Can Blues’ versatility, depth push them through Game 6 vs. Avs?
In praising the star power of the Avalanche, you risk dismissing the high-end elements of the Blues.
In Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, the Avalanche do indeed boast the two biggest stars in this series. Even so, the Blues roll out some big names of their own.
Ryan O’Reilly‘s won a Selke Trophy, a Conn Smythe, and has his own Great Clips commercial. Vladimir Tarasenko set a career-high with 82 points this season, and authored his sixth season with at least 33 goals (34 in 2021-22). David Perron’s in the top 20 in playoff scoring since 2018-19, producing one more point (38 vs. 37) than the much-more-hyped Mark Stone in the same (46) number of playoff games.
Yet … yes, it’s the sheer depth of the Blues’ scoring options that gives them a chance to hang with the Avalanche in Game 6 (8 p.m. ET), and possibly keep this Second Round series going.
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Deep array of offensive options gives Blues a shot vs. Avalanche in series, and Game 6
Take a look at what could end up being the Blues’ lineup for Game 6 against the Avalanche:
With Torey Krug still out, an already-sneaky-leaky Blues defense corps looks that much more vulnerable.
While Ryan O’Reilly will likely be deployed with the hope of slowing Nathan MacKinnon down, the Blues’ best bet may come down to outgunning the Avalanche. That’s where that depth comes in.
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Ideally, that first line could draw close to even. Brandon Saad‘s viable enough to not drag O’Reilly and Perron down.
[Avalanche, Kuemper hoping to bounce back heading into Game 6]
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Did Robert Thomas regain his confidence with two big goals in Game 5? Those were his first two goals of the playoffs. He had gone pointless before that in the Blues – Avalanche series, was on a five-game pointless streak, and had only managed an assist during an eight-game span. Considering Robert Thomas’ 77 points in 72 regular-season games, it would be a big deal if he got going. (It’s also a testament to the Blues that they’ve hung in there while he was on such a…
Source : yahoo
