LGHL PSN Round 1 Western Conference Preview Feat. NickyP and Silky: Dallas vs St. Louis

MASSIVE DISCLAIMER, we've broken up the league into conferences, and decided to break up the posts into 1 per series. These are written as full articles, so there will be 8 articles for round 1. The west should be completed today, the East will be completed tomorrow.

Well, round 1 of the playoffs is less than a few days away. As the 8 playoff teams in the Western Conference get set to do battle; @nickyP1999, @SilKyy_96 and myself got together and discussed the keys to each series and what we're looking forward to seeing. Down below we have the KingBling led Dallas Stars, going up against the St. Louis Blues looking for their chance to #DrainTheSwamp.

Dallas Stars vs St. Louis Blues

Dallas Stars’ Roster

Claeys - KB - Hazee
Prodigy - Sid - Hat_Trick
iKiing - Death - Kane

Schroyer - Knees
Inglis - Crosby
Rendo - Tk3rr

Flight_Airline
Mikemoran


St. Louis’ Roster

Barcode - Giroux - Tact
Kadri - Fool - Henny
Fishure - Tychi - DucksFan

Beale - Knucklerz
Duece - Malkin
Leblanc - Killer

WhatsTheMaata
Howard

Offense

Starting with the forwards, and there's a similar theme in this series and the Colorado/Edmonton series in which 1 team has a much better 3rd forward line. I'm not in love with the Dallas top line, as KingBling and Hazee have had their struggles at times throughout this year, but they're still quality top 6 options on 19. I've heard good things about Sid on this game, and Prodigy and Hat_Trick are still VG stars who haven't made a huge name for themselves on the PSN side, but again are quality options. The Dallas 3rd line however, while not as putrid as the Edmonton 3rd line, doesn't match up too well against the St. Louis 3rd forward line.

Switching it up, you look at St. Louis' C core and good god is it impressive. Giroux and Fool as the 1-2 punch helped both of them win a cup last year, and both can be expected to be a force in this series. While Barcode, Tact, Kadri, and Henny aren't anything special, they're going to do their job and help out the big 2 C's they'll be lined up with. Now, the 3rd St. Louis forward line isn't great, but it's definitely better than what you'll see Dallas throw out there. The chemistry between Fishure and DucksFan will play a role, and Tychi just has to be good defensively and feed them the puck in order to watch something happen. St. Louis 100% has the better offense in this series.

Defense

So, while St. Louis has the advantage on offense, Dallas has a clear advantage on defense. Starting with the Blues blue-line, they leave a lot to be desired. Beale and Knucklerz are both good, and Beale is the clear leader of the group (not just because he's the owner), but the bottom 4 on this team is suspect. The #5 overall pick in the draft, Duece has put up average numbers, and Malkin hasn't been more than a bottom pair guy until this year. Leblanc and Killer are 3rd pair guys, and will have to step up in order to help the Blues win a game.

Now Dallas' top 4, that's a scary proposition for the Blues to go up against even with their weapons. Schroyer and Knees is one of the best D pairs in the game, and will neutralize whichever line they go up against. Inglis is also an excellent D man, and while OhCrosby is an absolute headcase, he should be able to perform as an adequate number 4 to round out their fierce looking top pairs. The Dallas 3rd pair might be the worst defense pair in the playoffs, so there's that... However, with how strong the top 4 is compared to St. Louis, they still hold the edge on defense.

Goaltending

In net, both teams' have capable starters who can get the job done on any given night. Flight_Airline for Dallas has been a consistent starter for the past few seasons, while WhatsTheMaatta will lock it down for the Blues. Both backups have the potential to win a game, but can also cost their teams a game as well. Going to call goaltending fairly even, no clear winner here.

Keys To The Series

St. Louis Blues

- Playoff Experience On The Big 2: Giroux and Fool both come into this series with playoff records that are borderline spotless. These 2 players, in both of their past 2 playoff runs are a combined 25-2 (1 OTL), with 3 cup rings split between them. That's absolutely bonkers. For the Blues to win this series, they'll need to see these 2 continue their success.

- 2nd Pair Needs To Step Up: Ultimately, for St. Louis they just need their defense to be not awful. As the 2nd line in STL should be able to outplay the 2nd forward line for Dallas. Now, with how good Dallas' defense is (3rd pair excluded), they will receive some push back, and the Duece-Malkin pair will need to be ready to answer the call. If they are, and can hold the Dallas attack at bay until the Blues break it open, they'll take the series.

- Use Of Home Ice Advantage: Beale, Giroux, and DucksFan will have to utilize the strength of home ice effectively in this series or they run the risk of a 1st round exit. After stealing it on the final day, they have the ability to work around the Dallas defense and exploit their 3rd pair. If done correctly, those 2 wins go a long way in Giroux getting a chance at taking on Nav potentially in the 2nd round.

Dallas Stars

- Top 4 Defense Needs To Eat: It's fairly simple, Blues win this series if it's an offensive bloodbath, Dallas can win this series if they lock it down. They don't have an offense that matches up well with the Blues, but if their defense can diffuse the St. Louis attack, and get the puck to their forwards; there's enough skill up front for Dallas in which a few goals might do the trick. Schroyer, Knees, Inglis, and Crosby will need to be great in order for Dallas to win

- Timely Goals: Working off the previous point, while the offense may not have as much possession as the Blues, it's not like they can't score goals. Hazee will need to unleash his short man rage (it's a thing), and find the back of the net. KingBling will need to regain a bit of his past form as well, and the VG stars need to show up in the LG playoffs. They shouldn't need a lot if their defense does their job.

- Capitalize If Blues MGMT Makes A Mistake: So, while the Blues need to utilize their home ice effectively, if KingBling sees a chance to exploit a Blues mistake in line match-ups, then he needs to make sure that line wins. I know he can't control much, but maybe a roster swap into a line or something, because losing home ice in a series where both teams have opposite strengths could come back to bite the Stars. KingBling will need to make something happen in his first playoff series as an owner of Dallas.

Predictions

Silky's Pick: Dallas in 6, The top 4 of Dallas wins the battle against the St. Louis offense with Giroux, Fool and company.

Nicky's Pick: St. Louis in 5, Fool and Giroux have a combined record of 25-2 (1 loss in OT) combined in their 2 previous playoff runs. They continue their run of playoff success.

Mamm's Pick: St. Louis in 6, having home ice advantage is critical in the series. St. Louis takes advantage of a weak Dallas 3rd line and moves on.

Thanks for the read guys!

 

Solid writeup Mammer, looking forward to the rest of these!

 

#DrainTheSwamp

 

Mamm is a beast!

 

Third line sheesh who the fuck is this guy

 

@IKiiNG_94 is a savage and he will dominate these milk duds

 

It's a shame St. Louis doesn't have the best depth at Defense.

 

is mamm the pierre mcguire of lg lmfao seems like he’s a joke take there dicks out of ur mouth pal watch some games before you do an analysis