2019 Stanley Cup Final - No Singing the Blues - Boston is Going Back to Backes

Carmine Hose

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If Chara can pull a Derek Stepan and give it go with the jaw break, I wonder if his height helps him out in protecting it since he is prone to take hits lower on his body than others. That of course won't stop the Blues from running him into the glass from behind.

FWIW, I have heard from a source that Pasta's shoulders are messed up. He had been taking injections and those messed with his handling (many exhibits of whiffs/flubs) so had to stop.
 

Zososoxfan

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I think Chara's size, physicality, and presence also account for something. I think he's the only defenseman that St. Louis hasn't taken a run at (because who's taking a run at Chara?). I thought Moore has played reasonably well when forced into action this postseason. Kampfer obviously had the big goal last series, and you could maybe get by with him for a game. But if this goes 7? I really hope one of Chara or Gryz are available (and preferably both).
Chara's just not that physical anymore. He's still a good Dman, but that's not a big part of his game.

Great to see Gryz skating. As much of a help as he would be to this team, I hope he and the team prioritize his longterm health.
 

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SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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If Chara can pull a Derek Stepan and give it go with the jaw break, I wonder if his height helps him out in protecting it since he is prone to take hits lower on his body than others. That of course won't stop the Blues from running him into the glass from behind.

FWIW, I have heard from a source that Pasta's shoulders are messed up. He had been taking injections and those messed with his handling (many exhibits of whiffs/flubs) so had to stop.
That would be tough to believe for me, as Pasta has added a physical element to his game this playoffs that hasn't really been seen before. He's thrown, or attempted to throw quite a few big hits.

Someone with shoulder issues likely isn't doing that, especially when it's not part of their game to begin with.
 

[icon]

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Grz skating out in G5 has to be a significant symbolic/emotional boost to this team, over and above his value in the course of play.

Of course, odds Blues take another shot at his head (re-concuss risk significantly elevated shortly after an incident, IIRC) are likely high, because goonery.
 

burstnbloom

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The Blues broke the Bruins mentally and physically in that 3rd period. They were shying away from contact like a badly beaten dog.

5 on 5, the story is the same. The Blues are just better. St Louis is outscoring the B’s 8-5. Without the benefit of 4-5 power plays, we saw what the Bruins offense is. This was the case in the regular season, so it shouldn’t be surprising now.

The Bruins have been beaten down, and are now down to their last remaining defensemen and will have to turn to some unconventional lineups going forward. The Blues have the advantage going forward, and I think will finish off the Bruins in Game 5.
Can someone take care of this?

edit - i should have read the whole thread. My bad, SJH, and thank you.
 
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The Mort Report

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Agreed. His issues come on open ice; in close quarters, which with his reach, covers a lot of ground, he’s still pretty good.
True, but I feel like when I notice him in a bad way it’s more when the ice is shrunk on a kill or empty net. His reach helps when players are trying to enter the zone and get around him, but since he’s not as quick with the stick anymore it takes an enternity for him to clear a puck. With the speed to today’s game it seems like the extra skater is getting there a lot of the time before he can get a clean clear off.

That said they are obviously better off with him than without
 

cshea

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Not sure I believe that. The Bruins have been up front about Grzelyck being in the protocol. He wasn’t taking contact today. One of the steps to clear the protocol is taking contact and not having any symptoms. There’s not enough time for that before the game. Game 6 seems reasonable at this point though.
 

BaseballJones

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Boston just needs to find a way to win game 5. Somehow. When they've won, they've dominated. They don't need to dominate. Just win. Any way possible. That would buy them six days until game 7 is played on June 12. That's six days for Chara and Grzelyck getting better. Sure, it would be nice to win in game 6, and if you do (presuming they win game 5), then they're the Cup champs. But game 6 doesn't NEED to be won in this scenario. Those six days could be enormous.

So win tomorrow. Somehow. Whatever it takes.
 

Myt1

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He's slow but so damn big and difficult to get through that people have to go around, and he's so damn big that it's difficult to do so AND get a good scoring chance. Plus he's a damn smart hockey player.
The pinch that led to the rebound goal the other night is a great example. Very smart pinch, and shot to get it on net instead of trying to kill the shot and airmailing it or missing the bet wide to start the break the other way.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Having just criticized the idea of dressing 7 defensemen, I'm going to partly reverse course on that. If they end up dressing Grzelcyk or Chara under circumstances where they are not 100% sure that one or both will be able to play at their accustomed level, then I'd dress a 7th D as a precaution.
 

j44thor

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Having just criticized the idea of dressing 7 defensemen, I'm going to partly reverse course on that. If they end up dressing Grzelcyk or Chara under circumstances where they are not 100% sure that one or both will be able to play at their accustomed level, then I'd dress a 7th D as a precaution.
I'd rather they dress 7 D regardless given the D they are going to be dressing are on the smaller side and may wear down under the STL forecheck.
Give Backes minutes to some combo of Pasta/Mojo/Coyle.
B's have won handily when they have had 6 healthy D and have been soundly outplayed when going down a D early. Backes has given you next to nothing this series so I don't see the downside in sitting him for an extra D.
 

Zososoxfan

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I'd rather they dress 7 D regardless given the D they are going to be dressing are on the smaller side and may wear down under the STL forecheck.
Give Backes minutes to some combo of Pasta/Mojo/Coyle.
B's have won handily when they have had 6 healthy D and have been soundly outplayed when going down a D early. Backes has given you next to nothing this series so I don't see the downside in sitting him for an extra D.
QFT. There is no doubt in my mind that a 7th Dman would provide more value at this point. Backes is averaging just over 9 minutes of TOI in the playoffs. The next lowest is Heinen who is over 13 minutes. The forwards should be able to handle that. Kuraly, MoJo, JDB, and Heinen the most likely to see significant increases in minutes. On that note, it is surprising to me that JDB is averaging under 14 minutes TOI in the SCF. I've been waiting for him to break out, but nothing much yet.

More importantly, getting Clifton under 15 minutes of TOI and Moore under 13-14 minutes would be ideal. Charlie Mac is going to have to log around 25 minutes but even someone like Krug would probably be more effective taking less hits and a few minutes less of ice time.

All of this makes me appreciate the fact that Chara has averaged over 25 minutes TOI/game 7 (!) times in his career.
 

NYCSox

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With two off days before the game and two off days after the game, this is the ideal time to run the top forwards out there for 20+ minutes and the top defensemen for 25+ minutes.
 

cshea

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If they are both cleared, I’d play them and take out Backes. Rotate 88, 43, 13, 90 through on the 2nd line.
 

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SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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If they are both cleared, I’d play them and take out Backes. Rotate 88, 43, 13, 90 through on the 2nd line.
I agree with this.

I can't imagine Chara will be even close to what he was even in games 1-3 given what he's likely to have gone through over the last couple of days, and provides some insurance in case 1 of the 2 can't finish the game.
 

Salem's Lot

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If they are both cleared, I’d play them and take out Backes. Rotate 88, 43, 13, 90 through on the 2nd line.
I love the idea of 7 D tonight and Backes out. I would also think about Kuhlman for Accardi. He seemed to have a lot of issues dealing with the St. Louis fourth line matchup. Unless they just want to spot him or need him for the PK. Kuhlman could possibly bring them some more jump in spurts tonight.
 

Haunted

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Yeah I've come around to running 7 defensemen for this game, especially considering the following:

  • If one or both of chara and Gryz play we aren’t sure their ability/stamina
  • If neither play, Steve Kampfer will be in and ...
  • Backes is easy to root for but hasn’t provided much so far this series.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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How often, in hockey, has a "game time decision" not translated into "in the lineup?" I feel like it's one of those phrases in other sports where, 80% of the time or more, it means "s/he's playing barring unforeseen circumstances," but might not be as high in hockey.
 

Haunted

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It’s common in the playoffs, or after a cheap shot when the injured team is waiting/holding out for punishment before announcing the player.
 

Red Averages

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I'm trying not to get my hopes up given this could be gamesmanship to avoid providing their lineup ahead of time. If they both can play (limited) I would agree with the 7D approach.

One question - should we worry about the forwards getting tired if they are rotating in more? Given our only losses were with 5 D, should we have a similar concern on the forward side, or is the burden more spread out and therefore negligible?
 

NYCSox

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I'm trying not to get my hopes up given this could be gamesmanship to avoid providing their lineup ahead of time. If they both can play (limited) I would agree with the 7D approach.

One question - should we worry about the forwards getting tired if they are rotating in more? Given our only losses were with 5 D, should we have a similar concern on the forward side, or is the burden more spread out and therefore negligible?
It's only 10 minutes of Backes PT that would be covered by at least four different players, maybe more. So yeah it's much more manageable than being short a D man.
 

Zososoxfan

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With two off days before the game and two off days after the game, this is the ideal time to run the top forwards out there for 20+ minutes and the top defensemen for 25+ minutes.
It's not about game-to-game fatigue, but rather in-game fatigue and effectiveness though. In other words, I trust Charlie Mac with 25 minutes, but not Krug. I trust Marshy and Bergy with 20+ minutes, but not really any other forwards.
 

tonyandpals

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It's not about game-to-game fatigue, but rather in-game fatigue and effectiveness though. In other words, I trust Charlie Mac with 25 minutes, but not Krug. I trust Marshy and Bergy with 20+ minutes, but not really any other forwards.
Krug has been logging 22-25 a night all playoffs.

I've come around on the 7 D for tonight. I think you have if both Chara and Gryz are in the lineup. Losing one of them and going to 5 D is going to hurt a lot more than running 7 D and splitting those F minuets of ... Backes or like our savior StanlyLord69 said, bench Pasta guy :-/
 

veritas

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FWP, but watching 2 threads in 2 different forums on the same board talking about the same thing is kind of annoying, can we pick one?
 

kenneycb

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Especially considering he probably knows Gryz's family. Would be thrilled if he's wrong though. For the B's and for the shit he'll get on Chiclets.
 

cshea

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Yeah he probably got it from Grz or Grz’s dad.

Makes sense, as I mentioned yesterday, one of the steps to get out of the protocol is to take contact and not have any recurring symptoms. He didn’t take contact at practice yesterday which made it basically impossible for him to clear that step before game time tonight. He’ll be back Sunday. Butch saying GTD was gamesmanship.
 

Maximus

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Yea, RA had Miller being out all playoffs before anyone else did. I'm going to trust him on this one.
RA nailed Miller being out for the playoffs before anyone had a clue. Lousy that Grz is out tonight, he's great at exiting the defensive zone. Chara playing will be a big boost. I'd still dress 7 D and double shift Jojo & Pasta.