Tonight, the Blues head to Nashville for the start of a three game road trip.  Jason Arnott left last night’s game with a shoulder injury after a hit by Dustin Brown, and is questionable for tonight’s game against the Predators.

Game Info

Location: Nashville

Opposing Netminder: Pekka Rinne (Daily Faceoff)

Expected Line Combos: (Per Lou Korac)

Forwards:
WITH Arnott in the game:
Sobotka – Backes – Oshie
Perron – Berglund – Stewart
Langenbrunner – Arnott – D’Agostini
Crombeen – Nichol – Reaves

WITHOUT Arnott in the game:
Perron – Backes – Oshie
D’Agostini – Berglund – Stewart
Porter – Sobotka – Langenbrunner
Crombeen – Nichol – Reaves

Defensemen Pairings:
Colaiacovo – Pietrangelo
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Russell – Polak

Game #50 St. Louis Blues vs. Los Angeles Kings | February 3, 2012

After a long All Star break, the St. Louis Blues hoped to shake the rust off early when they hosted the Los Angeles Kings. The Blues went back to work with large help from Jaroslav Halak who posted his fifth shut out of the year in a 1-0 victory.

The scoreless first was not without action. The best scoring chance came from the hands of David Perron who ripped one of the post. The hard hitting a strong defensive play would continue through out the game.

Midway through the second with great play forcing his way down the boards past Drew Doughty, Matt D’Agostini made the pass to the middle for the one timer from Jamie Langenbrunner for the first and only goal of the game. Langenbrunner had an open net to shoot at with Jonathan Quick out of position expecting the shot from D’Agostini.

With a minute left in the second a great save by Halak kept the Blues lead. On the doorstep with a sure back hand goal, the quick leg of Halak robbed Colin Fraser.

The Blues goaltender continued his exceptional play into the third culminating with a steal that would land most in jail. A rebound from a shot from the point left Justin Williams with easy work to tie the game with five minutes to go. Another fast leg resulted in another lost goal.

After being hit whilst taking a shot, the off balanced Jason Arnott took an awkward fall into the boards and left the game with a shoulder injury.

The Kings may have edged the Blues in total hits, but Ryan Reaves and Roman Polak were punishing Kings out on the ice with nine hits between them.

Up Next: Saturday the Blues travel to Nashville.

If you remember the old Roller Hockey International League, this guy – Francis Bouillon – played in it. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

It can never be pretty, but it can always be effective. That’s a pretty accurate description of many of the St. Louis Blues’ wins this season, and the 1-0 victory last night over the Los Angeles Kings was no exception to that edict. Despite some excitement, there were no fighting majors issued in this contest, so the Blues remain at 24 fighting majors collected on the National Hockey League season, which is good for 12th place all by their lonesome in said category. The Blues’ fight record remains at 12-2-10.

There’s no rest for the weary, so the Blues now take the short flight to Tennessee for a date with the Nashville Predators. Over recent years, experts have taken to calling the Preds the “Detroit Red Wings of the South”. I disagree with it for several reasons . . . 1) The Wings tend to retain their young talent, the Preds do not. 2) Preds fans are, on average, more likable than Wings fans, judging by Preds fans’ tolerance of me through drunken ramblings while in their presence in their fair city, as opposed to idiotic screed I’ve seen from Wings fans over the years. 3) Playoff success over the years is just not matched between the two. 4) As much as I like Shea Weber as a player (and I think he’s one of the best defenseman in the league), he probably won’t ever hold a candle to Nicklas Lidstrom, simply one of the greatest defensemen I’ve ever seen. 5) Pekka Rinne blows Jimmy Howard out of the water talent-wise and in terms of long-term success potential. And finally . . . 6) Downtown Nashville is about a gazillion times better than Downtown Detroit. We’ve covered the Preds three times here on the Throwdown Lowdown report previously (October 8th, December 17th and December 30th). Since the last time the Blues played the Preds, only two fights have been added, so they’re now up to 15 fighting majors on the season, good for a tie for 23rd place in the NHL with the now-less-than-truculent Toronto Maple Leafs in that category. Despite the lack of fights, their fight record is pretty decent at 7-4-4.

Preds players who have fought this year begin with journeyman enforcer Brian McGrattan (6’4”, 235lbs, 4-1-0) with five fighting majors on the season and one of my least favorite NHL players, Jordin Tootoo (5’9”, 199lbs, 2-0-1), with three. Solo fighters include newly-acquired Brandon Yip (6’1”, 195lbs, Win as a Predator, had not fought as an Avalanche player this season), Blake Geoffrion (6’1”, 190lbs, Draw, currently with AHL Milwaukee), Matt Halischuk (6’0”, 185lbs, Draw), Mike Fisher (6’1”, 208lbs, Draw), Colin Wilson (6’1”, 210lbs, Loss), Francis Bouillon (5’8”, 198lbs, Loss) and Zack Stortini (6’4”, 215lbs, Loss to Ryan Reaves, currently with AHL Milwaukee).

Will there be a fight in this one? It’s not overly likely, but I will not rule it out. Other than video clips, I’ve never seen Bouillon get into a fight. The problem here is that while he’s tougher than a two-dollar steak, he’s undersized, limiting his matchup options. But he could go with someone like Scott Nichol, I suppose, in a fight that would be chock full of grit.

So . . . one win over Nashville. Would it kill you boys to do this much?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Patrik Berglund was the lone goal scorer in regulation play for the Blues against the Penguins.

So far BNZ readers are getting shut out in the Pick the Goal Scorer contest! Only one person picked Patrik Berglund as the first to score for the Blues against the Penguins.  She is our only correct guesser thus far! Hopefully tonight brings better luck! Remember, we are keeping a tally of right answers for a prize at the end of the season (prize TBD)!

Tonight, the Blues are back in action after 9 days of rest.  The Los Angeles Kings are in St. Louis tonight in their second game since the All Star Break. Who will make the first mark against the Kings tonight?

Game Info

Location: St. Louis

Opposing Netminder: Jonathan Quick (Daily Faceoff)

Expected Line Combos: These are tonight’s expected lines per Jeremy Rutherford

Sobotka – Backes – Oshie
Perron- Berglund – Stewart
D’Agostini- Arnott – Langenbrunner
Crombeen – Nichol – Reaves

Colaiacovo – Pietrangelo
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Russell – Polak

I wish the Kings wore these uniforms all the time, actually. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Geez, that was a while away from hockey, wasn’t it? I can barely remember who played against the St. Louis Blues in their last game . . . oh wait, now I remember! It was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who were able to sneak out of St. Louis with a 3-2 shootout win. Despite another stupid hit by Matt Cooke on Barret Jackman on which some folks, SERIOUSLY, accuse Jackman of diving (I MEAN, REALLY? FACE-FIRST INTO THE BOARDS? WOW. Sorry, Wysh, that’s not what happened there.), there were no fights in this contest. That’s okay, though, I would’ve rather had a win. Alas . . . the Blues have collected 24 fighting majors on the National Hockey League season, which is good for a 11th place tie with the Winnipeg Jets in said category. The Blues’ fight record remains at 12-2-10.

The team’s first opponent after the break comes in off a very controversial regulation victory on Wednesday . . . yes, it’s the Los Angeles Kings! We have covered the Kings twice in this space this season (October 18th and November 22nd). You may recall that the Blues lost both of those games, but Terry Murray was still the Kings’ coach back then. But, the Blues beat the Kings four times in the 2010-2011 season. Hockey is such a zany game, eh? Anyway, the Kings have a few fighters but are definitely not considered to be part of hockey’s elite fighting teams, especially since Darryl Sutter took over, which is amazing when you think about what kind of game all the Sutters played. Oh well . . . the Kings have collected 18 fighting majors on the NHL season, good for 21st in the league by themselves in that category. Their fight record is not exactly pretty, at 3-6-9.

The Kings are led in fights by Kyle Clifford (6’2”, 208lbs, 1-2-3) with six fights on the season. Following him is former Blackhawk Colin Fraser (6’1”, 191lbs, 1-3-1 including a draw with Scott Nichol that shouldn’t have even counted as a fight) with five fights. Veteran brawler Kevin Westgarth (6’4”, 234lbs, 1-0-1), former Flyers Captain Mike Richards (5’11”, 199lbs, 0-0-2) and Willie Mitchell (6’3”, 208lbs, 0-1-1) each have fought twice. Your lone solo fighter on this Kings squad is pancake-eating extraordinaire Dustin Penner (6’4”, 242lbs, Draw).

Westgarth DID play on Wednesday, but he has been used sparingly as of late, so while he is their best fighter, there is no guarantee he’ll even play. Look for Clifford to want a rematch with Ryan Reaves after getting destroyed by Reaves on one punch in a fight last season, as that rematch has yet to happen. Otherwise, look for a great battle between two solid teams fighting for Western Conference playoff positioning.

Grease the tires and light the fires, boys. It’s time to march toward the playoffs, and a win over the Kings would be a great kick-off.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

These campaigns will not come without their talking points as all debates go when trying to win the heart of their target. Some thought he may have been sporting the Blue Note as early as this season. Unlike this year, there were not multiple pros and multiple cons that came with his decision to stay in Sibir.

There was one.

Pro, making an NHL team out of camp. Con, not making an NHL team out of camp.

Deciding to stay in Russia was a smart move that allowed him to develop his game for another season. This move also saved the Blues from burning the first year of his contract.

The decision this summer will have much more on the table then last season. Tarasenko will make the Blues roster if he comes over so last year’s dilemma is not an issue. The decision this summer can be broken down more in depth as former player Alexander Khavanov has discussed here. This is where the campaigning gains heat.

Reasons to stay in Russia are many. Tarasenko is bound to make more money there than in St. Louis – for now. The collective bargaining dispute cannot be predicted but the NHL was almost torn apart by the last lockout and that is not likely to happen again. But the Blues’ history with Russians and Ken Hitchcock’s history with Russians should not be a factor.

Evgeny Grachev is the only Blues Russian player after trading Nikita Nikitin early in the season. Grachev is not on the NHL roster. This is not because of where he was born and not because of the language he speaks. Having had twenty four NHL games already with the big club – compared to eight with his former New York Rangers – Grachev was sent to the AHL for lack of space with a forward deep St. Louis Blues. Likewise, Nikitin, while Russian, could not keep a spot on St. Louis’ blue line because of the defensive depth of the club. His nationality played no part of his trade.

Hitchcock has developed a misunderstood reputation when it comes to Russian players. Yes, everyone can quickly find examples of poor results between the two parties. But such examples will follow the same pattern of other immature players squaring off with other hot headed coaches. Also, Russians are not the only players that leave the NHL over disputes. To gloss over the whole picture of his prior relationships that went sour is misleading. But then again, that is how campaigns work.

Another non factor that is being campaigned as a hot issue is being part of the national team. With out a doubt Tarasenko will be noticed if he is playing on a top club in Russia  and would likely make team Russia for the Olympics. However, a player of this caliber is going to be noticed wherever he plays. He will likely make the national team if he is in St. Louis as well. If he is cut from the team it will not be because of where he plays professionally. Unless Russia has hurt feelings about leaving the homeland.

To even mention cultural and language barriers as a reason to stay in Russia is laughable. Tarasenko has a grasp of the English language evidenced by interviews. Culturally, it is not hard to find reasons to prefer crossing the ocean over facing the horrors of playing in the KHL.

As most young hockey players go, the ultimate prize to be won is the Stanley Cup. While an Olympic gold medal usually follows a close second, Lord Stanley’s award to the champions of the NHL is the most desired. Many hockey players have expressed this same sentiment. On the contrary, how often does an aspiring professional hockey player mention the Gagarin Cup?

The campaigning continues with Decision 2012.

For example, last year, the Blues were a young team with a solid nucleus with which to draw on. But apart from the likes of Ty Conklin, Barret Jackman and Andy McDonald, there were no veterans around to draw experience from. When you also have a coach like Davis Payne that has a limited amount of experience outside the organization, that situation can turn into a disaster. What did they learn? 1) You can’t always lean on youth. 2) A young coach with young players is not always the way to go. How did they fix those two issues? 1) Sign veteran players who have been through the rigors of successful playoff season (Jason Arnott, Jamie Langenbrunner, Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins). 2) Relieve Payne of his duties (though they waited until November to do this) and hire Ken Hitchcock, an ultra-experienced coach with a Stanley Cup ring on his resume.

At the time David Perron went down in early November 2010 with a concussion, the Blues were flying high and considered one of the darlings of the 2010-2011 season. AFTER the Perron injury, which kept him out of the lineup until this past December, combined with the injuries of many other key players, the team’s season basically went into the crapper, never to return to the level it had attained earlier because the AHL players who were called up (the likes of TJ Hensick, Nathan Oystrick and others) were not even close to replacement-level. What did the team learn? You can’t predict injuries, so it’s good to have some depth at both the NHL and AHL level that can step in and produce. How did they fix this issue? The aforementioned signings of Arnott, Langenbrunner, Nichol and Huskins, combined with other signings to supplement youth such as Jonathan Cheechoo, Danny Syvret, Brett Sterling and others who could reasonably step in and do damage at the NHL level if called upon (though, obviously, the team would like it not to come to that even yet). One of my favorite sports sayings is “It’s better to be lucky than good”, and the Blues’ luck with injuries this year is a crowning success on that front, but it’s nice that the team has some players to fall back on in case it, ummmm, DOES hit the fan.

Last year, when Jaroslav Halak struggled around mid-season, the Blues had the aforementioned veteran backup, Conklin, behind him. As much as I like ConkBlock as a person and as a competitor, he just was not to the level of Halak by any stretch of the imagination, and at times the Blues had to let Halak slumber along and struggle to stop pucks basically because they had no one else to turn to. Ben Bishop was called up when Halak was injured, and as much as I like The Bish, he is yet to be anywhere near the level Halak is. What did the Blues learn from this? If you have a young goaltender, you need a strong backup in case he struggles. What did they do to fix the problem? With Jake Allen down the pipeline as the envied Goalie Of The Future™ but not yet ready to take the reins of a possible year-in year-out playoff team, the Blues took a flier on a young veteran goaltender with recent starting experience named Brian Elliott, signing him to a one-year two-way contract while giving him a shot to win the backup goaltender job. You may have heard of him . . . this, also, shows the “better to be lucky than good” quote to be true on both the Blues and Elliott’s parts – the Blues getting a player who ended up having an All-Star caliber season after signing him to a do-or-die contract, Elliott backstopping one of the top defensive teams in the National Hockey League, which led to the kind of numbers and success that leads a goaltender to go to the All-Star Game. Mind you, this is the Blues’ BACKUP GOALTENDER that went to the All-Star Game, and it was well-deserved. That, my friends, is simply amazing.

There are many reasons a team can be successful in a given time period, but this year’s Blues squad has shown to be successful not just because of luck and maturing, but mainly because they learned from mistakes made in past seasons . . . mainly, the season right before it. Because of the lessons learned, the Blues have righted the ship and become a veritable juggernaut that may legitimately lay claim to being a Stanley Cup contender for the next decade to come. And that “Cup Contender” line is not hyperbole . . . I believe that to be FACT.

What say you, dear reader? Is learning from the past the biggest reason for the Blues’ success in ’11-’12? Or do you think other factors like luck, the completed rebuild with veterans added or maybe even another reason play into this run more than anything else? Have at it in the comments, party people

With the Blues being off until Friday, we fans have a lot of time to kill. Mostly, it will be spent watching the Note drop down in the standings through no fault of our own. You can’t earn points when you aren’t playing.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the lack of home games and mass abundance of road games the team has for the rest of the season. While there are a few small home stands left, this team will have to play exceptional during those games. Without getting into the math, if the Blues continue their home dominance and win about half of the road games, 100 points is attainable. However, that benchmark isn’t necessarily the same as it was pre-lockout. Just like 500 homeruns doesn’t automatically get you the golden ticket into Cooperstown, 100 points doesn’t mean a division title and home ice early on in the playoffs.

As long as the buy-in process of Coach Ken Hitchcock’s system continues, this team should be a shoo-in for the postseason. Will we win the conference and/or the President’s Trophy? Probably not. But being a strong fourth or fifth seed is just fine by me, seeing as how all the teams are tightly compacted, no one team is really that much more dominant over another.

The “system” that Coach Hitchcock has brought here, as we all know by now, is based on strong defense, tight forechecking and backchecking, and solid goaltending. Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have each, at times, been as hard to get a puck past as getting into Fort Knox. As long as one of them is playing that way at any given time, I won’t be worried. At this point, it almost doesn’t matter who starts… the defense is playing strong for both and clearing the crease out every time a puck comes near the blue paint.

So I ask you fellow Blues fans…what is the most important thing the Blues need to do to make the playoffs and hopefully go on a nice little spring run?

Chris

As a few of you read yesterday, I don’t fall in to the camp that fears a trade destroying team chemistry. The benefit of addressing needs greatly outweighs the risk of making a couple of guys unhappy that their buddy was traded. It’s a business and there is the whole franchise’s future to consider.

If you too prescribe to that thought process then Monday wasn’t a good day. As one of the “best case scenario” options was taken off the presumed market when Tim Gleason signed a four year, $16 million extension with the Carolina Hurricanes. The gritty 29 year old has been physical presence on the Canes backend for several years. Most Blues fans were first exposed to the Michigan native at the 2010 Winter Olympics when he formed a solid pairing with former Blue Erik Johnson.

Gleason was the ideal type of player many visualized next to Johnson’s replacement Alex Pietrangelo. An experienced, “top 4″, type defenseman who keeps his game simple and fights hard. As a UFA he appeared to be a rental only option, but at his relative young age could have been worth a multi-year investment regardless of Barret Jackman’s decision to stay or go.

There are other prime candidates for the Blues to target, but not many. As Andy Strickland pointed out, Lubomir Vishnovsky is a veteran puck mover who can rifle the puck and help the deflated Blues power play. He has connections to the organization via Dave Taylor. However, he is not the surest of defenders. Can the Blues afford Carlo Colaiacovo or Kris Russell in the same lineup as Vishnovsky? Also, what says Anaheim goes in to a major rebuild and moves him for future assets? If any team can turn the ship around in one summer, it would be the Ducks.

Ryan Suter would be lovely, but the only way Suter is moved is to a team outside the Central Division at the very least.
Matt Carle is an interesting option, but doubtful the Flyers move him rather than sign him.

If a top 4 type cannot be added then the next best thing is adding experience to the defense. Outside of Jackman, playoff experience extends to a meager four games each for Colaiacovo and Roman Polak. If the Blues want to win a round… ok let’s just start with a playoff game, they need to address this issue.

The field is pretty thin in terms of cost in salary and trade assets compared to return. I’m looking at you Bryce Salvador, Pavel Kubina, Michael Rozsival and Johnny Oduya. One option does stand tall. About 6’7″ tall.

Hall Gill… The USS Hall Gill.

Too big and slow for Ken Hitchcock’s system? Maybe. But he performed well at the breakneck playoff pace the Penguins made it to the FInals on in 2008 and won the Cup with in 2009. He was a part of a shutdown pair with Rob Scuderi that held Alex Ovechkin at bay. He did it again to the Great 8 in 2010 with the Canadiens. He has 108 NHL playoff games on his resume with a Plus-2 rating. Leads the NHL’s top PK unit with 3:53 SHTOI/G. He’s the blueline version of Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner. Another oldie that plays the game the right way and can keep the natives much his younger settled.

Sounds great right? What’s the catch? Who is it going to cost?

Honestly, there is no way of knowing exactly. Assess where the Habs are currently. They’re slipping out of the race for 8th in the East. With turmoil behind the bench and upstairs, the view is probably set on next season and beyond. Someone ready now and will continue to grow is the price likely set. The Blues have a few of those.

Evgeny Grachev, Phil McRae, Ian Cole and Ben Bishop fit the bill.

Grachev fetched only a third for the Rangers. His value hasn’t been rebuilt to that of a playoff push addition yet.
McRae could be replaced by an incoming Vladimir Tarasenko or Jaden Schwartz, but who knows what they will bring to the NHL. Cheap depth is something Armstrong will want to hold on to.
Bishop has done nothing but raise his value all season. But Montreal has Carey Price for the long haul to consider. Surely someone of Gill’s stature can fetch more than a backup.

Would the Blues move Cole to acquire Gill?

At first glance it feels like an overpayment. A former first round pick, who is still developing, to rent an aging player presumably past his prime with league’s preferred play style the opposite of his game. Yet players like Jackman have done well even with less than outstanding mobility. Furthermore, has Cole displayed at the NHL level that indicates he’s ready to take the next step in his development? What says management is on the same page as fans regarding Cole’s potential and likelihood of reaching it? Sell high before the “potential tag” falls off? What says Gill is just a rental. What says he doesn’t see a Cup competitor and sign on for another year to provide cheap, veteran depth?

For all the reasons to hold on to number 23, there are reasons to get what they can while they can. If it means taking a risk to sure up weak links, go for it. Detroit isn’t going to be shy about adding for the run, the Blues shouldn’t be either.

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What say you? Are there better options? Who are they and why? Let it all out in the comments.

Thanks for reading.

Team chemistry is certainly very important and is a primary contributing factor the Blues’ current success. Such a statement meets little resistance among fans and media alike. Yet, the favorite question of the former lurks in the quiet corners of St. Louis, waiting for an opportunity boisterously jump out like Louie the pantless bear.

Do the Blues need to make a trade?

An argument can be made that personnel upgrades are needed before the NHL Trade Deadline on February 27th. The finishing scoring opportunities is in short supply (20th in Goals For/Game). Both special teams units continue to dwell in the bottom half as does the team’s face-off winning percentage (28th PP, 19th PK). The experienced depth on defense is thinner than desired (After Ian Cole, the abyss).

These holes are legitimate concerns with this group. They are tangible roadblocks to continued success in a downhill sprint to game 82. We’re about to see how big the holes are with 11 of the next 13 games (13 games in 17 days) against teams in their conference’s top 8 or within 5 points of 8th place before the deadline. Sadly, this February gauntlet is only a precursor to the March from hell. The schedule tilts heavily towards road games. Keeping the Blues away from the friendly confines that they’ve padded their place in the standings with the leagues best home record. They will play only 5 games out of 15 games at Scottrade Center. Only 3 between March 1st and the 27th are in St. Louis.

Doug Armstrong cannot be fearful in making changes if they are determined to be needed. February will expose the requirements to make March a survivable ordeal. An even break over the two months ensures a desperately needed playoff run. Not only from a fan confidence perspective, but also from a new ownership and financial perspective. His means may be constricted, but he cannot stand back if concerns turn in to problems. It’s not in his MO to do so.

The NHL is a business and everyone involved with the team knows this. The players know this as well. Should a deal come, they have to keep moving forward. If they cannot, then important lessons have been learned for the summer ahead. For every argument that any trade would destroy what’s been built (recalling the Garth Butcher trade), there is a counter argument that it could show the organizations commitment to winning and motivate others to be better.

It is in that line of thinking that an arbitrary moratorium on trades to preserve chemistry cannot be entertained. Flexibility to tweak the lineup by adding depth or condensing strength is critical to any team amidst a playoff push. This may be the Blues first foray in to the upper levels of the Western Conference standings, but its not Armstrong’s first stretch run rodeo. If moves have to be made, then they have to be made. Worries about chemistry be damned.

- – -

What say you? Too dangerous to risk it? Too much to lose if they don’t and bottom out? Put your two cents in the comments.

Thanks for reading.