Game Day Preview- Vancouver Canucks vs St. Louis Blues

Vancouver Canucks

(6-5-1)

vs

St. Louis Blues 

(5-6-0)

at

 Scott Trade Center

7:00 PM (CST)

TV Coverage: FSMW (HD)

Radio Coverage: KMOX 1120 AM

Tonight is the Cardinals Night at the Blues.  Look for Tony LaRussa to do a ceremonial puck drop and for Cardinals players to be in attendance.  Also, wear your Cardinals gear to the game tonight for a “buy one get one free” hot dog deal at the concession stands!

Blues Team Recap- The St. Louis Blues come back home licking their wounds from a pretty embarrassing game in Edmonton on Sunday night. The Blues took a beating in a 4-2 loss to the Oilers, who took the majority of the play straight at the Blues. Goal tender Jaroslav Halak, while not stellar, kept the Blues from being absolutely blown out. The game in Edmonton could not be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Blues #1 net minder. The team could not clear pucks, make passes, or retain possession long enough to make any difference. Over all the effort put forth looked deplorable and it makes one wonder why the team this season refuses to play well in front of Halak. With a long stretch of games coming at home, it should be very evident which way this team will swing this season. Its time for the team to shake off the dust and get this season headed in the right direction.

Blues Keys To The Game- If we look back to the game against the Canucks last Wednesday it is very evident what the team needs to do to be successful. Keeping the Sedin sisters, I mean twins, off the score sheet is probably the most important goal of all. Barret Jackman and Kevin Shattenkirk did a great job keeping the Swedish diving sisters from making a tally. Keep the pressure on the Canuck goaltenders. Getting shots on the net and getting traffic in the shooting lanes, while fundamental, is an important part of the Blues ability to score goals. Chris Stewart, Patrik Berglund, and TJ Oshie need to get their offensive act in gear and get the puck in the net. It is something that more fans then not are clamoring over and that is the PP. The Blues MUST start to score PP goals on a more constant basis if they want to even think of sniffing out a post season bid. Dead last in the NHL on the PP is not a place for a team to be who is looking to get back into the play-offs.

Canucks Team Recap- The Canucks are coming off 2 decisive wins this past week. Vancouver was a 7-4 winner over the Washington Capitals and a 5-1 victor over Calgary Flames. The Canucks have not played to their potential yet this season. If the Canucks can play the way they played in their last two games the ship will be righted fairly quickly. Continued success for this team will rely on offensive production from their top forward line and top notch goal tending from their high priced back stopper in Roberto Luongo. Luongo has been absolutely terrible this season and continues to play second fiddle to Cory Schneider, whom has kept the Canucks out of the cellar of the NHL. Keep an eye on this high powered team. The Canucks will not be denied offensive production for to long and when they start clicking look out.

Canucks Keys To The Game- The whale-tales from BC will look to control the flow of the game against St. Louis tonight; looking to keep the Blues outside the circles and maintain puck possession for the bulk of the game. Those two things will keep the Blues from getting their chances in front of the Vancouver net minder. If the Blues come out with a ton of  physicality and speed the Canucks will need to meet that aggression and take it right back at the Blues. Getting on the board early against this Blues team seems to be the best answer when looking to shut their psyche down. Early leads seem to take the wind out of this teams sails, and the collective breath from the boisterous fans in St. Louis. If a team can play a full 60 minutes of hockey against the Blues so far this season, they have proven they will get their chances to capitalize on the Blues. Big goals from their top guys such as Henrik and or Daniel Sedin will give them the boost they may need to snatch two points away from the Blues.

Blues News- David Perron has again this week skated with the team in practice. David continues to grow stronger as each day passes. A late November comeback is starting to creep in to the minds of some of the beat writers for the Blues, but no definite time table has been given as to his return. Andy McDonald remains out with a concussion. No new details have surfaced on his condition and the team has kept a silent approach to his well being. With McDonald’s history with concussions, we may very well have seen Andy McDonald for the last time this season.. Time will only tell the story on when and how Andy will return to the line up. BJ Crombeen remains on the IR as well with no time table for a return with a fractured scapula. Defensmen Kent Huskins, whom was noted to be out with an ankle fracture suffered in the game against Calgary, was noted this week to only have a deep bone bruise. Huskins is listed as day to day this week and will be a game day decision for Friday’s game against Vancouver.

Charity News- Blue Note Zone’s Kelly Quirin posted this week a chance to big on a Blue’s hat signed by Kevin Shattenkirk along with other Blues players. Proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Demitra Korolev 38 fund. I would encourage you to check out her post here on BlueNoteZone and leave your bid in the comments section.

Ownership News- Yesterday Blues writer Andy Strickland came out with a post stating that a local tie might possibly be drawn to the Enterpriser Rent-a-car franchise, which is a locally run company. Stay tuned for more ownership news!