the top of the paint, it's a much easier save because of the angle of the shot. Essentially, his positioning made him have to make a great save. As much as I didn't like Miller, I'll give him credit for a great quote. He said something like if you see me make a great save or an acrobatic save, it's probably because i got myself in a bad position or out of position.

Allen made a handful of very good stops at very key times. The timing of the saves was almost more impressive to me than the saves in some respect. Let's hope this continues. The other great thing is that it was a pretty pedestrian night for him until the last 10 or 11 minutes which can be hard to handle (not really being tested, worked hard, etc. and then having to deal with quality chances, almost cold).

Allen's save around the 10 or 11 minute mark in the 3rd on the follow up shot (Pang referred to it as a Ranford save i think) was great movement. Allen did the only thing he could in that he moved well to his left, covering as much net as he could and hoped that the shot would hit him and it did. Awesome move to block as much net as he did but still very lucky the guy didn't lift the puck into the upper 1/3 to 1/4 of the net. If the shooter lifts the puck into the upper portion of the net, it's a goal.

Also, did you notice the efficiency of Gibson's lateral movement in the net? Some of his lateral footwork was scary with how fast, tight and efficient it was. That kid really has some tools and could become scary good.
- stljam

No brother I am not a goalie only in street hockey and once when the goalie did not show up and I sucked, especially with regular skates sending me sprawling lol.

I am the goaltender's nightmare. I like to make plays but if goaltender cheats on the short side and gives me an inch I put the puck where it makes him question his sanity. Once upon a time Bernie told me to shoot the puck more because he said I had a rocket. He said that about Tarasenko as well, only Tarasenko really has a rocket. I could shoot the puck very hard and dent a goalie mask(old style with the cage), now and then but Tarasenko is a level I have sincerely never seen before and I used to watch how Hullie scored over and over back int he day. Him and Jagr. A side note I took a slapper from center ice in the game going upper ninety the goalie used his blocker to make a save the puck popped up in the air almost hit the rink ceiling(Webster), and the puck came down, hit the net and popped back out. A reference and a bit of bragging but by far not the hardest shot by any means. With a radar gun now a days I was only hitting slappers about 95mph so nothing special from me.

I have played against goaltenders of all sizes. In some pick up games a few years ago there was this really tall goaltender who was very good. A smaller goalie was quicker. What I notice is if a goaltender takes a certain angle they look bigger than they are and you do not see the openings on the net even though they are there. It makes it hard to make a split second decision where to put the puck. I can only imagine when that split second is taken further down to a split of a split second in the NHL.

I think I have noticed two things about goaltenders and some of their coaches. When Wamsley was here all the goaltenders came super far out to challenge shots and sometimes had to dive back into the net to recover. For some reason they had Bishop coming way out of the net early in his career to challenge shooters. I thought it was a big mistake because mostly he takes up the enitre net and can fool you the same way a smaller goaltender like Halak needs to by coming far out. When Bishop stopped coming so far out he was better able to not only make the first stop but control the rebound better. Now he is successful. He also has fast reflexes.

What I have loved most about Allen as a goaltender since I have seen him is his speed. He reminds me of Fluery but bigger. At least seems bigger.

For that reason I think it makes sense not to come too far out of the net except at certain times like the one time he did in the third period I think it was last night. If you have great reflexes and you are big then you are better served sometimes by not coming out too far. Especially when the net front presence at the end of the game consists of two players on either side of the net.

I love Gibson. I really, really had hoped we could have landed him. He is an efficient netminder and also has extreme quickness. He is everything Quick wishes he could be and has to compensate for by flopping all around the ice saved most times by a stalwart Kings' defense.


I was a bit miffed though by some of his play last night. I really like him and all but I saw some glaring holes that the Blues also saw and tried to exploit. He cheats too much. But it also says something about the shooter's confidence and where they feel he can be beat. As you usually figure in certain areas to go to the sides, high or five hole in the slot. But he made all of those saves but one. But on the short side his reflexes and a bit of puck luck saved him a few times. That is where I am looking all night especially since the Duck defenders were giving the players plenty of time on the side of the net. But such a hole is what every goal scorer looks for. The talent level of NHL goal scorers will have their eyes getting big at seeing that hole. What shocked me though is he was never beat there and it had me wondering if he fades that shot and his real weakness is hidden somewhere else.

To me(I know this is long and all but I love talking about it since I do not get to play anymore being now too far from any rinks), a goaltender is like a poker player at your table. You are looking for at least one weakness, one tell you can exploit. Every goaltender seems to have one and bad ones more than one. If they are in the zone and presenting a brick wall then you start trying to make more difficult shots like ones by their ears or for me getting on the back hand and having the netminder moving across the net. Hull in his video talked about how he always watched the goaltender's skates. A goaltender would put more weight on one skate and he would shoot to the outside of that skate as it was difficult for the goaltender, especially back then to recover.

That is basically how I see it. Other than that if I were playing in the NHL going on a two on one and the defender presented good coverage I would be trying to get a pass of the pads every time unless the goalie gave me a big hole to shoot at.

What do you think of my malarky? I never understand what goes through a goaltenders' head other than from soccer getting rattled if someone nutmegged me. So I always try to score a goal early a goaltender can feel bad about more so than normal.

Reaves played a really good game especially considering how low his ice time was. I was surprised how low it was.

I'm not usually a huge Lappy fan but do appreciate some of the things he brings to the table. Late in the third though, he was excellent. He was a complete beast in the face-off circle and the only one he lost, he tied up Getzlaf by whatever method it took. Easily his best period of hockey sans the goal saving play against Chicago last year.

Perry's embellishment was terrible too.

Do you think a lot of the Cole discussion may have to do with expectations, given where he was drafted, how he was hyped and his potential talent? If you look at him as a relatively inexperienced 5 through 7 d-man, he's probably about what you would expect - doesn't cost much, has holes in his game, etc. Maybe part of the issue is people see what they think he could be. Of course, part of it is the big turnovers but imho Gunnar's turnovers were a lot worse last night.

I thought Leopold was better but still not good. He still is making bad pinch decisions (maybe its a slow down in his foot speed that he hasn't accepted/realized yet?) and made a couple of glaring gaffe's in the Blues end that caused the Blues possession (either lost or didn't gain). For a guy with his skill and experience, his play sure seems disappointing to me.

Guruu, you said you are goalie i think, right? If so, do me a favor and watch Allen's play next game to see if you think he plays unusually deep (closer to the goal line). I'm going to try and watch for it too. He was definitely playing very deep and it almost cost him a couple of times, making the saves look a lot better because they were harder to make than if he had taken the angle better. A good example was late in the third, he made a blocker save that looked like a great save because he was on the goal line. If he is out near the top of the paint, it's a much easier save because of the angle of the shot. Essentially, his positioning made him have to make a great save. As much as I didn't like Miller, I'll give him credit for a great quote. He said something like if you see me make a great save or an acrobatic save, it's probably because i got myself in a bad position or out of position.

Allen made a handful of very good stops at very key times. The timing of the saves was almost more impressive to me than the saves in some respect. Let's hope this continues. The other great thing is that it was a pretty pedestrian night for him until the last 10 or 11 minutes which can be hard to handle (not really being tested, worked hard, etc. and then having to deal with quality chances, almost cold).

Allen's save around the 10 or 11 minute mark in the 3rd on the follow up shot (Pang referred to it as a Ranford save i think) was great movement. Allen did the only thing he could in that he moved well to his left, covering as much net as he could and hoped that the shot would hit him and it did. Awesome move to block as much net as he did but still very lucky the guy didn't lift the puck into the upper 1/3 to 1/4 of the net. If the shooter lifts the puck into the upper portion of the net, it's a goal.

Also, did you notice the efficiency of Gibson's lateral movement in the net? Some of his lateral footwork was scary with how fast, tight and efficient it was. That kid really has some tools and could become scary good.
- stljam

The way Cole played in the first period was terrible. Possibly for me since I happen to think he is good and has a lot of talent I just do not get the poor passes he makes. I think he is better than that. I really think that Hitch might have ruined him a bit as I never saw him make so many bad plays last year except when he was shaking rust off.

I though Leopold was solid in his own zone.

The first miff by Reaves was terrible with a capital T. That was a huge gaping empty side of the net and he outright missed with very little pressure. I think if you are in the NHL you have to make that shot. Maybe more so considering the game and the missing players. But that is why Reaves is fourth line player. that and Reaves is too slow on the back check which creates gap issues in the Blues' system. He's not Cam Janssen bad.

I think Porter was playing sick. I have never seen him play a game and be so far from the play as often.

I think Cole can become a real good dman. Sometimes it takes a while for dmen to develop and sometimes all they need is a change of scenery.

What? Both a goalie and Guruu?
- eggsegan

I am a goalie. I am not BlueManGuruu. But I am a guru, sensei, teacher, whatever you prefer.



I didn't mean to confuse you and say that I am the alt account of Blueman.

Gunnar's play seemed really inconsistent last night - some very good, smart plays and then brain fart passes. With a veteran, I think we can at least initially chalk that up to rust. I hope Hitch benching him down to 10 minutes doesn't turn the rust into a mental problem. OMG, if i make a mistake i'm going to get benched and now i play scared/tentative and make more mistakes type thing...

Frankly, i would much rather have Prosser on the third pairing with Jackman than either Cole or Leopold. Prosser was much more reliable in his own end and really, all I want out of a third pair is to not get scored on, especially when you have 3 guys that are going to eat at least 75 of 120 minutes. Add Gunnar to that mix and you likely have 90-100 minutes covered. You want two guys who can split 20-25 minutes and make sure they are at least even and maybe eat some PK ice time.
- stljam

I agree about the third pair. That's what worries me about Cole and Jackman, you've got the two guys on the team who are most likely to turn the puck over, plus one of them is going to have to play on his off side. It never seemed like a good fit to me but hopefully Cole can learn to simplify his game playing with Jackman, reduce the amount of pinches and focus on the quick smart play out of the zone.

Among 690 players on the entire planet, any teams' 24-34 skaters (out of 50 man team under contract) are still amazing, as long as said organization has good scouting & doesn't rush 18-20 year olds to the NHL. Having guys like Jaskin, Reaves, Ott, Paarvi, Lindstrom, & Porter is pretty great as long as they're producing. Reaves is a better fighter than Janssen and has a lot more skill.

Throw in the fact that Lindbohm, Butler, or Shields can come in & play if needed, there's cap space if say Leopold or Jackman were to be moved for prospects/picks. I wouldn't mind seeing Cole, Leopold, or Jackman play on the 4th line if Rattie (leading Wolves with 6 pts in 7 games) can't be called up.

I am a goalie. I am not BlueManGuruu. But I am a guru, sensei, teacher, whatever you prefer.



I didn't mean to confuse you and say that I am the alt account of Blueman.
- carcus

Why would you deny the truth Carcus. We are one in the same. We have been playing around as if we were two people but really we are in actuality one person.



Of course now having written that joke some will wonder. carcus do you play goalie in pick up games at creve Coeur? If you are a goalie there is a good chance we have met and the same with stljam.

I agree about the third pair. That's what worries me about Cole and Jackman, you've got the two guys on the team who are most likely to turn the puck over, plus one of them is going to have to play on his off side. It never seemed like a good fit to me but hopefully Cole can learn to simplify his game playing with Jackman, reduce the amount of pinches and focus on the quick smart play out of the zone.
- fattyboubatty

To be honest I think Jackman plays a more focused game when he plays a lot less. Or is it there are less chances of him being on the ice against a good forecheck?

Cole should be fine. He is not bad playing the off side. The problem is when you look at advance stats you see that some players styles do not fit well together. Sometimes it happens with great players and sometimes with lesser ones. Cole makes Jackman better but Jackman's play will have a negative affect on Cole's play. Because when Jackman is pressed on a forecheck Cole needs to focus on his positioning and his tendency is to abandon his positioning and help out which should be done by a forward.

Leopold is better with Jackman I think because he is more patient with the puck and he is able to move the puck forward out of the zone.

I am not worried about Gunnerson because you can see how smart he is and how his tendency is to make the simple play over trying to force a play to make a terrific pass. He just has rust And it is the NHL. These guys play at a high, high speed. Well most of them. I mean there are players playing in the NHL that should not even be playing above a beer league--I am thinking of Scott in San Jose.

Among 690 players on the entire planet, any teams' 24-34 skaters (out of 50 man team under contract) are still amazing, as long as said organization has good scouting & doesn't rush 18-20 year olds to the NHL. Having guys like Jaskin, Reaves, Ott, Paarvi, Lindstrom, & Porter is pretty great as long as they're producing. Reaves is a better fighter than Janssen and has a lot more skill.

Throw in the fact that Lindbohm, Butler, or Shields can come in & play if needed, there's cap space if say Leopold or Jackman were to be moved for prospects/picks. I wouldn't mind seeing Cole, Leopold, or Jackman play on the 4th line if Rattie (leading Wolves with 6 pts in 7 games) can't be called up.
- All Blues

I was thinking it would be interesting to see Cole at the forward position. I agree with your statement completely. More so that the Blues have incredible depth for an NHL team.

They cannot call up another forward due to the cap supposedly.