First part of the series discussion.

The original thread link is here:
https://hfboards.mandatory.com/threads/ ... s.2644023/

Page number: 1

Do we have a shot?

Naw

See you there!

Sharks in 7.....

Next

Sharks in 7.

Not sure if the sharks can turtle 4 more wins but I want whoever comes out of the West to win it all.

Probably another 7 game series.

Please tell me we don't have Cuthbert and Micheletti again

Sharks have higher seed / home ice if 7?

Binnington loves to intercept the dump and chase
gotta counter that

Lol the series thread on the STL board is "Ref Jose vs St Louis Blues"

Yes

Good luck San Jose. I'm a Blues fan, but having NbC shove Colorado down my throat, plus the fact that their fans have always been..anyhow, made me want to throw up. Should be good WCF.

I gotta be honest guys, I don't see how the Sharks pull this one out. I think St. Louis is the best team left in the playoffs. But I'm satisfied with how the Sharks have played this season and every win they manage in this series is just gravy for me.

Obviously I'd rather have the sharks win, but a Blues stanley cup would also be pretty awesome.

I'm pretty sure the Sharks are the highest seed left.

Boston is

Or Pierre
But it probably is Pierre.

A Saturday start is huge for this team. No travel and an extra day off after two grueling series will do them good.

what was their record against the blues in RS?

I usually call the Sharks to sweep but seems like the team wants to play all 28 games.

Lost 4-0, Won 4-0, won 3-2 in OT.
Close Season Series. The OT Win was the only game after the Blues really turned it around mid season

Page number: 2

At least Pierre has a personality though, even if it's annoying. The other dudes are just so dry, Pierre makes me laugh like 40% of the time just with his child-ish giddy for every single player and coach in the building.
Plus it's a good laugh, and a good drinking game to take a shot every time Pierre mentions something about where so and so played college and who their line mates were in juniors, or any weird, probing fact that he knows about someone.

Have we always done 2 or 3 day gaps between series? I feel like it used to be 4 or at least 3?

Predictions on who NBC slobbers over in this series? I'm gonna say Robert Thomas and Colton Parayko.

Hmm I think I'm gonna miss the start time of most of our games

Binnington non stop, a good ol St.Louis boy

It pierre, Kenny Albert, and someone else doing color. Was mentioned on XM NHL radio today.

Dizee, the guy who started that, has a few "œclever" names for some teams. He's....something, for sure. Funny thing is, he's blocked by like half our board, so that'll be interesting as well seeing they won't even see it lol.
Anyways, lets have a fun series, shall we?

Welp, time to start up the Gackle Report...

Just win

Good to know you guys don't condone his behavior. Now, I'm gonna go back and forget that he exists.

You guys ready for the Tarasenko show?

I dont like to predict before ive seen a couple games, but looking at their line contributions. They have a guy on the 2nd line thats scored 2 goals. Its mainly Tarsenko, O'reilly, and Perron. Thats their 1st and 2nd lines, Tarsenko scored 33, O'reily scored 28, and their next is Perron at 23. Everybody else is scoring at standard 3-4th lines. I wouldn't be surprised if we took all 4 espc since we worked hard for the extra points to have home ice this year. Still a long way to go, I think the hard part will be taking their fans out of it in games 3 and 4.

I'll level with you a bit. You're making me see Pierre in a whole new light, but you have a point.

I toured in 2016 following the loss to San Jose and happened to pass through the city. It sucked. The people I met were either conceited or rude. The bands that opened for us played and immediately left, and all of the people they invited along with them. I hate San Jose because of it.
Your team is good, scary good. They have a deep forward group that rivals the Blues' forwards. Their defense has 2 of the best defenders in the league, and the rest of the top 6 can manage. Although Jones had a horrific year and a rather bad 1st round, he has been pretty good in the 2nd round. The Sharks were the last team I wanted the Blues to play in these playoffs because watching them, they can turn it on whenever they want and seem to score at will like the Blackhawks used to do.
For as much as I dislike the city and the team, I know this is going to be a good series and like I've told my fellow board members, I've come to terms that the Blues might potentially lose and I wont see another deep playoff run for another 3 or 4 years. Good luck to you guys, and if you do win, please just ****ing beat the Bruins or Canes.

Just getting any offense going on the road is proving to be a challenge. We're in the WCF and only have two road playoff wins to show for it, one in each round, and not many goals scored on the road. Luckily we have home ice so we hopefully just need to steal one in STL.

He's blocked by lots of us stlouis fans too so don't group us together haha
Good luck this series it's gonna be a good one.

Maroon and Oreilly as well. Binnington is a given

They better go 3-0 at home to start the series then...I don't know if the players or even we can handle another 7-game series lol.

I'm in the same boat. Picked Sharks in 7 out of hope, but the Blues have been the best team in the NHL since Feb.

OTOH, Sharks only have two home losses. Both which I attended. I will not be attending games for the foreseeable future.

The biggest difference is that Hertl hasn't scored much on the road, I think. It's hard to ask more from Hertl than what he's already given us but we might have to. He's only scored 1 point in six road games in the playoffs (the OT shorty in Vegas), compared to his 13 points in 8 home games. That split is drastic. Couture, on the other hand, has a pretty even split.

It's either blues in 6 or sharks in 7

I already banned myself, being that my only two playoff appearances were Game 5 (Detroit) in 2011 and Game 7 in 2014.

Looks like I'll be barricading myself inside until the end of this series (and potentially longer if we lose).
That said, I think ROR is banged up as he hasn't been nearly as effective as he was in the regular season (has some points but not driving play). Tarasenko hasn't been great at ES either. Guys that worry me are Schwartz and Thomas. They've been the best forwards for STL this playoff run. I also worry about shots from the point. Not sure if numbers back it up or not, but feel like we give up an abnormal number of garbage goals on point shots from screens/deflections. STL has guys like Pietrangelo and Parayko that have big shots.
That said, I like that this team isn't faster than us for the first time all playoffs. They play similarly to us in terms of system as opposed to being counterattack transition teams. Should be a fun series even if it's unlikely to be visually appealing to the casual fan.

Agreed. I decided, for fun to calculate how many road playoff games the Sharks won through the first 2 rounds for all of their trips to at least the WCF:
2004: 3
2010: 3
2011: 4
2016: 3
2019: 2

Page number: 3

I also have a game 6 vs Pens under my belt. We are taking ones for the team here.

The only playoff game I've ever been to was game 3 against Vancouver in 2011, which we won. Y'all should be paying for me to go to playoff games.

yea, well i've never seen a sharks playoff game, but im 11-0-1 in attendance at sharks games, and the 1 loss was a shootout loss to EDM in 2008 when they won like 12 shootouts in a row! Y'all should be flying me out to SJ as a good luck charm

HFers, are we all forgetting that Erik Karlsson has a goal against the Blues this year? that's gotta be a good sign

Sharks in 3 EK 7-7-14 +28.

I picked SJS in 6 over Vegas, I then picked SJS over the Avs in 6.
I'm going to continue my trend and pick the Sharks over the Blues in 6.
Come on boys, get that third rounder upgraded to a 2nd for the Wings.
Then get my boy Nyquist a cup!
Congrats guys, keep it up!

I will also continue my trend and go STL in 4... prove me wrong.

Blues fans seem to think they're going to score a million goals on Burns... can't wait for them to see how mistaken they are.

I think San Jose's 3rd line will do better in this series. They're not going to have as much of a speed mismatch that really hurt them like they did against Colorado.

I think that dude still has nightmares about Vlassic from 2016. Now he's going to have a bearded, toothless Burns on his ass all series too.

Guess they all think MacKinnon sucks

For me Boston is the best team left. I think this match up is way better for the Sharks. Blues have more old slow players similar to the Sharks. Sharks will look fast by comparison. As long as they don't run and gun this could be over quick. Sharks can score on anyone. I was way more worried about having to play Dallas. That being said they will have to get refocused fast. They need to win the first 2 and stay ahead of the blues in the series.

Please be Sharks in 6 or less. Another game 7 will end me.
I will forever hate the Blues, thanks to them formerly employing that dreg of humanity, Chris Pronger.

That one fan who prefers Mackinnon to face Vlasic and Burns than Brayden McNabb... I can't tell if he's serious.

We've been "œunderdogs" these whole playoffs lol I'm trying to remember to see if we're the 8th seed who squeaked in the playoffs in game 82

I'm concerned with how beat up the team is and how much energy they have coming in.
Kane NEEDS to start producing, because the St Louis depth is much better than the Avs (and the Avs depth outscored the Sharks).
The Sharks can win, but they'll need to play better than what they have in the first two rounds.

I'm starting to feel like this is how Kings fans felt when everyone started hating them.

I mean...McNabb is a dirty mofo

So are Vlasic and Burns though, I've been Told.

US TV channels:
Game 1: Blues at Sharks, 5 p.m. Saturday (NBC)
Game 2: Blues at Sharks, 6 p.m. Monday (NBCSN)
Game 3: Sharks at Blues, 5 p.m. Wednesday (NBCSN)
Game 4: Sharks at Blues, 5 p.m. May 17 (NBCSN)
Game 5: Blues at Sharks, 12 p.m. May 19 (NBC) "“ if necessary
Game 6: Sharks at Blues, 5 p.m. May 21 (NBCSN) "“ if necessary
Game 7: Blues at Sharks, 6 p.m. May 23 (NBCSN) "“ if necessary

I don't understand all the fatalism. Jones is hot, we have the two top clutch point producing forwards and defensemen the playoffs, Pavs is back and we have countered each teams style in terms of strategy and we are starting at home and have stole games on the road in each series. We have beat this team a couple years ago and can do it again. Sharks in 6!

Of course I want the Sharks to win but I can't see us beating the Bruins and Jumbo losing to the Bruins would be extra painful. Do the Canes have any chance against the Bruins?

Yup. Lot of people just laughed off the idea that Burns might do well.

Page number: 4

I didn't expect them to beat Washington or NYI, so who knows?

They do. At this point, my dream scenario, which is entirely possible, is the Canes squeak out a 7 game series win while the Sharks win a relatively short series with the Blues, and unlike 2006, the Canes run out of gas in the SCF against us. Then on the verge of winning the Cup we say, "Oh yeah? Well the jerk store called and they're running out of you!"

I don't know the Blues well, but here are some reasons to be optimistic:
-We beat Vegas, remember? It was tight, but we won, and they are a fantastic team that's both fast, deep and can hit.
-We shut down one of the best players in the NHL.
-We've has to play very fast teams for 14 game. We've managed to win and adapt and our players are all used to playing faster to counter these teams. I think this, more than anything, is huge and can be a difference maker - we're as big and deep as the Blues but we've been primed to also play quickly because we've had to.
-2 days rest will help.
-They ended their game in double OT, and at this point I'm sure they're as beat up as we are... while we seem to be sort of on the mend.
-Home ice has been huge for us this year.
-For all his faults, DeBoer has managed to strategically adapt to both teams and win. I find that very impressive.
I think it can go either way, but I am not without hope. As I've done in the last two series: Sharks in 6.

Calling dibs on Game 1 GDT.
Don't hate.

It will be nice to play a team that isn't tryna race the daytona 500 all damn game. Pretty even matchup on paper, should be fun. PLaying against a rookie goalie aint the worst thing either.

Blues we meet again. St. Louis is definitely better than they were in 2016. Yet, so are we. Sharks do the 2014 Kings and take 3 seven game series en route to a Stanley Cup Finals Appearance

5 players left scoring at a PPG pace. Sharks have 3 of them right now. Couture and Hertl with 9g 5a each and Burns with 5g 9a. Other two are Marchand and Slavin

- St. Louis is bad on Special Teams. That's the place to beat them. Take advantage of their horrible 75% PK.
- The Blues have only won ONE game in these playoffs by more than ONE goal.
- They don't allow a lot of shots on goal, only 29.2/game. Pepper Binnington with shots, wear him out.
- Play North-South, don't let Karlsson get too cute in the neutral zone.
San Jose in 5.

Delighted to edge out Vegas, pleased well held on vs Colorado... but can't see us passing St Louis. Physical team that matches up well with us having 14 games already on the clock. Hope I'm wrong...

Brace yourself guys and gals - blues fans are HORRIBLE during playoffs on this board. They, for the most part, give no credit to better teams. They got incredibly cocky in 2016 when they won game 1 (barely) and then we dominated them, but it wasn't because we were vastly superior as much as their team played bad.
They have an enormous chip on their shoulder and honestly are some of the worst posters here. I guess going 50+ years without a cup does that.
Stay far away from the main boards. Just saying.

It can't be that bad. I was showing my face around Vegas during Round 1, and even had a shirt on at times.

Way ahead of you there.
I actually have no idea why anyone would even go there in the first place. It's legitimately confusing.

And of course not a single extra day there. NHL hates us.

Monday and Wednesday will be rough, but they'll earn me a rare Friday off.

I went for the first time the other day. What a **** show.

We get an extra day before the series starts. I'll take it.

I literally don't think I've been on a main board thread in 2 or 3 years. I'm happier for it.

not for the faint of heart, that's for sure lol

I've always wished you posted on the main board. We could really use your energy there.

Since they playoffs have started i've written and deleted (before posting) like 15 posts on the main boards. They are usually contrarian views to some hyperbolic take, and i realize its just not worth it haha.
Having said that, i'm bored at work all day after games, call me in for backup lolol

Literally one of the first comments in this thread is a Blues fan saying how much they hated people in San Jose.
I have no clue where their confidence comes from. The Blues are bigger losers than the Sharks are.

I lived in St Louis for 4 years. It's a **** hole.
Welcome to the board

lol! I posted something about the game 2 GI against vegas and something else but honestly it just seemed like a lot of teenagers who are new to the internet.

Apparently the Sharks will not be able to defend against the Maroon line. I mean the Sharks shutdown the Avs top line for the most part but Maroon and his amazing 10 goals and 28 points this season is going to be a huge problem.

Page number: 5

They're mental midgets and I hope their team is as mentally weak as they are. Their series title is Ref Jose vs the Blues... the sharks have been short handed 52 times in these playoffs leading all playoff teams. The blues have been short handed 28 times in one less game. But yeah the league definitely wants the sharks to win it all. What a joke some of these people are.

I'm enjoying everyone saying the Sharks will be too tired because they've played 14 games this postseason. Blues have played 13 and they're coming off a double OT win. Think we're about even there.

i like this matchup more than the Stars. The Seguin line would of given us fits like MacK did, but STL doesnt have the top end firepower that the STars have. Taresenko is their best but lacks a dynamic center.
I think we got this in 6 tbh.

This can't be overlooked. Huge, as you pointed out.

Avs weren't a grueling series. Vegas was grueling. Honestly, I think we are healthier now than we were at the start. This was like active recovery.

And no travel, not that its a huge deal at this point, but all of these factors add up.

If we can shut down MacKinnon, we can shut down Tarasenko.
We did a pretty good job shutting him down in 16 too.

"Stay far away from the main boards. Just saying."
It's kind of like the Mos Eisley of HF. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I hate.

Not really but it was fun to say.

"œIf you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."

Were doomed, doomed i tell ya.

He has not been good thus far this postseason. Has 5-0-5 thus far and 4 of those goals were on the PP. Personally am more worried about Schwartz/Schenn as they have looked much more dangerous this playoff run.

Apparently we're one of the worst fanbases in the NHL, only Vancouver is worse.

Least scary team in the west imo. Prefer them to flames avs stars and jets.
I'm more concerned with o'Reilly than tarasenko. I can't name a bottom six guy on their team.
This is hertl and kane's series to lose. Their isn't a forward that is going to cause havoc on the ice like MacKinnon. They aren't stacked down to the 4th line. We shouldn't have to ice radiil, gambrell or haley. I like our chances.
Their D isn't crazy mobile, we have the psychological advantage. Please take this series.

I know I am going to be biased here but I have no idea why our team or fanbase is so hated. We are not an overly physical team. We are not dirty. Our fanbase for most of the part keeps to themselves and we have nothing to gloat about with regards to the SC.

The games especially this past one and in Colorado were grueling just not in a physical way. It still takes a toll and needs to be recovered from.

So I posted reg season, heres playoffs for blues. Schwartz has 8 goals, Tarasenko has 5. Pietrangelo their 1RD has 11 points. Their 2nd line has a comined 14 points, and their 3rd line has 15 points, with Maroon getting 3 goals last series. I think Thornton and Labanc are great defensive playes so it may come down to tying up the first three lines, and Joonas Donskoi our savior coming through to salvage any scoring chances when the 4th lines on the ice. Should be a good heavy series as per with the Blues.
I also like Deboers move having Pavelski on the 2nd line, thats very smart. While Nyquist isn't finishing just yet he's still hot on pursuit, helping generate chances. Eating up the other teams 1st lines ice time, which is all you can ask!

Sharks have 4 players in the top 10 of scoring:
#1 Couture
#2 Hertl
#4 Burns
#8 Karlsson
Blues have one:
#9 Schwartz
Logan and Hertl are tied for the league lead in points and goals, and Karlsson is in the league lead for assists.

Lets ask Washington and the Isles

Binnington and Jones will be the keys to the series. I'm convinced Binnington is an alien though. He displays no emotion

I am still hoping that EK65 turns into a game-breaking player these playoffs. He has been pretty bad in his own zone and most of his offense has come in flashes and not been consistent. He could be a such a big difference going forward.

He actually has had issues with being too emotional. Multiple fights in the AHL, went after someone in the Dallas series. Sharks need Timo and Kane to get him flustered.

Grub was apparently a God going into this series.
We put up 20 goals
Binnington only kept the stars to 1 goal in games 6 and 7.
Jones is a solid goalie, and has become very consistent. But unless he was posting a 953 or something I'd say this series comes down to our blue line. St Louis has a strong team defensive structure. Burns and Karlsson will be covered heavily.

Good luck guys!
I actually hope one of you becomes a brand new Stanley Cup champ. As I've wanted the Sharks or Blues to win for a long time now.
May the best team win! (Smash the east, especially if it's ****ing Carolina!)

They've got him on Benzodiazepines now. Always figured it would be doping for a goalie use.

Page number: 6

I've always wanted Bruins v Sharks final. Bruins did their part in 2011 but SJ blew it big time v Van. Dangerous to look ahead but fingers crossed. Side benefit is maybe we'll see who actually won the Burns for Coyle trade.

The Sharks are definitely the most powerhouse team left after the departure of Tampa, but they certainly don't play like it though.
Should have handled the Avs with ease.

Gary Thorne and Bill Clement. Miss those guys.

Fear the Blues more than the Bruins, although Rask scares me more than Remington.

Thorne butchered unusual player names. ugh

Posting on the main board is like Jon Snow at the battle of the bastards or the battle of winterfell. You aren't going to win but we fight because it's the right thing to do

The Blues are very good but who are their superstars? A banged up Ryan O'Reilly?

Blues ran with these lines...
Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko
Blais/Fabbri-O'Reilly-Perron
Maroon-Bozak-Thomas
Barbashev-Sundqvist-Steen
Edmundson-Pietrangelo
Bouwmeester-Parayko
Dunn-Gunnarsson
The large majority of their goals came from their top line. 14 of their 34 goals come from that line. If they shut down that top line especially on the PP then the Sharks will have a good chance of winning this series. Blues are a really good defensive team so the Sharks may need to take a little more chances in this series but that top line is their bread and butter and O'Reilly has always been a pain against the Sharks.

bruh, haven't you heard of 19 year old Robert Thomas out of the great London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL? What an absolute wizard this kid is with 33 points in the regular season and 5 points in the playoffs so far. He is a game breaker the likes of which the Sharks haven't faced these playoffs

Jesus... that STL/DAL was unbearable. Not sure I was watching the same game.

How could I forget him?
Or even worse, how could I forget Vladimir Tarasenko, who draws top competition? Yeah, he's got his 5 points and a -5 rating, but he draws top competition! Both of those guys have been just as impressive as Couture and Hertl.

Oh oh me! I have a Blues story!
So when I was in high school, probably 17 or so, my mom went on a business trip to St. Louis. At that point in my life, I was collecting team shirts so I asked my mom to get me a Pietrangelo shirt. Simple, right? Nope! I get a call from my mom asking me what player it was that I wanted again, and could I repeat it for the guy at the team store? I did, three or four times, but this dude just could not wrap his head around the fact that a teenage girl wanted a shirt for a player other than teen heartthrob TJ Oshie. It was just completely inconceivable to him. You said Oshie, right? Oh, Pietrangelo? Are you sure you don't want Oshie?

I know, everyone wants a shirt of teen hearttrob TJ Oshie. He's amazing and he fixes frowns.

Has the NHL apologized to Colorado yet?

Sharks in 6 cause why not?
Every time I said in 6 sharks went 7 and won!
hmmm.. so 6!
Also besides tarasenko and o'riley, must be aware of Perron!

wait, is that the same Tarasenko guy that Vlasic absolutely CRUSHED in 2016? I heard that this is the series he's finally going to break out.

Beastmode Tarasenko

Exactly. We're one of the least physical teams year in year out and we're not particularly dirty. It's not like we're the Patriots or the Warriors who are hated for winning too much and being too good. What is there to hate about a bunch of chokers and losers?

I'm really happy we won't have to hear the MacK lovefest by announcers and journalists anymore but they're gonna keep the Blues Berube/Bennington/Maroon stuff going. I hope the Avs series helps shutdown the 'Burns sucks at defense' narrative.
I'm glad we're playing the Blues over the Stars. Klingberg, Heiskanen, and Bishop scare me a lot more then a slow grindy team. Sharks can hang with any team on the boards. Despite the record the only Blue's player that worries me is ROR.

Being the sharks are playing the blues does anyone know what happened to Gackle?
Did he get fired for his crusade against Binnington?

Probably. Still dont understand what the point is of people going back far far into the past to show it now.
Obviously whatever he said was bad. But people are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. And wasnt he like 16-17 when he did it?

They were kinda insensitive and dumb and edgy but I wouldn't say they were on the far end of derogatory.

Page number: 7

Thanks, Pierre.

The funny thing is, he wasn't even mocking Pierre.
#ItsAMainBoardThing

Completely disagree here. Being a former Boston resident I have a ton of exposure to the Bruins and this team terrifies me. They are loaded and the players you've never heard of are really good. I also think their top line would destroy us. I'm praying the hockey gods some how help the Canes advance but I think the Bruins will handle them fairly easily. Bergeron, Marchand, Pasta, Krug, McCavoy, Carlo, Chara and Rask are all very good players. Their top line is possibly the best when they're playing their game. I've been dreading playing the Bruins in the SCF since I moved there back in '08 due to the torment I'd receive if we lose. This year it's more realistic than ever and I'm kinda pooping my pants at the thought of it. I'd rank the remaining teams as follows: Bruins > Sharks > Blues > Canes. Sharks and Blues are pretty much interchangeable there in my mind.

Ha, I had this same conversation with someone years ago Gary Thorne is from Maine and says everything prawpuhly. Now if name pronunciation is important to one, there is always Dan Russanowsky, whom I love, but whose voice does contrast somewhat unfavorably with Thorne's stentorian bass baritone.

Blues are going to be a tough matchup. Just like in 2016, they are very good in terms of defensive structure: great positioning, sticks always in passing lanes, good forecheck, block shots, etc. Vlasic-Burns are going to have their hands full against that top line as well. Depending on how injured ROR is, one of the Sharks top 2 lines should be able to win that matchup. That 3rd line is also pesky, so the Thornton line will have to do better. I think it's time to bump Donskoi up to the Hertl/Pavs line and to put Kane with Jumbo/Labanc to give them a bigger scoring threat and let Kane find his game against weaker competition. Sorensen looks really bad (probably injured?), so he should be on the 4th line. EK65 will definitely be the X-factor here, but he really needs to clean up his game in his own end. I feel like the Blues will capitalize on his mistakes otherwise. Jones just needs to keep providing solid goaltending because Binnington is most likely going to be very good. Oh, and PDB might want to give Dillon/Ryan more minutes too before 44/88 crap out. Overall, unless Binnington goes crazy or the Sharks tire out, I think they should be able to pull this one out in 6-7 games.

Binnington loves to intercept the dump and chase
gotta counter that

This fan only watched the Blues most recent game. 1 game scouting report.

The main messages I get from all the FTP's posts is this:

Harri is awesome for doing it, and it sounds like there are a LOT of whiny bitch-ass posters for all teams, including our Blues, on that HF forum. Wow.

Glad this is my only home and source for forum entertainment. I LOVE YOU GUYS (and any gals who may be in here too).

I like the guy that mentioned that the Blues don't allow a lot of shots on goal so the Sharks should just pepper Binnington with shots. Dude!? We don't allow a lot of shots because WE DON'T ALLOW YOU TO PEPPER OUR GOALIE WITH SHOTS!

I also like the reference to the Sharks having 4 of the top 8 in points without mentioning how many goals the Sharks give up with those same guys on the ice. Karlsson alone is -5 in the playoffs.

bradleygt89 wrote: Thu May 09, 2019 4:14 pm The main messages I get from all the FTP's posts is this:

Harri is awesome for doing it, and it sounds like there are a LOT of whiny bitch-ass posters for all teams, including our Blues, on that HF forum. Wow.

Glad this is my only home and source for forum entertainment. I LOVE YOU GUYS (and any gals who may be in here too).

Once I made an FOP (from our perspective) of the Blues HF board. But I can't remember the reason why. That was a funny thread too

MissouriMook wrote: Thu May 09, 2019 4:39 pm I like the guy that mentioned that the Blues don't allow a lot of shots on goal so the Sharks should just pepper Binnington with shots. Dude!? We don't allow a lot of shots because WE DON'T ALLOW YOU TO PEPPER OUR GOALIE WITH SHOTS!

I also like the reference to the Sharks having 4 of the top 8 in points without mentioning how many goals the Sharks give up with those same guys on the ice. Karlsson alone is -5 in the playoffs.

Yup. The Sharks have scored the most, but also given up the most goals this post-season. Interesting enough, they've given up on average fewer shots per game than the Blues.

That said, I think ROR is banged up as he hasn't been nearly as effective as he was in the regular season (has some points but not driving play). Tarasenko hasn't been great at ES either. Guys that worry me are Schwartz and Thomas. They've been the best forwards for STL this playoff run.

whoa. someone's been paying attention.

I will forever hate the Blues, thanks to them formerly employing that dreg of humanity, Chris Pronger.

LOL

5 players left scoring at a PPG pace. Sharks have 3 of them right now. Couture and Hertl with 9g 5a each and Burns with 5g 9a. Other two are Marchand and Slavin

yikes, is that correct?

Brace yourself guys and gals - blues fans are HORRIBLE during playoffs on this board. They, for the most part, give no credit to better teams. They got incredibly cocky in 2016 when they won game 1 (barely) and then we dominated them, but it wasn't because we were vastly superior as much as their team played bad.
They have an enormous chip on their shoulder and honestly are some of the worst posters here. I guess going 50+ years without a cup does that.
Stay far away from the main boards. Just saying.

LOL is that correct? sounds like a shit show over there.

I know I am going to be biased here but I have no idea why our team or fanbase is so hated. We are not an overly physical team. We are not dirty.

ah, what a short memory. you employed some of the dirtiest players to ever lace 'em up, but probably before you were born i guess.

Sharks have 4 players in the top 10 of scoring:
#1 Couture
#2 Hertl
#4 Burns
#8 Karlsson
Blues have one:
#9 Schwartz
Logan and Hertl are tied for the league lead in points and goals, and Karlsson is in the league lead for assists.

he's not wrong. they are going to be scary.

bruh, haven't you heard of 19 year old Robert Thomas out of the great London Knights and Hamilton Bulldogs of the OHL? What an absolute wizard this kid is with 33 points in the regular season and 5 points in the playoffs so far. He is a game breaker the likes of which the Sharks haven't faced these playoffs

i sense your sarcasm, but just wait. the kid is legit.

Great job Harri,thx.

I think Sharks fans are a little too comfortable with the fact their team scores a lot of goals. I don't think they've faced a team with as strong of a defensive game as the Blues yet. They are right about one thing. Special Teams NEEDS to be cleaned up, especially the Blues PP. However, the Blues haven't been penalized that much and it seems like the Sharks have, so I think the Blues PP needs to be better. It will certainly be an interesting series. Plus, the Blue have been a great playoff road team. Hopefully that continues and they can steal one or two in San Jose.

Side Note: Why do people say we when referring to their pro teams? They don't play. I guess I don't understand that. Anyone here with an explanation? Not trying to offend, genuinely curious.

Another Side Note: I think it's funny some of them talk about the arrogance of Blues fans. EVERY team has arrogant fans. All the goals and points scoring is great, but if you suck at defense and goaltending and run into a strong defensive team, you may run into some problems.

wannabebluesplayer wrote: Fri May 10, 2019 8:55 am I think Sharks fans are a little too comfortable with the fact their team scores a lot of goals. I don't think they've faced a team with as strong of a defensive game as the Blues yet. They are right about one thing. Special Teams NEEDS to be cleaned up, especially the Blues PP. However, the Blues haven't been penalized that much and it seems like the Sharks have, so I think the Blues PP needs to be better. It will certainly be an interesting series. Plus, the Blue have been a great playoff road team. Hopefully that continues and they can steal one or two in San Jose.

Side Note: Why do people say we when referring to their pro teams? They don't play. I guess I don't understand that. Anyone here with an explanation? Not trying to offend, genuinely curious.

Another Side Note: I think it's funny some of them talk about the arrogance of Blues fans. EVERY team has arrogant fans. All the goals and points scoring is great, but if you suck at defense and goaltending and run into a strong defensive team, you may run into some problems.

Sense of community. We say "they" when "they" lose, "we" when "we" win. I'm 100% one of those people.

Also yeah, every team has arrogant fans, and every team's fans are 100% sure the refs hate them specifically as ordered by the League.

Game day and the second part of their series discussion thread.

Page number: 7

It's so funny how the Blues and the NHL tried to turn him into a huge star because he did pretty good in a shootout. The US didn't even medal that year.

Remember when DW tried to trade Hertl and #9 pick (Timo) for Oshie and Shattenkirk.
Thank god that fell through

Some of my oldies but goodies
Hitch The Hut

This one speaks for itself...

That was such a weird goal. I always felt bad for Bergevin. I love how confused all the players on the ice look

Cheers buddy, if the sharks go down I'll go for the Blues, I'd rather a team who's never won than the bruins /bunch of jerks

I just want to correct the record. Most of those 14 goals were scored before they were put together. Fabbri also played on the 4th line. The only line we have kept together is the Bozak line.

It was their most recent lineup so until they show something different for game 1, that's probably the best way to look at it for now.

Knowing DeBoer he will get Haley

Kaner is going to have to pick up the scoring more. He was the most visible invisible guy out there last series.

One thing to add, is that the Blues are much better coached this year with Berube. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of Hitchcock being there to outcoach himself with the way he handled their goalies in that 2016 series.

We are lucky in that we have that unknown variable in jumbo on the 3rd line. At the very least itll give coaches pause. Add in ek65 and burns I think we present a more complex matchup problem

Not sure how well we're going to fare in this one, but I thought we were done after game 4 against Vegas. So being here at all is still an accomplishment. Really hoping these days off allows the sharks to get their legs under them a little better.

The last two games he started to look a little
more like himself. Hopefully this mini-break helps. There's no question he's hurt "” he doesn't dangle, he barely shoots, it's not like he's phoning it in, he's still hustling every shift, I just think he physically can't do what he usually does.
But hopefully the last two games were a good sign...

That's what I mean by visible invisible. I notice him on the ice, he's trying but the team needs more production from him.

I've been reading these forums for a couple years now and just made my account. Longtime Sharks fan, longtime alcoholic. Should be a good series, although some Blues fans really undermine a lot of our players.

Guess witch captain got himself some new avatars for this series?

That's right! It's Alex Pietrangelo!

Balls, that's not Alex Pietrangelo. That's not Alex Pietrangelo at all. uhhh. Technical difficulties.
Oh well, at least it means I won't have to type "Pietrangelo" anymore.

You only had to say Sharks Fan once.

My username is Crazy Joe Divola... and I'm a Sharks fan.

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if ek plays like hes won the norris before and we get decent secondary scoring i like our chances

Does anybody know how to read mercury news articles on the website? It keeps like greying out and unable to see much.

I feel like Meier and Nyquist have been playing really well and are due for a couple goals lately.

Hit "œx" in the url field as soon as it starts loading and click the lines on the left side of url field to go to "œreader view"

Click the lines? What lines?
Edit: Thanks. I figured another way is to hit the print preview option and can read it fine there.

If it's Pashelka, you already know what happened.
If you know html, you can inspect element, delete modal overlay, then uncheck overflow: hidden on the body. Works for any site like that.

I was looking for the GDT to sticky... only realizing now that Game 1 is tomorrow...

Feels nice to not having to worry about my heart health for an extra day

Have you ever seen him dangle? I don't think so. He is as straight line as it gets. His speed has gotten him behind the d for some great opportunities and gotten off some great shots for the outside. That seems to be his game. But he has been completely ineffectual in the playoffs and I don't see any evidence he is hurt. He just isn't very skilled beyond his speed and strength despite the fact that the effort is there. Almost all the goals I have seen in all the series are from working the puck inside, or if off the rush, from short distance in the shot. Very few from the outside, very few from the blue line, even with tips. Maybe Kane's game just isn't suited for playoff hockey.

IIHF games start (for reals) today. Should I create one for that?

Gdt should have sharks wearing ref uniforms

Literally his first shift of this season he dangled for a goal against the Ducks. He fails most of the time like Meier does but he's done it before.

I still think either someone in the coaching staff told him to cool it with the penalties, or he's hesitant because he never gets the benefit of the doubt.

So let me guess, we have to suffer with Michaletti and Pierre "I love Taransenko!" Don't we?

Using Chrome/Firefox select new private/incognito tab or window. Now you can peruse MercuryNews freely

I think his shoulder is probably busted up again. That was what got him last year in the playoffs after a super strong start, so guessing that is what is causing him issues. He's not laying the body and not shooting. Both of those are things that would be caused by a shoulder injury.

What do we think will be the biggest hurdle in this series? (I already know what the biggest Hertl is).

Listening to Pierre tell us how great St. Louis is even if they are losing the game!

Pietrangelo sounds like one of those fruits that's a mixture, like a pluot or tangelo... Tangelo pie? Not sure where I'm headed with this.

It's Kenny Albert and Mike Milbury along with Pierre.

Two biggest hurdles in my opinion are rattling Binnington and countering the Blues forecheck. They're much like Vegas in that they are extremely aggressive on the forecheck so if the sharks can adjust to that then they should be fine. It'll be interesting to see how we handle their cycle as well.

I do think we should embrace the ref jose meme. The best way to make a meme go away is to embrace it emphatically.

I'd bet on the latter mostly. I'm thinking they probably talked to him about his stick lifts that lead to high-sticking calls since he's gotten 8 minutes worth of penalties there. The rest of his penalties are the types that coaches tend to ignore for various reasons.

Yeah if we can get a Bunch of Jerks vs the Ref Jose

Page number: 9

As if Milbury is any better.

That's such a bad trio that I can't tell if this is confirmed or if this is you being as pessimistic as possible.

Would love to see a referee "deal with it" meme

Its just not going to happen.
The best we can hope for is that EK65 gets healthier AND start playing better. If not, I can see Burns continue playing a lot of minutes.

I tend to agree but I think the best we can hope for is EK65 finding his game and be playing similar average time and Burns going down to the 24 or so EK65 has been playing.

I think the key is to win in four and send Burns to hibernate for a few days.

That's probably best case scenario. Brent Burns is playing Suter minutes. You can tell it's starting to weigh on him a bit

St. Louis doesn't have a player like MacKinnon that the coaching staff is going to hard match Burns against. That might keep his minutes down a bit.

You don't think 44-88 will be hardmatched against the Schwartz/Tarasenko line? Or do those 3 not play nearly as much as NateMac?

They'll hard match against the line that proves to be the most dangerous but those guys aren't playing 25+ a night like MacKinnon

O'Reilly gets the most minutes among forwards for them this post-season. Schenn and Tarasenko saw about 20 minutes of average ice time. I would think that the switch could naturally lower Burns' minutes but it'll go back to situation-based usage. They may not hard-match him but he's going to see the ice a ton if they're losing really at any point. lol

Blues are a much deeper team than Colorado so I'm willing to bet that line isn't gonna see the mins Mackinnon saw. It's gonna be nice to finally play a team thats not skating 100 mph up and down the ice

If I had to guess, that's the line that they'll see most of. That line is generally used as their first line but their top two forward lines are more of a 1A/1B thing so I could see Burns getting some of both lines. And like hohosaregood mentioned, none of their lines play 25 minutes like MacKinnon.

This sucks. Kenny Albert just doesn't seem "hockey" to me. Much prefer Gord Miller or, of course, Doc.

Interesting, but so did SJ. SJ's become a much more power-forward / defense oriented team. Sure, DeBoer started the style change back in 2016, but with the emergence of Hertl/Meier/Kane/EK in 2019 and JT moving to the 3rd line, it's much more extreme now IMO. You can see in these two series how many goals are now scored on power-moves, low-cycles, and tip-plays, as opposed to the half-boards and perimeter cycling of the past.
At least that's what my eye test tells me. It also tells me STL's probably been the best team in the league for the last few months.

Do you guys think the Sharks players show personality in their interviews? I was reading the articles lamenting about the lack of personality but I feel like you can see it shine through with a lot of the Sharks players even though most of their comments are pretty vanilla. Vlasic is an *******, Couture is blunt, Hertlspeaksinonebigword, Burns is Burns.

Yeah. We aren't icing Nick Spaling at 3C and don't have boat anchor Roman Polak on D. We are bigger, faster, and more skilled throughout the lineup now.

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Hmm. That is interesting. Our 4th line and bottom pairing are still garbage mostly. Although they get less minutes overall. So in short term we are better, but it could be diminishing returns

I thought Martin retired?

House shopping...

I'm kind of wondering if we might have a speed advantage in this series. That had always boded well for us.

It sort of sounds like it, doesn't it? People think of us as a slower team, but Kane, Nyquist, Sorenson and Donskoi are fast. Meier is pretty fast. Hertl can be (he's definitely not slow) and sometimes Couture really shocks me with a burst of speed. Pavelski, Joe and to a lesser part Couture are probably our slowest players. Everyone else is at least a average to pretty fast (we don't have any Mackinnons but who has a Mackinnon?) -- I think that certainly gives us a bit of an advantage.
I honestly can't at all tell how this series will go -- Game 1 will be interesting.

I think some players do. Jones and EK65 drive me a little crazy because they literally say nothing of value. Dillon and Braun are at least a little less guarded. Vlasic cracks me up because it's like he immediately hates everyone who asks him a question. Joe's pretty good, depending on his mood.
I really wish they didn't PR-destroy their personalities. We're watching hockey for the stories and the interviews really hurt the narratives because they're just a bunch of nothing for the most part.

Jumbo still has straight line speed. They were emphasizing his monster back checking on the broadcasts. The surgeries messed with his agility though

That's true, sometimes he takes off suddenly and catches up to fast players and you forget that he's capable of it. I do think that this is the series for his line to shine. I think Joe's always struggled a bit with very quick teams. The Blues let his line play to their abilities, that is: Sorenson uses his speed to get Labanc/Joe the puck, and those two make magic by finding soft spots for sexy passes.

Better than using it as a tee I guess

Why is the cup in the bay. I feel like that's gonna bring bad juju

YIKES. Tampa had the cup at their opening night for the playoffs, not a good look.

The Blues are one team that Thornton has actually played really well against in the playoffs. He has 12 points in 11 career playoff games against them and a +5 at 5-on-5.
We sure could use a big series from him.

He was probably the only guy who showed up in 2012.

Don't agree with that at all. Braun and Ryan are way better than the 2016 3rd pair and the current 4th line contains two stalwarts for a penalty kill that has been instrumental in getting the team this far. Also the 4th line center scored a game 7 overtime goal to win series. They've been useable in many games 5 on 5 as well.

Yeah, I think that the biggest difference between this team and 2016 are that the depth is so much better. Joakim Ryan doesn't get played much but he isn't going to be a boat anchor like Roman Polak was. The 4th line has already given us 3 game-winning goals, that's more than we got from the 4th line at any point in 2016.

I definetly appreciate Pavelski saying in the press interview, its not only about winning it for Joe Thornton. Its about winning it for the city aswell as the team. No matter how special a player is, it has to be a team effort and wanting to win it for themselves too. Its not ever just hand it to 1 player. That takes a lot of Cajones to say, it was definetly needed and ive always felt that way, especially for how long a lot of fans have watched.

Just last year Ryan was considered a top 4 D man on this team by many of us. I think PDB just destroyed his confidence. Hoping he gets it back next season because i think he ends up being an integral part of the blue line next season whether EK65 resigns or not.

It's been interesting to read what other fans think of our team because they all focus on things that just aren't true or think they can expose Burns and Karlsson with aggressive forechecking. ***** please, Vegas is the hardest forecheck in the league and couldn't keep them down.

People underestimate how good they actually are

If I was going to pick which teams improved the most in the offseason, it was these two. They both fell on their faces and floundered for a bit, but now they are who I thought they were.
Let's see that Vlasic / Tarasenko matchup again.

Who centers the Tarasenko line? O'Reilly or Schwartz?

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I was under the impression that the top line was Schwartz-Schenn-Tarasenko.

Oh.. I thought they moved Schwartz to C for some reason. I guess I was thinking Schenn. Thanks Jux