X75 Productions

Tag: Stanley Cup Champions

  • 2019-20 St. Louis Blues Preview

    2019-20 St. Louis Blues Preview

    Last Season: 45-28-9 99 pts (2nd (tie) in Central Division; WON STANLEY CUP)

    Key Additions: D Justin Faulk

    Key Departures: F Pat Maroon, D Joel Edmundson

     

    Top Questions Facing the Blues:

    1. Can Jordan Binnington keep up his unbelievable performance?

    Last season, the Blues called up Binnington midway through the season to replace a struggling Jake Allen, and his performance was nothing short of historic. He posted a record of 24-5-1, which for whatever is said about goaltending wins, that’s still a rather impressive team stat that Binnington played a significant role in. He had a goals against average (GAA) of 1.89, which lead the league, and, astoundingly, finished in the top 10 for the MVP award. His performance continued into the playoffs, where he was the first rookie goaltender to win 16 games. He was not all out dominant (by any means) in the playoffs, but he performed well in big games (like Game 7 of the SCF). What does this mean for the regular season? We’ll see. If he performs like he did in the regular season last year, the Blues will probably win the President’s Trophy. If he performs like he did in the playoffs, the Blues probably are not going to win the division, but they will make the playoffs, and it’s important to have a goalie that is very even-keeled in performance than spectacular for 5 games and terrible for the next 5 (which the Blues have had far too often in their history).

     

    2. Can the Blues improve their Power Play

    No. Oh, what? This is an open question? Sorry – then I guess we will have to see. Ok, the Blues power play might not be THAT bad – they had a 16.4% conversion rate in the playoffs, and were 9th overall in the regular season. The problem is that it went through extreme hot and cold stretches, which, like goaltending, is not ideal. The Blues need to figure out a way to have a more consistent power play, and my hope is that the addition of Marc Savard as an assistant coach will help.

     

    3. How will the young players do?

    Just like last season, a hinges on the productivity of new and relatively new, young players. Fortunately, last season, guys like Robert Thomas, Sammy Blais, Ivan Barbashev, and Vince Dunn all played very well. With another season under their belts, as well as the grueling (both mentally and physically) march to the Cup, there is no reason to suspect they will not continue to get better (especially now that Robert Thomas’s wrist is healed). I also look for contributions from Klim Kostin later in thee season.

     

    4. Can Craig Berube’s fiery leadership continue to inspire?

    I was very critical of Craig Berube last season – he seemed to make a lot of tactical mistakes, and the players seemed to repeat the same mistakes if there was even one game between the last time they made said mistakes. That said, winning takes not only intellect and correct X’s and O’s, but also inspiration. It’s clear that Berube offered the latter in spades. What’s also clear – and across all sports – is that the effectiveness of these words dissipates over time. There will come a time when the Blues need more than nebulous ‘leadership’ from their coach, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can provide it.

     

    5. How often should Blues fans be thanking Ryan O’Reilly?

    Daily.

     

    Ultimately, I believe the Blues can repeat as Stanley Cup champions. There is no other team that is decidedly better, though there are a handful of teams that the Blues are not decidedly better than. It will take focus, and probably a willingness to back of a little during the regular season to not become mentally and physically fatigued, but if they can maintain their focus and discipline, the Blues have a real shot at defending their title.

     

    Thanks for reading.

     

    Sponsored by:

    DerpyCon_General Ad.png

  • Wednesday Night Hockey: The Last Two Champs Face-off For the First Time.

    Wednesday Night Hockey: The Last Two Champs Face-off For the First Time.

    Washington Capitals (0-0-0) v. St Louis Blues (0-0-0)

     

      Pre-Season Record Predicted Goaltender Stanley Cup Champions
    Washington Capitals 5-1-0 Braden Holtby 2017-18
    St. Louis Blues 4-3-0 Jordan Binnington 2018-19

    It has been a long off-season for Caps’ fans, but we’re finally here. Does anyone else find it slightly more than coincidental that the two previous Stanley Cup Champions are facing off on the first day of the 2019-20 season? I know, I know, the schedule was made before the Blues won the cup, but raise your hand if you think that had something to do with the end result. The Capitals and Blues played each other twice during the preseason, splitting the games with one win a piece. Both teams won by just a single goal in each victory.

    On Sunday, the Washington Capitals rounded out their six-game preseason schedule with a tight 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. While many fans are hesitant about making associations between preseason performances the regular season, there are a couple of things we know for certain. Tom Wilson is about to have a heck of a year. In just 3 preseason matches, Wilson tallied two goals and an assist, including one short-handed goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. While Top Line Tom led the team in short-handed goals last season (2G), it is vital to remember he only played 63 games during the 2019-19 season. Setting a career-high of 22 goals last year, we anticipate he should set another personal record with at least 25 goals this coming season (TheScore, Wilson). Caps’ captain Alex Ovechkin is prepared to win himself another Rocket Richard Trophy this year, and has expressed his desire, and ability to have another 50+ goal season (Gulitti). By a margin of 236 goals, Ovechkin only needs 5 more seasons of 50 goals, or 6 seasons of 40 goals to bypass the all-time goals leader of the Great Wayne Gretzky (894G). With the final year of his contract looming in not-so-distant future, the Capitals front office have already begun playing out some possible scenarios that will need to be played out in order to keep the Great 8 a Capital until retirement. But perhaps the biggest what-if many Caps’ fans are trying to answer involves defenseman Michal Kempny, whom had his season cut short last year due to a hamstring injury he suffered in a March 20th match against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many, including head coach Todd Reirden, hoped Kempny would be ready in time to make the Opening Night roster for the Capitals, but that is still to be determined, as the blue-liner was still practicing in a non-contact jersey as of September 28th (Khurshudyan). In 71 games played with the Washington Capitals during the 2018-19 season,, Michal Kempny led the team with a +/- rating of 24, tallied 6 goals of his own, and racked up 19 assists, as a defenseman (TheScore, Kempny). However, a number of mid- and off-season acquisitions by the Capitals including Nick Jensen (DET) and Radko Gudas (PHI) and will bolster the Caps’ roster and hopefully this season will play out as well in reality, as it should on paper.

                   The St. Louis Blues did not play their final scheduled preseason game due to a plane malfunction, but did beat the Caps’ on September 27 by a score of 4-3. For those not in the know, the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup Championship in team history this past June, similarly to the feat the Capitals accomplished in 2018. In true underdog fashion, the Blues went from worst, to first, in a matter of months. Was it the change in bench bosses? The puppy? The mid-practice brawls? Will the Blues fall victim to the infamous Stanley Cup Hangover? St. Louis elected to play eight preseason games (only played seven, see above), and managed to win 4 of 7, including one overtime win versus the Winnipeg Jets. Those 3 losses came resulted from a 2-3 loss to the Capitals, a 1-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, and an especially-embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko (a.k.a. Vladdy) is expected to have a bounce-back season after a seemingly lack-luster 2018-19 season, where he managed to score 33 goals in 76 regular season games (NHL.com). While Tarasenko led the Blues in goals, and points, he has seen a downward trend in goal-scoring since the 2015-16 season, where he scored a career-high 40 goals, and tallied 34 assists. During the 2018-19 playoffs, he scored 11 goals of the teams’ 75 total goals, good enough for second most on the team, but accounted for just 14.6% of total goals scored (NHL.com).

    While the St. Louis Blues and their fans are, of course, hoping to repeat their recent success, the Washington Capitals are out for blood (redemption) after a disappointing first round exit. It seems as though Caps’ PR is keeping on with the #ALLCAPS catch-phrase for this upcoming season, but #2Cups3Years sounds pretty good too.

    Coverage of the game begins at 6:00pm with Caps Faceoff Live, followed by Caps Pregame Live at 6:30pm, all on NBCSN/NBCSWA, with puck drop following the Blues’ Stanley Cup Banner Raising at Enterprise Arena in St. Louis, MO.

     

    Sponsored by:

    DerpyCon_General Ad.png

     

    Gulitti, T. (2019). Ovechkin talks 50-goal record, catching Gretzky, future with Capitals. https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-chases-wayne-gretzky-hopes-to-score-50-goals/c-308941324.

    Khurshudyan, I. (2019). Michal Kempny doubtful for Capitals’ season opener at Blues because of hamstring injury. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/09/28/michal-kempny-doubtful-capitals-season-opener-blues-because-hamstring-injury/.

    NHL.com. (2019). Vladimir Tarasenko. Retrieved from https://www.nhl.com/player/vladimir-tarasenko-8475765.

    TheScore. (2019). Michal Kempny. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/5579.

    TheScore. (2019). Tom Wilson. Retrieved from https://www.thescore.com/nhl/players/2592.

     

  • 2019-20 NHL Previews – St. Louis Blues

    2019-20 NHL Previews – St. Louis Blues

    2018-19 Record: 45-28-9  99pts – – 3rd Place in Central

    Playoffs: 2019 Stanley Cup Champions

     

    2019-20 Jersey Guide:

    STL HomeSTL RoadSTL AltSTL Heritage

     

    Key Additions: F – Nathan Walker, D – Jake Dotchin, D – Derrick Pouliot, D – Andreas Borgman, D – Justin Faulk

     

    Key Departures: D – Michael Del Zotto, G – Jared Coreau, D – Chris Butler, F – Nikita Soshnikov, D – Jakub Jerabek, F – Pat Maroon, D – Jordan Schmaltz, D – Joel Edmundson

     

    2019-20 Preview:

    After winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history this past summer, the St. Louis Blues will look to repeat as champions with their roster very near intact. First major move, and the only one really, was the official signing of Craig Berube as head coach and removing the interim label.

     

    For the Blues they went out and signed defensemen Jake Dotchin and Derrick Pouliot to add to their depth, as well as forward Nathan Walker who will be more of a fourth liner when in the lineup for the Blues.

     

    One of the big questions that will face the Blues is will goaltender Jordan Binnington live up to the hype in his first full NHL season? While what he did in the second half of last season and in the playoffs was miraculous, but can he build upon it and become the long term number one guy for the Blues in the years to come?

     

    Sponsored by:

    DerpyCon_General Ad.png

  • TXHT Jersey Share – Finally Champions!

    TXHT Jersey Share – Finally Champions!

    Today in the TXHT Jersey Share series we celebrate the Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Championship.

     

    Capitals Away White 2018.jpg

     

    Finally after so much torture as a Capitals fan it was with great joy when the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018. For what I originally wanted to was  get the Capitals road jersey with the Finals patch on it, and then have the home jersey with the Champions patch on it. Obviously I switched it due to jersey availability, and also it made a better concept to go with the Capitals home with the Finals patch as they played two games at home, and then the Champions patch on the road jersey because they won the Stanley Cup on the road in Vegas.

     

    Got a hockey jersey in your collection you’d like to share? Let us know, and we can add it to our TXHT Jersey Share series.

  • St. Louis Blues – Stanley Cup Champions At Last

    St. Louis Blues – Stanley Cup Champions At Last

    “It’s been a rough season to be a fan of the St. Louis *ahem* Blues, and at this point everyone either realizes that the team is in the middle of a rebuild or is in desperate need of one.” — some hack earlier in the season *checks notes*, oh, yes, me.

    Well, well, well, look at who’s left standing at the mountain top. Before recapping this incredible playoff run, let me first just say that I absolutely cannot believe this finally happened. Growing up, watching great teams with great players like Brett Hull (more on him later), and watching them so often fail in the most comical ways – let’s just say, it jaded me.

    This year was different – every round had at least one defining moment of adversity that the Blues had to overcome. Against the Winnipeg Jets, the Blues found themselves down 2-0 in the third period of a pivotal game 5, yet managed to erase that deficit with 3 goals in the third. Against the Stars, who quite honestly posed a very bad matchup for the Blues, they found themselves down 3 games to 2, before roaring back to thoroughly dominate them the next two games. But for Ben Bishop in Game 7, the scores of the last two games would have been incredibly lopsided. There was the infamous hand-pass against the Sharks, after which the Blues outscored them by a combined 12-2 mark the last three games. Even in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Blues came back after getting blown out in game 3, having multiple players suspended, and losing a chance to clinch at home.

    There isn’t much to go over that TXHT has not covered in the game recaps, but my hope is to convey just how much this means to the city, to me. St. Louis is a nice city, but one people don’t necessarily need to visit. However, once you live there, once you experience the people, the day-to-day life, it becomes your home – forever. That’s why Brett Hull cares so much. That’s why greats like Bernie Federko, Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis, and Wayne Gretzky still live, at least partially, in the city and were there every step of the way for this run. There’s also a certain kinship people have with the Blues that they don’t have even with the Cardinals – maybe the Cardinals win too much it becomes old hat? I really don’t know. But I do know that records were set for viewership and ticket cost, and almost half the population showed up for the parade. Brett Hull might still be having his own parade right now.

    But, as much as I try, I am certainly not a good enough writer to adequately convey its meaning in words, so please accept these two words as my final thought:

    Thank you

    https://twitter.com/STLBlueshistory/status/1139007682986348544

  • Stanley Cup Final Game 7 – St. Louis Blues v. Boston Bruins

    Stanley Cup Final Game 7 – St. Louis Blues v. Boston Bruins

    St. Louis Blues v. Boston Bruins

    Game 7 – Series Tied 3-3

     

    Game Recap:

    Going into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins will look to win their first ever Final Game 7 at home while the St. Louis Blues will look to win their first ever Stanley Cup in their 52 year history. To start the game both teams would play with a very high tempo, but it would be the Blues getting the early jump, but the Bruins would generate some of the better scoring opportunities. Throughout the majority of the first period it would be the Bruins dominating on the shot counter, but late in the period it would be the Blues getting a strong shift from Ryan O’Reilly and Sammy Blais as they would force the play in the Bruins zone that would allow Jay Bouwmeester to get off the point shot that O’Reilly would deflect and go right through Tuukka Rask for the first goal of the game. Then with 7.9 seconds off of a bad line change by Brad Marchand, Alex Pietrangelo would go into the Bruins zone unattended and would receive a beautiful pass from Jaden Schwartz as he would drive the net and backhand it past Rask to give the Blues a 2-0 lead going into the first intermission.

     

    Going into the second period the Blues looked to maintain their two goal lead over the Bruins, and they would play with a layered defense to clog up the neutral zone against the Bruins which would work for the most part as Jordan Binnington was able to see all shots that came his way when the Bruins would get into the Blues zone. The Blues would keep the Bruins off the board in the second period, and will need to continue their tough play and keep the play out of their zone for the final 20 minutes of this game.

     

    In the third period it would be very much the same as the second period as the Blues would continue playing their game against the Bruins, and while the Bruins would generate some solid chances, Binnington would stand tall and shut door on them. Then a little past the 11 minute mark Vladimir Tarasenko would work hard to get to the puck deep in the Bruins zone and would take a quick look before getting the puck and would feed Brayden Schenn in the slot who would one time it to make it a commanding 3-0 lead for the Blues. Then with less than five minutes left in the game David Perron would feed Zach Sanford in front of the net to seal the deal for the Blues and give them the 4-0 lead. However, with a little over two minutes left the Bruins would pull Tuukka Rask and Matt Grzelcyk would score to cut the Blues lead to three, but it would be too little too late as the Blues hold on for the 4-1 win to become the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions.

     

    Lineups:

    St. Louis Blues:

    Jaden Schwartz — Brayden Schenn — Vladimir Tarasenko

    Zach Sanford — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron

    Sammy Blais — Tyler Bozak — Pat Maroon

    Ivan Barbashev — Oskar Sundqvist — Alexander Steen

    Carl Gunnarsson — Alex Pietrangelo

    Jay Bouwmeester — Colton Parayko

    Vince Dunn — Joel Edmundson

    Jordan Binnington

    Jake Allen

    Scratched: Robert Thomas, Robert Bortuzzo, Robby Fabbri, Michael Del Zotto, Mackenzie MacEachern, Chris Thorburn, Ville Husso, Jordan Nolan

     

    Boston Bruins:

    Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — David Pastrnak

    Jake DeBrusk — David Krejci — Karson Kuhlman

    Marcus Johansson — Charlie Coyle — Danton Heinen

    Joakim Nordstrom — Sean Kuraly — Noel Acciari

    Zdeno Chara — Charlie McAvoy

    Torey Krug — Brandon Carlo

    Matt Grzelcyk — John Moore

    Tuukka Rask

    Jaroslav Halak

    Scratched: Steven Kampfer, David Backes, Connor Clifton

    Injured: Chris Wagner (upper body), Kevan Miller (lower body)

     

    First Period:

    Blues Penalty – 7:57 – Colton Parayko 2 minutes for Delay of Game

    Blues Goal – 16:47 – Ryan O’Reilly (8) from Jay Bouwmeester (7) and Alex Pietrangelo (16)

    Blues Goal – 19:52 – Alex Pietrangelo (3) from Jaden Schwartz (7)

     

    End of 1st – STL – 2       BOS – 0

    Shots              04                12

    Faceoffs         07                11

    Hits               14                  11

    PP                 0/0                 0/1

     

    Second Period:

    N/A

     

    End of 2nd – STL – 2        BOS – 0

    Shots               10                 23

    Faceoffs          17                 18

    Hits                 27                  21

    PP                   0/0                  0/1

     

    Third Period:

    Blues Goal – 11:25 – Brayden Schenn (5) from Vladimir Tarasenko (6) and Jaden Schwartz (8)

    Blues Goal – 15:22 – Zach Sanford (1) from David Perron (9) and Ryan O’Reilly (15)

    Bruins Goal – 17:50 – Matt Grzelcyk (4) from David Krejci (12)

     

    End of 3rd – STL – 4         BOS – 1

    Shots              20                   33

    Faceoffs        25                    26

    Hits               36                     27

    PP                 0/0                    0/1

     

    Congratulations to the St. Louis Blues for becoming the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions!

     

     

    Thank you for following TXHT’s extensive Playoffs coverage on our 2019 NHL Playoffs page.

     

    TXHT’s Stanley Cup Finals coverage sponsored by:

    4380127