Q’s Cuties: Blues @ Sabres 2-18
Welcome to tonight’s Cutie Watch! Life is still scattered all over the place…. and it doesn’t seem like the Blues are holding their own much more than I am these days! Halak is the latest Blue to succumb to injury; he was places on injured reserve yesterday with a hand injury. On a positive note, fans will likely see Ben Bishop in action at sometime while Halak is out. This tall guy is a sweetie (we have met him twice at Race for the Cure) and is definitely getting close to making a full time jump from Peoria to St. Louis in the next season or two. The Blues wins and losses have been baffling, at least to me. I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan scratching her head after a win against the top team in the league, Vancouver, after losing, twice, to a team closer to us in standings. The Blues need to get their heads on straight as we approach the trade deadline if they can even hope for a chance to make a play off run. Here is who my eye will be on tonight:
Patrick Berglund #21: This cutie seems to have awakened on the ice in recent weeks. After a point drought for most of December and the first half of January, Berglund now has 11 points (7 goals, 4 assists) in his last 11 games. He has had a goal in 4 of his last 5 games. His point streak really seemed to take off when TJ Oshie returned to the line up. Are these “youngsters” feeding off of each other’s energy on their line, or is it purely coincidence? I’m willing to bet that Oshie’s return has helped Berguland to re-energize his game. Watch for this cutie to keep being a point maker for the Blues tonight in Buffalo (with Oshie at his side, of course!).
Sabres Cutie to Watch: Buffalo’s record should look familiar to Blues fans; their 27-23-6 record is almost identical to the Blues 25-21-9. The Sabres, however, beat the Blues 5-3 at their last meeting in 2009. Much has changed since that meeting, but the teams seem to be pretty evenly matched when looking just at wins and losses. The Sabres have won 3 of their last 5 games, and they have scored 3 or more goals in 7 of their last 10 games- and 4 of those had 5 or more goals! The Sabres offense is good at scoring, and the Blues defense will need to keep on their toes if they hope to win tonight’s game. I’ll have my eye on:
Thomas Vanek #16, Left Wing: This cutie leads the Sabres with 49 points. He is second on the team for goals (22). Obviously Vanek is one of the reasons that the Sabres are able to have numerous high-scoring games. This cutie has points in 3 of his last 5 games. He has 9 power play goals and 4 game winning goals this season; he is a player who makes a difference for Buffalo. Keep your eye on this cutie to be looking to add to his point total against the Blues tonight; the Sabres have lost their last 2 home games and they will be looking to snap that stretch tonight.
