Tuesday Links: Jaro, you got some 'splainin to do edition

On a side note, am I the only one getting tired of that song?

the sheer number of games that Halak has kept us in combined with the fact that we would not be where we are in the Conference without him, I’ll give him a pass tonight. The rest of the team have had far more bad games than he has. It can’t be easy – he seems to be expected to haul the teams collective arses out of whatever mess they’ve got in practically every game.

There are other members of the team that need to be called out – EJ for instance. Not a great season for him so far.

Note to self: Do NOT go to the asylum then come here. It’s not good for my health or sanity – my god, it’s called the asylum for a reason….

We were getting a goalie who would finally bring sound fundamentals to the Blues crease. Meh. I’ll actually give him a semi pass on Turris’ goal. The defenseman screened him out pretty good. Either knock the man down, block the shot, or get the fuck out of the way. The 4th goal… horrible. Bad communication, bad form, bad goal. The only silver lining is that he has traditionally been a post-All Star break stud goalie. This month-to-month inconsistency is infuriating.

EJ… Petro has spoiled us. 20 year old rookie defensemen (no matter what the NHL says) aren’t supposed to look that composed and make so few mistakes. Having said that, EJ has shown enough to tease at the promise of his ceiling, but not really delivered on it consistently, and not at the level of a #1 pick, consensus top defenseman in the draft.. Kinda like another guy we had and wish had never left. The quandry is how long the Blues want to wait on him. The Whalers didn’t wait long enough for Pronger, and they weren’t exactly one player away from a Cup.

Last night’s mistake was a rookie mistake, but he isn’t one. The correct play would have been to dump it in the corner. No shot, and the only man up high—keep it in the zone, keep the pressure on. He could have used someone to tell him Stempniak was chasing him down on the blind side. A forward should have rotated out high much sooner. BUT EJ needs that alarm clock in his head, the same kind that good NFL quarterbacks have that says “play’s dead, throw the ball away NOW.” instead of taking a sack or throwing an interception. NHL defenseman is as much cerebral as it is physical. If you don’t got the brains to play the position, then you’re a marginal second-pair at best. It’s hard to evaluate.