Throwdown Lowdown – Ducks @ Blues, 02-19-11
“FOLLOW-THROUGH!” Image via Zimbio
In a game that was emotional for the Blues as they traded away their Captain and, for many fans, arguably their most “on-ice controversial” player in Eric “Captain Roboto” Brewer (as in, there’s controversy between Blues fans as to what he’s doing on the ice) before the game, the Blues came out strong and won 3-0 behind some stellar defense and a shutout performance from Ty Conklin. While there should have probably been some fisticuffs by ANYONE against Patrick Kaleta after his dirty shot that knocked Carlo Colaiacovo out of the contest, there were none to be had (but it came close, at least). The Blues stay at 55 fighting majors on the season, still good for third in the NHL by themselves, and obviously they remain at a fight record of 22-16-17. And we won’t even discuss what happened AFTER the game. Something about a former number one draft pick being traded away. Yeah, I know.
Loyal readers of the Throwdown Lowdown report will note that I have mentioned the Anaheim Ducks on many occasions in this space. There’s good reason for it – they are quite simply one of the best fighting teams in the National Hockey League. We have covered the Ducks twice this season (October 11th and January 12th), and combined in those two contests, the Blues and Ducks have fought seven times. What’s interesting to note as I tracked the fights is that several of the contestants of these fights do not play for their respective teams anymore . . . but we will get to that in due time. Meanwhile, let’s note that the Ducks have collected 53 fighting majors this season, good for fourth in the NHL by themselves and right behind our beloved St. Louis Blues. Their fight record, for a team that fights as much as they do, is somewhat middling at 17-13-23.
The leading fighter for the Ducks, and the leading individual fighter in the NHL, is George Parros (6’5”, 222lbs, 9-3-9 including a win over Barret Jackman) with 21 fights on the season. The rest of the team’s fight distribution is relatively even, starting with Sheldon Brookbank (6’1”, 200lbs, 2-1-2), Aaron Voros (6’4”, 215lbs, 2-2-1 including a destruction of now former Blue Brewer, traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week) and Kyle Chipchura (6’2”, 206lbs, 0-1-4 including a loss to Ryan Reaves) with five fights each. Luca Sbisa (6’2”, 204lbs, 0-0-3 including a draw with Brewer) and Andy Sutton (6’6”, 245lbs, 0-1-2, and I am an expert) each have fought three times. Matt Beleskey (6’0”, 204lbs, 2-0-0 including a win over Vladimir “Sobe Sobe” Sobotka), Ryan Carter (6’2”, 200lbs, 1-1-0 as a Duck, traded to Carolina and 0-1-1 afterward – 1-2-1 overall) and Corey Perry (6’3”, 206lbs, 0-0-2) each with two fights. One fight each as Anaheim Ducks this season would include Bobby Ryan (6’2”,208lbs, win . . . sorta . . . over a pre-concussion David Perron that didn’t want to fight and was not assessed a fighting major), Troy Bodie (6’4”, 214lbs, Loss, 1-3-4 as a Hurricane and 1-4-4 overall), Brendan Mikkelson (6’3”, 205lbs, Loss . . . to the now-traded Erik Johnson, Mikkelson was traded to Calgary a while back), Maxime Lapierre (6’2”, 207lbs, Loss . . . to BJ Crombeen, also 0-2-0 with Montreal) and Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf (6’4”, 220lbs, Loss).
So, with all the trading that happened last night and this morning, it’s really not hard to decipher what may happen tonight. There’s going to be a bunch of fights tonight, I do believe. So I won’t even try to pick one.
Back home after a successful one-game road trip? Plus a set of trades? There’s only one thing to do.
LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!
Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights
