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Gameday 11-30-09: Blues vs. Blue Jackets

By Jeff Quirin on November 30, 2009

Game Info

Location: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: FSMW
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM


Cutting tonight’s Gameday short. Work was hectic after the Holiday. Will be back with a good recap tonigh or tomorrow in the AM. Fans should be treated to a good game, even though it won’t be in HD.

Food For Thought

The Blues travel to Columbus tonight for a tilt with a team in a similar disposition. A Young, up and coming team struggling after a being swept in the first playoff appearances since the lock out (first ever for Columbus). At least our Mason is playing better than theirs.

Columbus has not won in their last 5 games.

Both teams are struggling to find an identity this season. Key players have had issues with production and effort. Both teams need the same effort they received last season if they want to win tonight’s game.

Can the Blues power play step up? Will Rick Nash take over? Will Nash be Oshie’d? Watch sparks fly tonight.

UPDATE 6pm Central: Blues Jackets Blogger Eric Smith reports the following teams are scouting the game tonight. Tampa, Florida, New Jersey, Edmonton, Detroit, and San Jose.


Difference Makers:


The Top Six.

Have they been good or what? The Backes and McDonald lines have combined for 18 points in the last three games. The guys getting paid to deliver, finally are and the Blues took five out of six points in the last three games. Look for them to step it up again tonight.

Player Notes:


There are a lot of changes, here they are.

- Brad Winchester out, Patrik Berglund in.

- AS Randall noted earlier today, Jonas Junland has been recalled from Peoria per Captain Eric Brewer going in IR retroactive to Nov. 25th. Junalnd will wear #53 per the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

- Carlo Colaiacovo is out with an injury to his foot after blocking a shot Saturday. Expect Junland to fill his role on the power play, manning the left point with Erik Johnson.

- Alex Pietrangelo will be scratched once again. It appears he will not get in to an NHL game till after he attends Canada’s World Junior Team camp and plays in the Tourney. I’ll have more on that later.

Perron-McDonald-Boyes
Kariya-Backes-Oshie
Steen-McClement-Crombeen
Berglund-Tkachuk-Janssen

Sydor-Johnson
Jackman-Polak
Junland-Weaver

Chris Mason will start in goal.

Who to Watch for?

TJ Oshie

We all know what TJ Oshie di to Rick Nash twice last season. TJ has been on his game lately, watch out for an eye catching game tonight from TJ.

We all know what TJ Oshie did to Rick Nash twice last season. TJ has been on his game lately, watch out for an eye catching game tonight.

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Jonas Junland will be playing his first game of the season with St. Louis tonight.

Captain Brewer On IR | Blues Bring Up Junland

By Randall Ritchey on November 30, 2009

Eric Brewer hasn’t had the best of luck in staying healthy the last few years.

After missing most of last season, with problems with the nerves in his back, he injured his knee before pre-season and still managed to come back a lot earlier than many thought was possible. Now he is back on the shelf with a lower body injury.

Word is Carlo Colaiacovo could sit tonight as well as he  took a puck off  his skate in the game against the Detroit Red Wings.  Word is, this injury prompted the call up for Junland.

Jonas Junland will be playing his first game of the season with St. Louis tonight.

Jonas Junland will be playing his first game of the season with St. Louis tonight.

Junland, like Carlo, is a left handed shot and plays the left point on the power play.

Jonas Junland, AHL all-star last season, is continuing in his impressive resume in the American Hockey League career has he currently holds 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 22 games with the Peoria Rivermen this season. He has been the top defensemen in both ends for the Rivermen this year and many believe he deserves this call up.

But does this hamper Pietrangelo in playing game ten tonight?

Most likely. Pietrangelo is getting a ton of practice time for the Blues, but the team seems hesitant to play him in game number ten. Is it because they don’t think he’s NHL ready? Is it because they think he deserves stay up compared to playing junior hockey? I can’t answer that question, but as of right now, the Blues aren’t giving an answer either.

Jonas Junland will likely be paired with Mike Weaver in tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’ll be paired with Erik Johnson on the point on the power play as well.

Randall Ritchey

randallritchey@gmail.com

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Recap 11-27-09: Blues vs Predators

By Jeff Quirin on November 28, 2009

Thankfully the Blues didn’t take over a month to win back to back games after doing so late last week. The Blues went in to a hot teams house and beat them. There was no shortage of attempts to even up the game by Nashville, however Chris Mason was up to the task stopping 37 out of 38 shots with several game changing saves.Blues fans should be encourage, for the second straight night the Blues won a pretty open, run and gun game.

- The Blues were out matched and out worked over multiple stretches in the first period and a half of the game. Nashville reminds me a lot of the Carolina Hurricanes from last year. They use their blue line and teams speed to get the puck up ice and out work you. With a little more talent up front they would be a very dangerous team. The Blues seemed to get control back around the halfway mark of the second period. Not saying the Blues didn’t have pressure before then, but the game was moving at a pace that favored Nashville. Once the Blues were able to get up to the same speed, they were moving the puck well.

- The special teams play of both teams decided the game. The Blues were able to get some early penalties on the Predators, which is a good thing versus a team that doesn’t take many. Coming in to last night Nashville was in the top 10 for fewest penalty minutes a game, averaging 6 minutes. When you are able to get two power plays early on the road, you have to convert. The power play once again looked lethargic and out of sync. The Blues power play can make the weakest penalty kill group look outstanding. Conversely, Nashville had an extremely effective power play coming in to last night’s game. The Blues yielded five power play opportunities for the Predators and the Blues shut them out.

- Backes the Beast is back. Blues fan know he is a slow starter, so it was somewhat expected that a slow start could come about. Backes was a physical presence once again and drove to the net.  He was rewarded by a nice rebound bang in from about ten feet out. Watch Backes roll off four or five more goals in the next week. He scores in bunches and the Blues offense is starting to ramp up.

- Kudos for Brad Boyes for getting the puck to the net, god things happen when you do that. Brad had the puck on the left hand side of Pekka Rinne and back handed it about waist level. Rinne wasn’t square to the play and the puck trickled in behind him. I have to say that other than that one lucky goal, he was fairly ineffective again. Losing multiple battles along the boards by being out worked on his stick or out muscled off the puck. If Brad is going to go play that game, he needs to get stronger on the puck. I don’t think its from a lack of desire to play better, I just don’t think he can effectively play that board battle game. He really isn’t as great of a dangler compared to Perron and McDonald, his line mates. The Blues need someone to open space for Boyes. McDonald and Perron both struggled at getting the puck (and body) to the net to create lanes to get Brad the puck or to cause rebounds Brad can get to. Maybe give Winchester some reps on left wing with Boyes on right?

- I called out Boyes and Kariya in the Gameday preview and they delivered…and the Blues won. Not a coincidence that when the two biggest expected producers produce, the team wins games. I also said the JP Dumont would be as important to the Preds as Boyes would be to the Blues. Dumont’s score shoot looks like “000000000000″, because that’s all he got. The Blues also did a good job of keeping the hot David Legwand off the score board as well. He did register six shots and an assist, but didn’t convert as well as he has been.

- Erik Johnson has a decent game, but not as high of an impact as the game before. He fell in to the same turn over issues early on that everyone else did in the first period, which was a little frustrating. Look liked he tried to force a few passes he should have held on to. Johnson did register an assist and was a plus-2 for the night. IF you can’t be great, be solid, and EJ was that.

- Anyone else really enjoy watching Roman Polak play? He made a couple of skill moves last night to get free of pressure and get pucks deep. I absolutely LOVED watching him use that great acceleration he has to break up ice and join the rush. He got a good shot off that did go for a rebound. To me watching Polak is like watching Perron. You can see little rid bits of their game fall in to place as they go along. Polak seems to be thought of as a defensive specialist, but he really does have the athletic ability and solid first pass to help the offensive game. No points for Roman last night, but then again his pay doesn’t always show up on the score sheet. He was Even with three blocks, two hits, and one shot on goal.

- It was nice to see Daryl Sydor in the game last night. Too bad it was due to the loss of Captain Eric Brewer. As we reported in the Gameday thread, Andy Strickland had mentioned that Brewer was likely to miss last night’s game. Brewer id in fact sit out with an “upper body injury”. Fan speculation seems to point to a aggravation of his previous back injuries due to his fight with Dallas bad boy Steve Ott Wednesday night. Sydor was steady, which can be expected. Have to say I’d prefer to see Sydor playing over Weaver when everyone is healthy. Weaver coughed up two large and obvious turnovers that lead to big Nashville chances. When pressured Weaver turns it over too easily and that happened multiple times last night.

- What a performance by Chris Mason. You just cannot undercut what he has done for this team. He has looked every bit of a true #1 net minder. You can argue (as I would) that Mason deserved a shutout. The Scatchard goal was a botched call in my opinion. The puck was in Mason’s glove and Scatchard’s stick looked to be a little high while he whacked the puck out of Mason’s glove. That play had little bearing overall as the Blues came right back and Kariya scored his first goal since Clinton was President last night to reestablish the two goal lead. You can point to previous history all you want with Mason in Nashville, but Mason in St. Louis has been one of the best goalies in the NHL. Last night was case in point.

- Cannot count out Pekka Rinne who was gunning for his 8th straight win. He was left out to dry on the Kariya goal and the Backes goal wasn’t really on him. Rinne allowed one goal of his own doing and gave his team a chance to win. He was just outdone by Mason. Rinne is only 27 folks, we’ll be seeing a lot of him for the next 10 years.

- The refs “missed” two very obvious calls on Nashville last night. One was a cross check to David Backes in his defensive zone slot. If Backes had given that check, it would have been called. The second was the play before the Scatachard goal. Kariya  (who had multiple explosive breaks) broke up ice on a partial break away. Francis Bouillon then clearly pushes him down from behind and knocks him in to Rinne. I was surprised that there was no call. I am assuming the refs saw it as Kariya lost an edge, it just didn’t look that way on TV. As a former ref myself, I know you cannot call everything, but the obvious ones need to be called.

- I saved this for last because I didn’t want to start in a negative tone, however it is completely inexcusable that last nights game was not in FSMW in HD. There is no reason for High School Football to be on TV over professional sports. This was a game against a divisional rival on the road. I have to think many fans are questioning the Blues ability to get their games on TV. Between the Versus vs. DriecTV war and the FSMW vs DishNet battle Blues fans are finding themselves missing games. Having to hunt down the channel listings online yesterday was just a bit too much compared to everything else hockey fans are dealing with. Get rid of Versus and go back to ESPN. If Versus will continue to not make the NHL it’s flagship programming (no extended coverage past the game that is on TV), then go to the channel that is on every single provider’s basic offerings. Locally what can be done with FSMW? I don’t know there.

The Blues faceoff against Detroit tonight back in St. Louis. I will be back this afternoon with a Gameday preview.

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The Blues and Predators have one of the better regional rivalries. Just imagine when they finally meet in the playoffs.

Blues Gameday 11-27-09: Blues vs. Predators

By Jeff Quirin on November 27, 2009

The Blues and Predators have one of the better regional rivalries. Just imagine when they finally meet in the playoffs.

The Blues and Predators have one of the better regional rivalries. Just imagine when they finally meet in the playoffs.

Game Info

Location: Sommet Center, Nashville, TN.
Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: Check Local Listings or Blues Website
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

The Blues meet the Nashville Predators to renew their rivalry for the second time this season tonight. The Blues are coming off an important road win in Dallas Wednesday night. Nashville is riding Pekka Rinne and David Legwand to the tune of a seven game winning streak. Nashville has scored 21 goals in those seven games. While Nashville doesn’t have the well know names, they are still scoring goals and the Blues will need to be ready to play tonight.

Food For Thought

Nashville’s power play is rated 18th at an 18.6% conversion rate. Not the best, but looking better than the Blues.

Nashville is looking for its franchise record 8th straight win.

The Predators have one of the best home records in the Western Conference at 8-3-0. The Blues have been solid on the road, going 4-1-3 for 11 points out of a possible 16 points.

The Blues still boast a top-10 penalty kill, stopping 83% of power play chances.

The Blues are still undefeated when scoring three goals or more. Nashville is win-less in four games when they have allowed three goals or more.

Can the Blues ditch the predictable mold? Will we see Johnson and Colaiacovo on their off hand side on the point? Can the Blues stop forcing the puck deep when the play isn’t there? Can they reopen the slot when Nashville collapses? We shall see. The offensive zone play is improving; hopefully tonight will be a continuation

Something has to give:

Paul Kariya and Brad Boyes are due. Kariya has been working hard and Boyes has to get going at some point. Tonight will be the night? Kariya against his old team and Boyes against a team he has produced well against? Sounds good to me. Both guys are just too talented to have struggled this much. There is no where to go but up from the bottom.

Difference Makers:

What will each team’s top right winger bring to tonight’s game?

Brad Boyes has been extremely streak in terms of production and inconsistent in all other facets. He does have a solid history of production against the Preds. In the last three seasons he has nine goals and four assists in 15 games. With David Backes getting the goal scoring monkey off his back in Dallas, it would be nice to see Boyes breakout in Nashville.

JP Dumont has 16 points in his 16 games so far this season. Dumont leads the Preds with 12 assists. Dumont may not score many goals, but he is responsible for creating a good number of the Preds goals. In the last three seasons Dumont has seven points in 13 games against the Blues. Can his improved production this year equal more points versus the Blues.

Tonight’s game will come down to which marquee winger can stick it to the other team.

Player Notes:

Per the St. Louis Post Dispatch, expect the line up to remain the same with Chris Mason in net instead of Ty Conklin.

Take this for what it’s worth…Andy Strickland tweeted today that Capt. Eric Brewer could miss tonight’s game with a “nagging injury”. We shall see come game time what is going on there.

It looks lkie that for now Patrik Berglund and Alex Pietrangelo aren’t going to just be put back in the line up “just because”. The team has competed well with the 20 it has been dressing lately. That could change with a bad night against Nashville.

No expected injury scratches for the Predators. I would assume that Pekka Rinne will get his 8th straight start.

Who to Watch for?

Shea Weber

Shea Weber has a cannon shot from the point and is one of the 10 best two-way Defensemen in the NHL. To date he has 6 goals and 15 points (9 of which are on the power play) in 21 games.

Shea Weber has a cannon shot from the point and is one of the 10 best two-way Defensemen in the NHL. To date he has 6 goals and 15 points (9 of which are on the power play) in 21 games.


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Recap 11-25-09: Blus vs Stars

By Jeff Quirin on November 26, 2009

Now that was a hockey game. It’s not too often you get fighting, big hits, timely goals and end to end action combined for basically the whole 60. Then we were treated to Overtime and a Shootout? What a game.

The Blues might have put in their best overall effort in last night. Yes, there were choppy stretches in the second period, but overall the Blues had good flow and controlled the tempo of the game. The Blues team speed really came out last night. Not just in skating, but ability to create plays going to the offensive end quicker than the defense can recover.

Dallas certainly hung in the game and had the lead multiple times last night. It was a fun back and forth game that really reminded me of the Boston game on Monday. Wednesday night’s game had the better outcome.

I am going to keep it short today, so much to do on Thanksgiving.

- David Backes really lead the way last night. He was physical which is never his problem, but he was skating with speed and determination to get to the net. He worked hard to create chances and was finally rewarded for his first goal in 16 games last night. The goal was a bang-bang play off the faceoff. Win the draw, get it on net, bang in the rebound. Marty Turco coughed it up and Backes delivered. The monkey is off his back, mark my words. The early season slup is going away and the power forward David Backes is returning.

- TJ Oshie responded after a sluggish game Monday night. TJ is a lot like Backes in teh fact that consistency is their only problem. TJ worked hard and scored a beautiful goal just under the crossbar. Turco went down before TJ shot and he buried it. I thought to myself…TJ really does practice that shot all throughout warm ups. He was ready to nail that shot on a great pass by Backes to get TJ in open space. Write it down, TJ Oshie will score 30 goals multiple times in his career once he gets the consistent effort part down. He also nearly ended up with a second goal on a short handed chance on Turco. He chipped the puck past a defender on the blue line, then again at the red line and broke in on Turco alone. TJ shot a little quickly as Turco was bottled up. TJ wanted 5-hole and Turco had it covered already. I would have liked to see TJ take that in an extra five feet and make a move on Turco to open him up. That patience will come with more experience.

- David Perron put together another solid game. He notched one assist and two shots. The box score may not look too good for David, but he played a good game. He made a another nice move to get open for space to get a shot on goal…which did go back the other way for a 2 (or 3) on 1. Who was the first player back to help the defender? David Perron. He was the furthest forward and was the first back. Andy Murray ruined David Perron? My “you know what”.

- Ty Conklin was ok. To give Dallas credit, on their goals they did do a good job of creating traffic on Conklin. Not clearing traffic or preventing it is on the Blues defense. Not their best game, but not their worst in that regard either. Conklin stopped 34 of 37 shots. It’s always nice to see your back up goalie goalie steal two points in the road.

- Daryl Sydor, Patrik Berglund, and Alex Pietrangelo were the healthy scratches. Nothing against Patrik, but he didn’t need to play last night. Dallas is a tough team and Winchester benefited the Blues more in the bottom 6 role than Berglund would have.

- While the power play did convert once last night, in general it was still very poor. Static is a good word to describe…as opposed to dynamic.  The goal Erik Johnson scored was all due to movement of bodies and the puck, rotation around the zone and then in on net. The rest of the night the Blues didn’t move. The Versus commentators made a good point about the Dallas power play. How they have a right handed shot on the left and a left handed shot on the right. The Blues don’t do this, which boggles my mind. The Blues also don’t try back door plays…why? No movement. Murray has them playing the  Ray Bennett style right now. Except for 2 players (McDonald and Johnson) everyone needs to be in a 5×5 box at all times. I still say they need to pick five mos creative guys to be a main unit and let them just figure it out. Johnson and Carlo Colaiacovo on the point with Backes between Oshie and Perron.

- Brad Boyes had another quiet game, but he was effective at times. You cannot discredit his impact with the Shootout winner. He will come around, it just isn’t happening yet. He really is reliant up on someone else to make him better. Perron and McDonald are capable (as is TJ), but he isn’t getting in to spots that those guys can get the puck to him. Brad’s ability to create room and chances for himself is alarmingly low. I know we don’t want to break up the lines, however I woudl be for the following:
Oshie-Backes-Boyes
Kariya-McDonald-Perron

Why? I don’t think Boyes has the speed and ethic to keep up with the high motors of Perron and McDonald.  Kariya has the speed to back guys off the line in transition with the other two. You can argue that McDonald and Perron have been the two most consistent offensive producers, so give Kariya a shot with them. Oshie and Backes have a good chemistry together and both can create space out of nothing. This should open up room for Boyes to operate. Backes and Oshie are also goo puck retrievers on a chip and chase and in working the boards.

- Boy is Erik Johnson coming along as advertised. You can see the rust of  season lost to injury falling off nightly. IF the Blues were more creative on the power play, he could be the next Mike Green. Free Erik Johnson on the power play. Just give him the puck and let him run it. He and Colaiacovo are showing a very good chemistry. Carlo might be a little out of place playing for 20+ minutes a night, but so far he is responding pretty well as a top-4 defenseman. Both were solid and dynamic in lugging the puck up ice and joining the rush. The Blues did a good job of backing up the defenseman jumping in the play.

- Mike Weaver and Eric Brewer are working well together. Both had no points but were even on the plus/minus scale. Kudos to Brewer as he is starting to use that big body of his more. He registered 5 hits and a fight. Brewer is coming back and that’s a very good thing. We need to see more offense out of him and Roman Polak. The two most capable of producing offense on their respective pairings.

- Blues get Turkey Day off and will be in Nashville Friday night to battle their surging rival, the Nashville Predators. Nashville has a 7 game win streak working and David Legwand has 8 points in those 7 games. Look out, it could be a Black Friday throw down.

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4 Years of St.Louis Drafting

By Trevor Beaton on November 25, 2009

With all of the recent talk of the need for the Blues to make a trade and to move some assets (read: prospects) it got me thinking of the amazing quality of the Blues drafting over the last 4 years. The job that Jarmo Kekalainen has done is nothing short of extraordinary. Saying that, these prospects haven’t all proven that they are going to be impact players in the NHL, but all early signs point to a very successful drafting record.

To prove, what I believe to be, the extremely high quality of drafting by the Blues, I’ll go through the draft picks from 2005 – 2008. I’ll list who the Blues took and when, and show the player (and sometimes multiple players) picked directly before them. This doesn’t give a definitive answer, I know, but it should provide everyone a good indication for the quality of players that the Blues drafted, and how easily they could have been off the board when the Blues were selecting. Let’s get this started.

2005

TJ Oshie – 24th overall.

Nik Bergfors (23rd), Matt Lashoff, Tuuka Rask, Kenndal McArdle, Jakub Kindl, Ryan Parent, Martin Hanzel and Alex Bourret(16th).

It’s not even close in choosing Oshie over those players (Rask could turn into a very good goalie). Kopitar went 11th overall, easily the steal of the draft. Pouliot, Skille, Brule, and Brian Lee were all taken pre-Kopitar.

2006

Erik Johnson – 1st Overall.

The injury last year didn’t help, but all signs still point to him being a franchise type defenceman. Staal, Toews, Backstrom and Kessel all are high end players, but none should be taken ahead of EJ.

Patrik Berglund – 25th Overall

Dennis Persson (24th), Simeon Varlamov, Claude Giroux, Bob Sanguinetti, David Fisher, Mark Mitera, Chris Stewart, Trevor Lewis, Ty Wishart, Riku Helenius(15th). Pretty safe bet that most people haven’t even heard of a few of those guys. I’m a big Claude Giroux fan, but I’d still take a big center like Berglund over him. Most people shouldn’t be overly concerned with Berglund’s start this year. It’s not a good thing, but it’s fairly common for a player like in his situation.

Tomas Kana – 31st Overall

Swing and a miss, or so it seems so far.

Jonus Junland – 64th Overall

Jamie McBain (63rd), Dick Axelsson, Simon Danis-Pepin, Jesse Joensuu, Codey Burki, Alexander Vasyunov, and Mike Weber (57th). No one on there that jumps out at me. Junland continues to tear it up in the AHL and probably deserves, and will most likely receive, a call up this year. Solid 3rd rounder to say the least.

2007

Lars Eller – 13th Overall

Ryan McDonough (10th), Brandon Sutter, Keaton Ellerby, Logan Couture, Zach Hamill, Jakub Voracek, Sam Gagner, Karl Alzner, Thomas Hickey and Kyle Turris(3rd). Some pretty good players, but none possess the ceiling that Eller has. His early stint with the big club showed flashes of what he’s capable of, and he’s been dynamite in the AHL, an impressive feat for someone adjusting to NA hockey. Turris and Voracek are the only ones on that list that you could consider taking instead of Eller.

Ian Cole – 18th Overall

Alexei Cherapanov(17th), Colton Gilles, Alex Plante, Kevin Shattenkirk(14th). Cherepanov would have been a really good player and would have went earlier if it weren’t for the lack of a Russian transfer agreement. The others don’t appear to have Cole’s potential. Book is still out on Cole until we see him in pro hockey, however all indications point to his game being better suited to the pro game than the NCAA.

David Perron – 26th Overall

Patrick White, Mikael Backlund, Jonathum Blum, Max Pacioretty, Riley Nash, Angelo Esposito and Logan MacMillan. I’m not even going to comment on this, as it’s just to plainly obvious.

2008

Alex Pietrangelo – 4th Overall

Zack Bogosian, Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos. Nobody will argue that Petro should have went sooner, but his skill set has been easily recognizable this year, and, in my opinion, has proven why everyone said his ceiling is the highest of the three defenceman. Saying that, Doughty will still end up the best of the bunch.

Philip MacRae (33rd) and Jake Allen (34th Overall)

Voylov, Markstromm, McCollum, Leveille, Tikhonov, and Carlson. Book is still out on this one as both are still in junior. Allen is widely considered the best goalie in Canadian Junior Hockey and MacRae has been very good in the OHL. People say MacRae’s skillset at the development camp this summer. Difficult to judge this early on however. Tikhonov has gotten some time in Pheonix and Carlson just debuted with the Capitals last week and looked very good. Both picks by Jarmo still appear to be very solid.

It’s a pretty impressive list of draft picks. It shows how good of a job that the Blues scouting and front office is doing, and it also makes you realize the poor drafting record before this crew took over. You can add in Polak and Backes to the list as well, as they were both overlooked by many teams.  Ben Bishop could turn into a fantastic 3rd pick as well.

All of this talent that the Blues have compiled has been quiet of late, but it should provide some comfort for many frustrated Blues fans. A 20 game stretch of struggling to get on the scoresheet should be a concern, but a quality list such as this should provide the faith that the future is still incredibly bright for the Blues. With most of this future either in the Blues lineup (Perron, EJ, Oshie, Berglund, Polak and Backes) or very close to it (Eller, Bishop, Sonne, Palushaj, and Junland), the shine from this bright future shouldn’t be that far off.

With any luck it will arrive with some turkey this Thanksgiving weekend.

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Blues Gameday: 11-25-09 – Blues vs. Stars

By Jeff Quirin on November 25, 2009

Game Info

Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: Versus (HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

Given the Blues general lack of offensive production this year, an even split on the home stand should likely be considered a victory. The Blue snow more on to the friendly confines of opposing arenas to try to get their game going.


Food For Thought


Since the lock out the Blues have an 8-7-3 record against the Stars.

Chris Mason has yielded eight goals against in three games versus the Stars as a member of the Blues. Five of the eight were in the April 4th, 2009 game which was a 5-4 loss in Overtime. In his other two contests against Dallas Mason allowed two goals or less.

The Stars have 5 players who have as many points or more than the Blues leading scorer, Erik Johnson (15).

Richards – 28 points in 21 games.
Neal – 22 points (11 goals) in 19 games.
Eriksson – 20 points (9 goals) in 23 games.
Riberio – 19 points in 23 games.
Morrow – 15 points in 23 games.

Dallas is a stingy team. Their team GAA is 10th best in the NHL with an average of 2.65 goals against per game. Their offense is tied for 10th best in the NHL, scoring an average of 3 goals for per game. They have scored three goals or more in 13 of their 23 games. Dallas certainly likes to shoot the puck. They average 31.5 shots per game, 8th most per game in the NHL. Which is a far cry from last year’s Dallas team who averaged 2.73 goals for per game and allowed 3.06 per game. Marty Turco sure appears to be back and showing that the 08-09 campaign was a fluke.

In case you have missed Roman Polak so far this season, he has four points with a plus-4 rating in 19 + minutes on the ice a night. He has been shutting down the opponents top units very well. With the return of EJ and Brewer, Polak has seemingly been forgotten in terms of fan discussion and the blue line. I assure you Polak is doing well. What a fine top 4 stopper he is becoming.

Can the Blues find a way to convert?
Can David Backes find himself attacking the net again and not just hitting everyone?
Can Brad Boyes elevate his game to a higher level to be the top producer this team expects (and needs) him to be?
Can Paul Kariya shake off the rust of aging and tally a point or two?
Can Andy McDonald start attacking the net with his speed instead of rushing wide?
Can Berglund elevate his game and play an impactful game?

There is roughly $18 million in cap hits being questioned there. Roughly $18 million in cap hits that scored 4 goals over 30 total games played on the six game home stand. That is barely a pace of 11 goals over 82 games.

Something has to give:


David Backes scored so many goals in bunches last year. I just get the feeling at some point the monkey will fall off and he will put up a two goal, three point night.

Start taking the game to the net and using that big Minnesota body to clear some space. Getting dirty get him going, at some point the puck will have to go in for him.

Difference Makers:


Can the Blues power play rediscover its ability to convert? That could truly be the difference maker again. Too many games have gone by where the Blues could keep the game even or take a lead off a power play that has turned in to nothing.

Andy Strickland has a nice write up on the power play over at hockehbuzz.com.

Can the Dallas penalty kill handle the anemic Blues power play? All signs should point to “yes”. Maybe it’s finally the Blues turn to break out? Until the become less predictable and solidify a top 5 that can grow to each others tendencies, were going to see more of the same.

Player Notes:


Brad Boyes will be skating in his 350th career NHL game.

I would expect some changes to the line up after the loss Monday night. Hopefully we will be seeing Alex Pietrangelo get some ice time.

Dallas does love to scrap. I could see Brad Winchester playing in place of Patrik Berglund. Reunite the McSteenbeen line and roll a “4th line” of Winchester-Tkachuk-Janssen.

The Blues do have a day off before their back-to-back games with Nashville (Friday) and Detroit (Saturday). It is possible Mason gets the start versus Dallas and then gets two days off to come back against Detroit Saturday night. It’s also very possible Ty Conklin starts versus Dallas and Detroit and Mason goes against Nashville. I will do my best to update the blog later in the day once we find out who is expected to play.

Stars Forward James Neal should be back in the line up after serving his two game suspension for his hit on Columbus Blue Jackets forward Derek Dorsett.

Who to Watch for?

Paul Kariya

Kariya has had good games agains Dallas in the past while a part of the Blues. He could certainly use a big night in the Big D.

Kariya has had good games against Dallas in the past while a part of the Blues. He could certainly use a big night in the "Big D".

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Tuesday Morning Random Thoughts

By Jeff Quirin on November 24, 2009

- Did the warning shots fired by Team Owner Dave Checketts only go so far? Basically the big boss asked for consistency and living up to your ability to make an impact. Last night the Blues seemed to lose that touch that they had gained in the games versus Phoenix and New York. When the work ethic wasn’t as s strong as it should be from game to game you have to wonder about a players personal motivation level. TJ Oshie where did you go last night?

- After last night’s action the Blues are in the top 10 in terms of lowest GAA. They are currently ranked 6th best in the NHL, giving up an average of 2.48 goals against per game. This team has the ability to shut an opponent down. So why can it not turn that shut down play in to offensive opportunities? The Blues spend a fair share of their time in their own end preventing goals. Rather than using the neutral zone to cause turnovers and counter attack. Don’t get me wrong, they can do that, but that is not where the low GAA is coming from. This isn’t a possession team managing the puck well. This is a team absorbing attacks and the goalie ultimately repelling them.

- The least effective power play in the NHL belongs to the St. Louis Blues. Thought we had that stigma shook off. Lots of passing, not so much movement and we time warp back to 2007.

- David Backes, Paul Kariya, Brad Boyes, Patrik Berglund, and Andy McDonald accounted for four goals scored in the 6 game home stand. That is roughly $18million in cap hits producing four goals in 30 total games played. That’s a pace for 11 goals over 82 games played. How is this acceptable? I have a feeling at some point it won’t be. Then again, Brad Boyes has produced this poorly all season and there has been no consequences.

- If the Blues could get one “star player” that might be available, who should it be?
Eric Staal? Not likely available.
Vinny Lecavalier? Is he available and at what cost. That contract is a fair amount to swallow for a player who will stagnate or decline in production over the life of the contact.
Ilya Kovalchuk? What says he will sign here long term and not go back to Russia? What says Atlanta will really trade him?

It’s a nice thought, but there really isn’t anyone there. If the Blues are to get anyone it will be of second or third tier variety. Someone like a Joe Corvo or Eric Belanger. A lower level top 6 forward or lower level top 4 defenseman who doesn’t cost much from a team falling out of the playoff race. Then again, the Kariya signing and Stempniak trade were “out of the blue”, so we will see what Larry, Doug, and JD have in store.

- Can David Perron be the guy to break out and take over this team offensively? He certainly has the tools for it and he is starting to put together the game. Get Brad Boyes off his line and he could likely do more.

- Free Alex Pietrangelo. Make the decision and play the kid Wednesday versus Dallas. No offense to (or from) from Weaver, but I’d like to see Alex get in more games. Having that extra man who can carry the puck in deep and pinch in to keep the play moving is added offense the Blues could use more of.

- Kudos to coach Any Murray for putting the game in the skill. The Backes and McDonald lines lead in even strength time on ice last night versus Boston. Keep doing that and we will win more games than we lose.

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Recap 11-23-09: Blues vs Bruins

By Jeff Quirin on November 24, 2009

It’s the power play , stupid…

What a difference a season makes in terms of the power play. From worst in 07-08, to top 10 in 08-09, to worst in 09-10. To be honest, this is completely mind boggling. It’s the same cast of characters, so what gives? The Blues look out of sync bringing the puck up ice.  Many gaffes to be had by everyone. From clogging up each others skating space to bad mid range passes, Boston just ate it up all night.

Conversely, the Blues penalty kill sucked it up. Allowing two goals in three power play attempts. We saw last year how solid special teams can really make up for even strength short comings. This year were seeing improved even strength play and sub standard special teams. In all fairness, Boston was one of the top three or four offensive teams last season. They are due some credit. At the same time, the Blues penalty kill stepped it up on 4 top 10 power plays in a row earlier this year. Why did that go?

I thought the Blues were jumped early on in the first, but responded well. The tit for tat game lasted for four goals before Boston put the game out of reach. Like I said in the Gameday article, Boston is very capable of playing the stereotypical road game. Tight, physical, 100% effort, and good goal tending. Rask stole them the game that the Blues power play left in the car unlocked sitting on the driver’s seat.

I liked seeing the Blues defense jump in the play a little more than they had been. Erik Johnson and Carlo Colaiacovo made theirs, but the other four did their fair share as well. The Blues did a much better job of covering the defenseman going low by a forward getting high. Colaiacovo has looked much better since paired with EJ. I don’t think he is leeching off Erik, but that there is some legitimate chemistry there between the two. Very dynamic at even strength.

Once again the Blues got too too on multiple occasions and threw the puck in to bodies or through low percentage lanes that end up as nothing. I did notice several plays come back out high or were carried higher to open the middle back up. Boston did a good job, as other teams have, of clogging shooting and passing lanes. Too often the Blues are playing the perimiter and throwing the puck in instead of taking the puck to the net. Think of it as a guard coming around the corner to drive to the net in basketball. At some point you need to take the body (and the puck) to the net. You can draw pressure to create lanes or draw a penalty. For the Blues to take th enext step offensively, they need to better recognize those opportunities. seemed like the Blues lacked the desire to take the puck off the perimeter and in on net.

I was happy to see fewer soft turnovers on lateral passes coming in to the zone in transition. It was a welcome change to see the puck carrier pull up after backing up the defense and trow the puck on net.

David Backes certainly has the physical game going, but the power forward part isn’t there. He is looking like the 3rd line winger who might get 15 goals a year. Not the power forward who can score 25+ goals a season.

Coach Andy Murray deserves some credit. Even strength TOI was lead by the Backes line and then by the McDonald line. Those are the two lines we need to count on as our “#1 and #2″. After two very good games for the Backes line, tonight was as inconsistent as the previous two were consistent. Where I cannot give him credit is continuing to dress Cam Janssen and give him a minute amount of minutes. I don’t care if Murray doesn’t trust Cam with more minutes or if he thinks Cam can’t do it. Someone who can fill more than 4 minutes on the ice needs to play. Why Brad Winchester would sit after two good games is beyond me. Murray said him self that Brad played two very good games against Phoenix and San Jose, yet he sits once Alex Steen returned. News flash, Brad can skate better than Cam, can provide offense better than Cam, and can hold his own in a fight. If Cam can’t play more than five minutes, don’t dress him.

Brad Boyes can use a few more beatings. I won’t dish those out, he should be beating himself up for being invisible and ineffective over large stretches of ice time and games.

After two solid games, Patrik Berglund regressed tonight. Not so effective and border line invisible.

Hard to bench a guy like Mike Weaver when he does his job so well…most of the time. At some point, is he a legit top 6 defenseman? I would think so, but an the Blues justify having a pure defense only guy in Weaver play every day? Not when Brewer and Jackman are below average in terms of offensive impact out of a top 4 defenseman.

Boy was it an odd night for Chris Mason. At times he just looked out of it, but when it came time for big saves, he made some big ones. It wasn’t his best night, but the offense should be good enough to overcome  a bad goal against or two. Feel free to disagree, but Mason is starting to remind me of Marc-Andre Fluery in Pittsburgh. In the fact that when a big save is needed to keep you in a game, he can deliver. Mason did give up four goals, but he also made multiple key stops to give the Blues a fighting chance.

The next test for the Blues won’t be any easier. They will travel to Dallas for a Wednesday showdown on Versus. The Stars have won three of their last four games andare in 5th place in teh West. Are we saying do or die already? I hope not, but the Blues cannot afford to keep giving away needed points.

Player of the Game

Tuukka Rask

Rask stopped 29 of 31 Blues shots Monday to defeat the Blues 4-2.

Rask stopped 29 of 31 Blues shots Monday to defeat the Blues 4-2.


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Blues Gameday: 11-23-09 – Blues vs. Bruins

By Jeff Quirin on November 23, 2009

Game Info

Location: Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO
Game-time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: FSMW (HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

What a difference a weekend makes. What a difference a summer makes.

The Bruins were struggling early on, but currently sit in the 8th position in the Eastern Conference. No Kessel, injuries to Savard/Lucic/Krecji, and less than stellar play by goalie Tim Thomas will take you from #1 to #8. How they have changed since losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blues were the worst home team in the NHL till late last week. The Blues looked very good running over the Islanders on Sunday and taking two points in OT versus the Phoenix Coyotes. Seven goals in two games is certainly enough when you have Chris Mason between the pipes. He is looking the part of Vezina winner than Thomas is these days.

Food For Thought

The Blues lost at home last season to the Bruins in grand fashion, 6-3. Remember the fancy shorty the Blake Wheeler scored last season, yeah it was that game. The Blues need to find a way to remove the demons of last season’s loss on Scottrade ice. It would go a very long way in confidence building, something the Blues really could use to end the six game home stand.

I’m sure Boston wants a little payback for the Blues season saving win in Boston. Boston had that game till Backes scored with basically no time left to push the game to Overtime. The Blues took two points on in the shootout. Boston didn’t lose much sleep over it, as they still went on to be tops in the East. However, Boston will be looking for motivation and that game will serve them well.

Boston finished their 08-09 regular season averaging 3.29 goals for per game, second best in the NHL. Through a quarter of the 09-10 season they are second lowest in the NHL, averaging 2.27 goals for per game. I know they have had injuries, but think they miss Phil Kessel at all?

Which Goalie will the Blues face tonight? If it is Tim Thomas, which version of Thomas will it be? The Vezina quality game changer from last year that has played the last two/three weeks or are you the guy who let in 4 goals or more in three of his first five starts? I am personally pulling for the guy who gave up six goals to the injury depleted Penguins on the 14th. The Blues do need to be concerned on which goalie they get. Do they get good Thomas,bad Thomas, or the seemingly solid Tuukka Rask? Boston certainly has the size and know how to play a good road game. If Boston can dictate play, Thomas or Rask can easily steal the game.

How can the Blues steal this game? The same effort and dedication that the had Saturday night. I have been impressed with the Blues transition play lately, it has been improving. The key tonight is to convert on those chances and make smart decisions with the puck. Turn it in to the corner for a cycle if you are going to blindly pass it in to the middle (cough, Brad, cough).  Having Chris Mason in the net always helps too.

Something has to give:

How often do I mention the power play? Just about every Gameday write up.

Coming in to tonight’s action the Bruins are 29th overall and the Blues are 30th overall. There is just too much talent between both teams to be that poor on the man advantage.

Difference Makers:

A difference maker is not always making a positive impact. Brad Boyes has been a fan whipping boy due to his perceived lack of effort and rather streaky play. This season has certainly been no different. Brad Boyes has failed to tally a point in 14 of his 21 games. In those 14 games he has a minus-10 rating.

Now I don’t like blindly quoting +/- rating, but in this case, it says something. In the games where he isn’t scoring, he isn’t doing much else. You see if it you watch the game. He rarely takes a hit to make a play, he is coughing in lazy offensive zone turnovers, and seems out of synch in the zone. The +/- is a fairly accurate representation of Boyes level of play right now.

Perhaps he can get rolling against his old team?

Player Notes:

Per Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, expect the lines ups for tonight to be the same as Saturday night. Chris Mason will be between the pipes.

Daryl Sydor, Brad Winchester, and Alex Pietrangelo will be taking the game in from up stairs.

Bruins Star Center Marc Savard is expected to return to action tonight after missing 15 games with an injured foot.

Here is Boston’s expected line up:

Sturm – Savard – Bitz

Wheeler – Krecji – Ryder

Lucic – Bergeron – Recchi

Paille – Begin – Thronton

Chara – Morris

Ference – Wideman

Stuart – Hunwick’

Rask (Starter)

Thomas

Who to Watch for?

Marc Savard

So what if he is too chicken to fight Sidney Crosby without a visor (which I do hold against him, I digress)? In his career in Boston he has 173 points in 163 games played. He could be the spark their lowly offense desperately needs.

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