Bortuzzo becomes unlikely hero as Blues beat Sharks in Game 2

By James O'BrienMay 13, 2019, 11:43 PM EDT

It hasn’t always been pretty for the St. Louis Blues, but they keep getting things done during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With that in mind, it’s all too fitting that Robert Bortuzzo ended up being Game 2’s unlikely hero.

During the third period, Bortuzzo came through in the way you’d expect, as the gritty defenseman made a fantastic shot block on what looked like a golden one-time opportunity for the Sharks. But the headliner was Bortuzzo’s game-winning goal from the second period …

… Which was way prettier than anyone would expect from a player who scores as infrequently as Bortuzzo does. Either way, the goal was as pretty as it was important, boosting the Blues to a 4-2 win in Game 2, and tying this series with the Sharks at 1-1.

(Bortuzzo also had a big hit and loudly pointed out a delay of game penalty, so he made the most of his limited ice time in Game 2.)

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

During the relentless grind of the hockey postseason, you’re not always going to get goals from your biggest names. Sometimes, it’s your supporting cast that makes the difference between victory and defeat, and the Blues’ depth players made the difference for St. Louis in Game 2.

That’s not to say that marquee names didn’t come to play on Monday, mind you. The most obvious contributor was actually for the losing team, as Logan Couture continues to be a true clutch player, scoring two goals in quick succession to dissolve a 2-0 Blues lead to a 2-2 tie. Couture now has a remarkable 13 goals during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Speaking of hot streaks, Jaden Schwartz maintained his by scoring the 1-0 goal, pushing Schwartz’s playoff total to nine goals. It had to be heartening for the Blues to see Vladimir Tarasenko pick up an assist on Schwartz’s tally, while Ryan O'Reilly managed a helper on Vince Dunn‘s 2-0 goal.

Bortuzzo’s surprisingly slick backhanded held up as the game-winner through the third period, as the Blues were able to keep the Sharks at bay. Oskar Sundqvist‘s pretty 4-2 goal late in regulation really diffused much of the pressure in the waning moments. Jordan Binnington also had a bounce-back game for the Blues, making 24 out of 26 saves.

St. Louis still has some room to improve. They’ll likely need more from Tarasenko and O’Reilly if they want to pass the Sharks. And whether it’s “Tank” or ROR doing so, someone needs to wake up a power play that went 0-for-5 in Game 2, and didn’t really generate a lot of dangerous chances despite all of those opportunities.

It’s not about how well you win games during this time of year, just whether you find a way to do it. The Blues did so with some unlikely contributors, and now position themselves for even greater heroics.

The 2019 Western Conference Final shifts to St. Louis for Game 3 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET (NBCSN; stream here).

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

The Playoff Buzzer: Blues overcome clutch Couture

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By James O'BrienMay 14, 2019, 1:02 AM EDT

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Jordan Binnington and the Blues bounced back in Game 2, tying their series with the Sharks on Monday. It was mostly a tightly-fought game, with a mixture of expected names (Logan Couture, Jaden Schwartz) and unexpected heroes (Robert Bortuzzo) coming through.

Blues 4, Sharks 2 (Series tied 1-1; Game 3 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN; stream here).

The two teams took turns stunning each other during Game 2. First, Schwartz and Vince Dunn stunned the Sharks with two goals, with one coming in the first period and the other happening in the second. Dunn’s goal seemed to awake a sleeping giant, as Logan Couture then stunned the Blues with two goals in two minutes. Bortuzzo’s eventually game-winner was maybe the most stunning moment of the night, while Oskar Sundqvist‘s 4-2 insurance tally seemed to come out of nowhere (although that pass by Alexander Steen was no accident). Binnington was good enough for the Blues to get another road win during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Three Stars

1. Robert Bortuzzo

This was one of those “more than meets the eye” performances, as Bortuzzo transformed into an unlikely hero.

Bortuzzo’s game-winner stands as the number one reason why he snags this spot over players who were more productive during Game 2. He did more than that, though, as Bortuzzo brought attention to a delay of game penalty, landed a thunderous check on Marcus Sorensen, and blocked a Kevin Labanc one-timer that looked like a golden opportunity for San Jose to tie what was at the time a 3-2 game.

In just 10:37 of ice time, Bortuzzo scored that goal, enjoyed a +2 rating, generated two SOG, two blocked shots, and totaled five hits.

2. Logan Couture

Really, Couture was probably the biggest star of Game 2, though he probably wouldn’t argue too hard for that point since his Sharks lost.

Couture beat Binnington twice in slightly less than two minutes, first generating a shorthanded goal and then beating Binnington after a fantastic outlet pass from Timo Meier. Couture only took six faceoffs in Game 2, but won five of them, while also firing four SOG and delivering one hit, one blocked shot, and a +1 rating. Couture did his part – and then some – but most of his teammates just couldn’t really get much going.

3. Joel Edmundson

The only player other than Couture to score two points was a Blues defenseman, and that blueliner was Edmundson, not Bortuzzo.

Edmundson collected two assists in Game 2, giving him five assists and six points during 13 playoff games. Edmundson’s been heating up in general, really, as he’s generated four of his six points (one goal, three assists) in the last four games.

The Blues’ defensive group combined for two goals and three assists overall in Game 2.

Factoids

Alex Pietrangelo was also involved in that scoring, generating an assist in Game 2. He now has 12 points overall during these playoffs, tying him for the Blues’ franchise record for points by a defenseman during a single playoff run.
St. Louis continues to be hearty away from St. Louis. This marks the Blues’ sixth road win of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, tying a franchise record for road wins during a single postseason. Ryan O'Reilly might want to get spiked shoulder pads and call himself a road warrior, because his point streak in away playoff games is now at seven, setting a new Blues record.
Logan Couture is on a tear during this postseason, and he’s been a big-game performer for some time. Couture reached 100 career playoff points in 112 postseason games, placing him at fourth place behind Sidney Crosby (123), Patrick Kane (109), and Evgeni Malkin (106) in playoff points since the 2010 postseason. Couture’s 100 points include 47 goals, which trails only Alex Ovechkin (50) during that same span. Joe Pavelski isn’t far behind, tying Sidney Crosby for third place with 42.

Tuesday’s game

Game 3: Boston Bruins at Carolina Hurricanes (Boston leads series 2-0; airs on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET; stream here)

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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.

WATCH LIVE: Sharks eye 2-0 series lead vs. Blues

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By Sean LeahyMay 13, 2019, 8:00 PM EDT

Lack of mega-money players an anomaly this postseason

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By Adam GretzMay 13, 2019, 5:36 PM EDT

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Every postseason a new storyline emerges as to how NHL teams should construct their rosters, and it usually revolves around the teams playing the deepest in the playoffs and how they managed to get there.

After all, everyone wants to copy off the teams that win and not the teams sitting at home.

The new trend could be anything, really. Sometimes it revolves around defensive structure, or size and grit. Sometimes it is about speed and skill. We are always looking for the next “thing” that is going to take over the NHL. To be fair, there can be some merit to these storylines and trends.

The one thing that stands out about the four teams playing in the Conference Finals this season is that none of them have a really huge salary on their roster. This is a fact that was pointed out in an article by the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun on Monday when talking about the upcoming crop of restricted free agents and how teams might try to approach them given the salary structures of the remaining playoff teams.

There is not a single player in the top-20 of NHL salary cap hits still playing in the playoffs, while San Jose’s Brent Burns ($8 million) is the only one in the top-25.

St. Louis’ Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O'Reilly ($7.5 million each) and Boston’s David Krejci ($7.25 million) are the only other ones in the top-40.

Carolina’s highest paid player is Jordan Staal who counts $6 million against the cap, the 89th largest salary cap hit in the league. The Hurricanes also have one of the lowest total payrolls.

In the article LeBrun quotes an unnamed NHL executive who points out of the favorite talking points of executives in the salary cap era: “You need depth to win and can’t allocate too much cap space to any individual players.”

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

The first part is 100 percent true, because you do need depth to win.

The second point is just … wrong. That is not a personal opinion, and it is not something that is going to change just because of one mostly unpredictable postseason. It is a fact. That is what makes it so maddening every single time it gets mentioned. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ core can’t be discussed without fear over their future salary cap situation and how they are going to build a contending team around so many big-money players. There is always trade speculation mentioned around teams that “need” to shed salary because they have too much money going to too few players.

I hate this mindset, mostly because there is zero factual evidence to back it up.

While it is true that the four Conference Finalists this season have made it this far without a mega-money player on their roster, it is also true that this development is an anomaly in recent postseason history.

Burns is currently the only player in the Conference Finals that accounts for more than 10 percent of the league salary cap this season.

The Blues and Bruins both have players in the 9 percent range, while the Hurricanes don’t have anyone that takes up more than 7.5 percent.

Let’s just take a quick look at how that compares to the past five years of Conference Finalists. The table below looks at the highest cap percentage on each team that played in the Conference Finals that season.

Of the 20 teams over the previous five years, 16 of them had at least one player accounting for more than 10 percent of their allotted salary cap space that season; 13 of them had one taking up more than 10.5 percent; nine had more than 11 percent; seven had a player taking up at least 12 percent.

That includes multiple Stanley Cup winners in Pittsburgh and Washington over the previous three seasons.

Many of these teams also had multiple players taken up between 10 to 12 percent of the salary cap on their own.

In any contract negotiation there are always going to be two sides with very different goals. The player is usually going to try and get as much money as they possibly can for their production. They have short careers and an even shorter window to get a significant contract, so they are going to try and cash in when they can. The team is going to try and get the player for the best bang for their buck, not only because of the salary cap, but because that is just how sports teams work. It is obviously beneficial for a team to get a superstar at a below market contract (think Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado) in a capped league but it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes you have to pay your best player top dollar. It is always worth it.

If there is a team in the NHL this offseason looking at the roster construction of these four teams and thinks it is going to be beneficial to trade a big money, star player for multiple, cheaper assets or play hardball with an RFA over an extra two or three million it is probably going to end very, very badly for them. Because they are either going to make a bad trade for the wrong reasons (quality for quantity) or risk damaging a relationship (or maybe even losing) a core player.

Just because this particular postseason will not have a mega-money player in the Stanley Cup Final does not mean that is always the best way to go about building your team.

Star players still matter a lot, and star players still cost a lot money.

One postseason will not change that.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

Should Hurricanes make goalie change for Game 3?

By Adam GretzMay 13, 2019, 4:14 PM EDT

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After a decade of consistent goaltending issues the Carolina Hurricanes finally found a winning combination this season with the duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney.

It probably was not the duo anyone anticipated being the one to get them back to the playoffs and in the Eastern Conference Final, but the two veterans exceeded pretty much every expectation anyone could have possibly had for them at the start of the year. They relied on a near 50-50 split of the playing time throughout the regular season and have had to play both of them in the playoffs due to the injury to Mrazek halfway through their Round 2 series against the New York Islanders.

It was at that point that McElhinney stepped in and helped slam the door shut on the Islanders, recording his first three postseason wins.

Now that they are facing a two-game series deficit against the Boston Bruins, with Mrazek allowing 10 goals in his return to the lineup in those first two games, the discussion has shifted as to whether or not the Hurricanes should consider going back to McElhinney for Game 3 on Tuesday night (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

“We are every game,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said Monday when asked if he had considered switching goalies. “We talk about it every night, what we’re going to do, and yeah, we’ve had the conversations already of what we’re going to do. We haven’t finalized anything but we’ve certainly discussed the options.”

Brind’Amour was quick to point out that even though they have discussed a goaltending switch, he didn’t think goaltending was the difference in the series. He even argued that given the way the Hurricanes played in Game 2 it probably wouldn’t have mattered what Mrazek did in net.

[NBC 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

“I don’t know if it would have mattered if Petr was great,” he said. “It wouldn’t have mattered. So certainly, we’re down 2-0, but it’s not because of goaltending from our end.”

There is probably a lot of truth to that statement, especially as it relates to their Game 2 play. But the facts are the Hurricanes are returning home facing a near must-win situation and their current starter in net (Mrazek) has been really hot and cold so far in the playoffs and is currently going through one of his “cold” spells, having stopped just 42 of the 52 shots the Bruins have thrown at him.

The thing about Mrazek this postseason — and pretty much all of his postseason starts throughout his career — is that he is either been really, really good, or really, really bad when he has played. Five of his nine career postseason wins have been a shutout. He has two shutouts this postseason alone and a save percentage of .919 or better in five of his 11 appearances. The Hurricanes are also 5-0 in those games.

The flip side of that is he also has five starts with a save percentage lower than .880, which is more than any other goalie in the postseason. And again, he has only appeared in 11 games. Just looking at the other three goalies still playing in the Conference Finals, San Jose’s Martin Jones has been below .880 in four of his 15 starts. St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington has been below .880 in only three of his 14 starts. Boston’s Tuukka Rask has not had one start with a save percentage that low.

There has been a real “boom or bust” element to Mrazek’s play, and with the situation in the series starting to really get serious the Hurricanes are going to need a strong performance in net against a Bruins team that is clicking on all cylinders. Mrazek has shown he is perfectly capable of playing that sort of game in these playoffs. He has also shown he is capable of giving up a lot of goals.

So there is a bit of a dice roll in sticking with him for Game 3, especially given how well McElhinney played in relief of him in Round 2.

There is obviously a sample size issue at play here, and a bit of a recency bias, because McElhinney has played so little in the playoffs and really hasn’t had many opportunities to show some cracks. When we’ve seen him play, he has played well. But he has played so little (and only against what was probably the weakest offensive team in the playoffs) it is next to impossible to know what you are going to get in his next start. At the end of the day we’re talking about a 35-year-old goalie that has been a nice backup throughout his career and never been relied on to be a starter for any length of time on a Stanley Cup run.

Brind’Amour was asked on Monday if the decision on who to start is a difficult one, and was quick to point out that it wasn’t because they have faith in both players.

“Actually it’s an easy decision,” he said. “I know we’ve talked about it a lot, and it’d be easy if I just sat here and said we’re starting [whoever]. But we’re confident any way we go, so do we make a change? We might. But it might be for a different reason than you guys think. We’ll know tomorrow.”

At the end of the day, the fact they have to have this conversation and make this decision is just another sign that goaltending is still the biggest flaw this up-and-coming team has. By having two equally competent and interchangeable goalies, neither of which is a bonafide No. 1 starter, they don’t really have a go-to player that they can count on in a situation like this.

Given the way Mrazek has played so far in the series and the situation the team is in, a change might be justified, especially since you don’t really know which version of him will show up on Tuesday night.

But the same thing is true with option B.

Either way you’re taking a pretty big chance.

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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.