Chip McCleary: Weekend recap: you win one, you lose one 3 games from the midway point, there's reason for concern - and optimism.

What are your thoughts on the rumors that St Louis are apparently looking at Kulimen from leafs? Plus good blog and keep up the good work your a good read!

Looks like the Blues are kicking the bucket on Arnott again.

Maybe the rest has been good for him and he'll come back ready for one more cup run.

What are your thoughts on the rumors that St Louis are apparently looking at Kulimen from leafs? Plus good blog and keep up the good work your a good read!
- LeafsFan64

If Kulemin can play 2-way hockey (especially the defensive part of that) it would help us. I'm curious what the offer is from the St. Louis side. Depending on the price, it might be a good deal - but he's not a, "... and if we add him, the Cup is ours" kind of guy.

Kulemin? ick...

Not sure why Cole gets such a bad rap. He's only been jerked around ever since he first got called up, and has sat so that many a "veteran" dman who was vastly inferior was sent out there to rack up minus stats.

Russell/Redden aren't any good, and shouldn't be playing over Cole. If the Blues upgrade and Cole is the odd man out, fine - the Blues are well within their rights to continue there plan to jerk him around.

It's not that hard - if you want him to get better, he needs top play every day. Whether here or the AHL. He's not going to learn anything else from the pressbox.

What are your thoughts on the rumors that St Louis are apparently looking at Kulimen from leafs? Plus good blog and keep up the good work your a good read!
- LeafsFan64

Kulemin is an underrated player IMO. He'll likely never score 30 again but that's not his whole game. He's a big body that bangs along the boards, digs in the corners and makes life difficult for other teams top players. Living where I do I actually watch more Leafs games than any other and its pretty clear that Carlyle is using that Grabovski line to shut down other teams top offensive threats. People who only look at the box scores don't think that line contributes anything. People who actually watch the games know better.

I think the Blues could use a player like him, especially with a smallish, aging, injury prone Andy Mac being a UFA at the end of this year. Not sure what the Leafs would want or need in exchange. I'm sure someone like Stewart would be much coveted in the Carlyle system but I don't think STL would go for that unless some other young, cheap talent came back the other way. Probably a D man like Blacker, Finn, Percy... A line of Steen, Tarasenko and Kulemin would be really hard to handle, especially if its the 3rd line and they get the better match ups against weaker defenders. They could also be used in a more defensive role, although it would be a shame to waste the dynamic offensive talent of Tarasenko.

Kulemin? ick...

Not sure why Cole gets such a bad rap. He's only been jerked around ever since he first got called up, and has sat so that many a "veteran" dman who was vastly inferior was sent out there to rack up minus stats.

Russell/Redden aren't any good, and shouldn't be playing over Cole. If the Blues upgrade and Cole is the odd man out, fine - the Blues are well within their rights to continue there plan to jerk him around.

It's not that hard - if you want him to get better, he needs top play every day. Whether here or the AHL. He's not going to learn anything else from the pressbox.
- BerglundsGrundle

Kulemin is a player I'd be very interested in. I think he's worth looking.

I've long been an advocate of Cole getting regular playing minutes to see what the Blues have in him but I can't object to him sitting the last couple of games. He's really been strugging. He's been Brian Elliot bad lately.

Left side of the Blues defense right now is just brutal. Barret Jackman should never be allowed to touch the puck.

Redden has now morphed back into the guy the Rangers exiled. Russell - nothing going on there. Waste of a uniform.

BTW, I've been pulling data on the league this year for future analysis. I thought the following was kind of interesting.

Through games of February 28, there's been 17,416 shots that have resulted in 1,615 goals - or an average shooting percentage of about 9.27% (which implies an average save percentage of .9073, ignoring empty net goals which would push that figure up). The average distance for a shot on net, saved or scored, is 34.75 feet.

For the Blues? They average a shot on net from 35.2 feet away.
For the opposition? They average a shot on net from 33.5 feet away.

Goals leaguewide have been scored at an average distance of 24.26 feet away; the Blues are scoring from just under 22 feet, but their opposition has scored at an average distance of 19.9 feet.

So ... how much do we blame the goalies, and how much do we blame the defense? I'll let the rest of you kick that around for a while.

BTW, I've been pulling data on the league this year for future analysis. I thought the following was kind of interesting.

Through games of February 28, there's been 17,416 shots that have resulted in 1,615 goals - or an average shooting percentage of about 9.27% (which implies an average save percentage of .9073, ignoring empty net goals which would push that figure up). The average distance for a shot on net, saved or scored, is 34.75 feet.

For the Blues? They average a shot on net from 35.2 feet away.
For the opposition? They average a shot on net from 33.5 feet away.

Goals leaguewide have been scored at an average distance of 24.26 feet away; the Blues are scoring from just under 22 feet, but their opposition has scored at an average distance of 19.9 feet.

So ... how much do we blame the goalies, and how much do we blame the defense? I'll let the rest of you kick that around for a while.
- Chip McCleary

Goaltending, defense and lack of defensive support from the forwards.

Blues are guilty on all counts.

I think the least amount blame should go toward the Blues goaltenders not named Brian Elliot. I think Halak and Allen both have played fairly well. Elliot has been abysmal.

Goaltending, defense and lack of defensive support from the forwards.

Blues are guilty on all counts.

I think the least amount blame should go toward the Blues goaltenders not named Brian Elliot. I think Halak and Allen both have played fairly well. Elliot has been abysmal.
- bcallaway

I'm not saying Elliott has been golden and the defense is to blame. I'm simply saying that at a high level, the Blues defense has been allowing the opposition better shots than the league average - and that not all of that falls on the goalies because of the quality of shots they've faced (though even considering that, they've underperformed relative to the league).

Halak? I'd buy that he hasn't been a problem and that the defense is more to blame for his stats. Allen? No, he was pretty mediocre even with a 3-1-0 record; he was helped out by the fact that the Blues netted 12 goals for him in 3 wins - and even then, he had to go past 60 minutes to get a pair of those W's.