Throwdown Lowdown – Ducks @ Blues 10-11-10

The best-looking, smartest goon hockey has ever seen. Image via hfboards.com

I start by correcting myself – my dream match-up from the opener pitted Arron Asham against Cam Janssen.  I then realized after the fact that Asham had signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason.  Whoops!  Sorry about that one.  Amazingly, my article in the printed issue of St. Louis Game Time was fine.  Anyway, I apologize, and I hope something like that won’t happen again, but this is the blogosphere and we’re all allowed some leeway, I guess.

The St. Louis Blues home/regular season opener was a grand success – a grand ceremony for Brett Hull’s new statue, a wonderful on-ice pre-game ceremony, a Blues overtime victory and . . . you guessed it . . . A FIGHT!  Well, it wasn’t much of one, but it counts anyway.  After Brad Winchester LEVELED Cam Janssen – knocking Janssen out of the game – Winchester, who thought it was the actions of Scott Hartnell (who was in the area of the hit) that knocked Janssen to the ground, popped up and went after Hartnell.  The actions that ensued can best be described as a wash; at worst a draw.  Video evidence of this nearly non-fight is here.

There are certain teams that make this segment extremely easy to write.  The Ducks of Anaheim are one of those teams – last season they led the NHL in fights contested with 78.  Considering their personnel and that they were not a great team last season, this comes as no shock.  What DOES stun some people is their record in these fights – a paltry 18-26-34.  They were led, unsurprisingly, by the world’s smartest goon – Princeton man George Parros – with 20 fights (4-8-8).  He was followed by Mike Brown with 13 (3-5-5), 8 each by Sheldon Brookbank (1-3-4), Troy Bodie (0-3-5) and Kyle Chipchura (3-0-5 as a duck, 3-1-6 overall), James Wisniewski with 4 (2-0-2) and 3 each by Matt Beleskey (2-1-0), Ryan Getzlaf (1-1-1), Corey Perry (0-1-2) and Nick Boynton (0-2-1 as a Duck, 0-4-1 overall).  Those with one fight each last season included Brett Festerling (Loss), Ryan Carter (Loss), Petteri Nokelainen (Win), Brad Brown (Draw) and Evgeny Artyukhin (Win, plus another win as a Thrasher).

In addition, the Ducks have already fought three times in THIS young season – a win by Brookbank, a loss by Perry and a loss by Bodie.

Since the Blues are not averse to fighting, you could imagine there were several fights between the Ducks and Blues last season.  You’d imagine right!  BJ Crombeen took down Mike Brown on October 17th in Anaheim, David Backes eviscerated Perry on January 7th in Anaheim, Brad Winchester worked a draw with Bodie on January 23rd in St. Louis and Crombeen worked another victory over Mike Brown on April 9th in St. Louis.  Click the dates for videos of each fight.

With Janssen likely out with a head injury (thanks, Winchester), the dream matchup of the evening becomes Brad Winchester vs. Parros (if he plays).  Your dream undercard would be Crombeen vs. Ducks newcomer Aaron Voros, who match up quite well size-wise.  A rematch between Perry and Backes?  Well, that would be just awesome, as would a fight between Backes and Getzlaf.

Columbus Day brings a rare weekday afternoon game to St. Louis.  Hopefully they play like it was Saturday night and everything’s loose.  Also, expect blood – these two teams like to fight.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights