FROZEN NOTES: A NHL 12 BLUES DYNASTY

[SENS_AK27]

BLUES HEADED TO CUP FINALS AFTER A BLOWOUT WIN

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL WRAP UP

BLUES WIN SERIES 4-0


May 13^th, 2012


In sports, it has often been said that the toughest team to beat is one that feels it has nothing to lose. With the Canucks down 3-0 in the series the Blues knew they would come out fighting and leave it all on the ice. It was evident that this would be the case right after the face-off when Bieksa labeled Gaborik trying to enter the Canucks end. Luongo also looked sharp in net as he made terrific saves on Dave Perron and Kurtis Foster after they got behind the defense.

The all important first goal would come on the Blues 1st line's second shift. David Backes would intercept an errant pass from Ballard and just throw it on net. Luongo would get a piece of it but in an odd twist of fate the puck would deflect up and drop back down right behind him. Ballard would try to bat the puck but would miss as it dropped down behind into the net. An unfortunate bounce goes against the Canucks sees the Blues up 1-0.



The Blues would continue to be lucky, when Hamsuis will take a pass behind the net and try to pass it back to Luongo, who misplays the puck and it ends up squirting behind him into the net. Clearly the hockey gods were not favoring Vancouver as they were now down 2-0.

With momentum building for the Blues, Backes would score his 2nd goal of the game after a strong forecheck and cycle by the Blues 2nd line. The reeling Canucks would then take an undisciplined penalty soon after the 3rd goal. Things would go from bad to worse for Vancouver, when the postseason’s most hottest powerplay would connect. McDonald would tip in a Jackman point shot giving the Blues a commanding 4-0 lead.

To start the 3rd period the Canucks would start backup goaltender Corey Schneider, to try to stop the bleeding. He wouldn't fair any better as just 4 minutes into the 3rd, Marian Gaborik would hop on the ice, intercept a pass and break in on the wing and fire a laser past Schneider’s right shoulder. Schneider no doubt is going to have nightmares about Gaborik as he would go on to snipe 2 more goals past him for his league leading 16th goal of the postseason and his 3rd Hat-trick of the playoffs. Just for good measure, 4th liner Artyukhin would score another goal when he would just throw the puck on net and it would deflect off a defenseman’s skate into the net. With nothing going the Canucks way the final buzzer will sound in a convincing 8-1 win for the Blues.

After the Blues salute the crowd, David Backes is presented the Clarence Campbell trophy by Commissioner Bettman. Backes is careful not to touch the trophy however, which has been a long held superstition. The Blues will now rest up and await their opponent, as they play for the Stanley Cup. It’s been a cup appearance 43 years in the making. In an odd twist of fate the Blues will now have home ice advantage as both the remaining Eastern Conference teams are ranked lower then the Blues. That might not be a big factor though as the Blues have been road warriors thus far in the playoffs winning 6 of 7 games on the road.

With the Canadiens defeating the Lightning tonight in a 3-0 Carey Price shutout, and Montreal now being up 3-1 in the series there is a very strong possibility that the Blues could get a rematch with a team they have played twice for the cup and lost both times.


News & Notes:



No Changes





GAME STORY:

[tlp2007]

Way to go, Bring the Cup home to the Lou!

[SENS_AK27]

OUT OF TOWN SCOREBOARD:

[SENS_AK27]

HISTORIC STANLEY CUP REMATCH

STANLEY CUP FINAL ANALYSIS


May 14th, 2012


It’s a rematch 43 years in the making as the St. Louis Blues will meet the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals. The last time each of these teams met in the finals was the 1969-70 season. Back then, the Blues were a new expansion and were swept 4-0 by the Habs. Coincidentally they met the year before as well in the Blues inaugural season and the result was the same a 4-0 sweep by the Canadiens. The rest of the story couldn’t be any different as the Blues would have one more cup appearance the following year; losing to the Bruins in 5. The Habs on the other hand would go on to several cup wins, the most recent being in 1993.

That was then and this is now and the two teams took very different routes to get there. The Canadiens coming in as 8th seeded underdogs have been playing a tight defensive system and have been getting excellent goaltending from Carey Price. The team has been playing playoff hockey long before they started as they needed to win 3 of their last 5 games just to make it. This may be a factor in the series as fatigue from a long season starts to set in. The upstart Canadiens stunned the hockey world when the swept the Carolina Hurricanes in 4 straight games. Then they had an excellent series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a veteran playoff team. Their last stop to the cup finals was through Tampa Bay, a team that lost last year in heart breaking fashion to the Boston Bruins. With most of the core players for the Bolts the same as last year they were driven to redeem themselves. Carey Price would stand on his head and shutdown all the Lightning scorers. The Canadiens are small and fast, and they play a quick counter attack system that has generated goals for them.

When compared to the Habs, the Blues are bigger, stronger, and a lot grittier. Although they are coached by the defensive minded Hitchcock, the Blues are actually playing more of a puck possession style of game. They wear down their opponents with a relentless attack, and laying big hits. They use their size and strength to sustain a heavy forecheck. Having won 10 straight games the Blues seem almost unbeatable at this point. The team seemed to have their toughest challenge against the defensive minded Predators and All-Star goaltender P. Rinne. Since eliminating the Predators they have gone on to sweep a high scoring Blackhawks team and a well balanced Canucks team. Perhaps the teams most dangerous aspect is their confidence. They believe in all 4 scoring lines and never truly feel out of a hockey game. Twice in the post season they have come back from being at least 3 goals down to win the game. They are also tremendous playing in pressure situations with a 3-2 overtime record this postseason.

The two team’s only head to head meeting this year was right after a management change in St. Louis. It was at the Bell Centre and marked Halak’s return to Montreal, the team he helped carry to the Eastern Conference finals 2 years ago. The warm reception he received when he was introduced would quickly dissipate as the Blues would go on to put up 2 first period goals on route to a 3-0 shutout victory.

Game 1 gets under what in St. Louis in 2 days time at the Scottrade Center as the Blues and the Habs chase Lord Stanley’s holy grail.



News & Notes:




[D] PK. Subban {84} is still injured with an upper body injury and is expected to miss the first 3 games of the final. C. Campoli has taken his roster position.



TEAM LINEUPS:







TEAM INFO:

[bthomp05]

Good luck against the Habs - I hope you revamp history...

[onlybygrace]

Man, you really sliced up the Blues roster this year!!!

Go Blues...bring home that Cup!!!

[SENS_AK27]

Quote: Originally Posted by onlybygrace

Man, you really sliced up the Blues roster this year!!! Go Blues...bring home that Cup!!!

Not really sliced I kept the core pretty much together (Oshie, Berglund, Backes, Perron, McDonald). I had to trade a lot of the others to get Gaborik and Prongs. I really loved Pronger as Blue and was exicted Philly offered me that trade.

I'll try my best to get the cup, I was taking flack because I guess your All-Star Slider aren't challenging me so for my series against Montreal I'm turning Goalie Reaction Speed up to 5 and CPU difficulty and AI Learning to max. We'll make this a series.

[Tazer19]

Bring home the Cup, and keep it in the Toughest division in hockey! Good luck.