Q’s Cuties: Blues vs Sharks 12-18

Welcome to tonight’s cutie watch!  I’d like to start with a reminder to all that tonight is the second Festival of Trees and Toys for Tots game!  It’s your chance to bid on a tree created by a Blues player to benefit the 14 Fund or give a toy to a child in need this Christmas.  Toys for Tots does great work, and remember that even a toy that cost you $5 can make a huge difference on Christmas morning for a kid who wouldn’t have gotten any other toys this year.  Check out more information in my Christmas Charity blog.

The Blues had a big morale booster the other night against the Kings.  A 6-4 win against a team that had been on a winning streak had to feel good to the team, and I know that the fans loved it too.  Better news: Erik Johnson’s knee injury isn’t serious and we should expect him back in the line up soon.  Tonight, the Blues must keep the energy from Thursday flowing if they want to take a win against the Sharks for the second time this season.  I won’t be around on Twitter for Blues info tonight during the game- we are headed up to Peoria to see the Rivermen in action!

Can this Cutie keep his game on the upswing?

Here’s who I’ll have my eye on (when I watch the game tomorrow afternoon):

Patrick Berglund #21:  Are we finally seeing this cutie living up to his potential? Although Berglund didn’t earn any points in the win against the Kings, he stood at only a minus-1 for the evening, and he looked great on the ice.  He had 4 shots on goal against the Kings, which brings him to a total of 15 shots in his last 5 games.  He also has 3 points in his last 5 games.  Compare that to 19 shots and 7 total points in the previous 10 games (from November 15 to December 4) and you can see the positive trend that Berglund is on.  We are starting to see the type of game fans have expected from Berglund.  Keep your eye on this cutie to see if he can keep the pressure on.  (Also, if you want to see a video from Berglund that made my whole family laugh, check out the Blues Holiday Greetings video- Berglund is in the orange package!)

Sharks Cutie to Watch:  The Sharks are headed to St. Louis for the third game of a 3 game road trip.  So far, they have won one game, in overtime, and lost one game.  Their last road trip was 5 games long, and they won 3 out of those 5 games.  The Sharks are 16-11-5 so far this season, but the last time they came to St. Louis they lost 2-0, with a “healthy” David Perron scoring 1 of the 2 Blues goals.  The last game the Sharks were in town for, November 4, was the game in which Perron took an elbow to the head from Joe Thornton that caused a flurry of media attention and ended with Perron suffering from a concussion that he still hasn’t returned to action from.  Tonight should be an interesting game in the first meet up of these teams since the eventful post game blogs and attention.

This Cutie will be looking to continue his hot streak in St. Louis

Here’s who has my attention tonight:

Ryane Clowe #29, Leftwing:  This cutie is breaking out of the pack to take on the “big 3″ of the Sharks top line.  He has had points in 3 of his last 5 games, with a total of 5 points in those games.  Clowe currently has 29 points this season and sits in second on the team for points, just 2 behind Heatey and 1 ahead of Thornton. He also has 42 penalty minutes this season, but none in his last 12 games.  Has this forward figured out that the key to his game is to keep things clean?  Keep an eye on this cutie to make plays in front of the net; he has been on a hot streak and will be looking to continue it in St. Louis.