This takes some concentration, actually. Cody McLeod, kids. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Good teams find ways to win like the St. Louis Blues found a way to beat the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. And not only that, the deed was done in the dastardly SHOOTOUT portion of the contest! Yes, the Blues actually won a shootout! 4-3 was the official final score. Despite the fact that Cam Janssen was buzzing around the team he used to root for AND play for, there were no fights in the contest, which may be just as well, actually. The Blues now sit in an 11th place tie with the Buffalo Sabres with 26 fighting majors each on the National Hockey League season. The team’s fight record still holds at 12-3-11.

Home sweet home! The Blues now play host to one of the league’s weirdest teams to put a proper gauge on, the Colorado Avalanche. They’re young, sure, but they have enough skilled players in all three zones to be better than they actually are. Lately, save for one game back in January, the Avs have had the Blues’ number. This is the last of four meetings between the Blues and Avs this season (barring a playoff series, I suppose), so we have covered this team three previous times (December 2nd, December 21st and January 7th). The Avs are shockingly similar to the Blues fighting-wise, in that there is one main fighter and some secondary fighters mixed in there. The Avs are currently tied for 14th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks with 24 fighting majors collected on the season. Their fight record is a bit on the downside, though, at 5-8-11.

The Avs are led in fights by Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 3-3-5) with 11 fights on the season, which is currently good for a top-ten place among the NHL’s individual fight leaders. Following him is former Predator and Canuck Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 2-0-1) with three fights. Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2), David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0) and Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-0-2) each have fought twice. Four Avs players have fought once each, they are former Blue and golf cart driving extraordinaire, Erik Johnson (6’4”, 232lbs, Draw), TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw), Chuck Kobasew (6’0”, 192lbs, Draw) and Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss).

I’ve always said McLeod is very similar in fighting style and playing style to BJ Crombeen, and for once I’d really like to see the two mix it up with each other, because I don’t recall the two ever fighting each other. It might be the most even fight in the history of ever.

Home action means home wins, right? Well, I hope so, anyway.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Your breed is still dying, Cody. Better duck out while you can. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

When you find ways to win, you give fans hope. The St. Louis Blues keep finding ways to win. This time, it was a barrage of shots, none of which passed the goal line until late in the third period of a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. And we saw a fight in this game, and the Blues won it! Ben Eager, for some reason, decided to take on BJ Crombeen, and lost the fight after his jersey flew over his head (video here). The Blues now have fought 22 times on the National Hockey League season, good for 10th by themselves. With the victory, the Blues’ fight record moves up to 10-2-10, which – if you ask me – is quite damn impressive.

The home stand has to come to an end at some point, and you may as well conclude it with a game against one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Yes, the Buffalo Sabres are in town! This team has been hit by a rash of injuries, horrible on-ice play, a slight goaltending controversy and a myriad of other problems that I’m sure the new owner did not see coming, and probably thinks he can spend his way out of. We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime, the Sabres DO know their way around an on-ice scrap. They’ve fought 21 times on the NHL season, good for a tie for 11th place with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets in that category. Their record in these fights isn’t horrible at 8-5-8.

Leading the Sabres in fights is veteran enforcer Cody McCormick (6’3”, 221lbs, 3-1-2) with six fighting majors on the season. Following him is Paul Gaustad (6’5”, 212lbs, 2-1-0, Day-To-Day with an Upper Body Injury) with three fights. Patrick Kaleta (6’1”, 206lbs, 1-1-0), Mike Weber (6’2”, 211lbs, 0-0-2), Christian Ehrhoff (6’2”, 203lbs, 0-0-2, on IR with an Upper Body Injury) and Robyn Regehr (6’3”, 225lbs, 0-1-1) have each fought twice. Solo fighters include Joe Finley (6’7”, 245lbs, Win), Corey Tropp (6’0”, 183lbs, Win, currently with AHL Rochester), Zack Kassian (6’3”, 214lbs, Draw, currently with AHL Rochester) and Matt Ellis (6’0”, 212lbs, Loss).

If there is a fight, I have a feeling it will not feature McCormick, for some reason. On a hunch, look for Ryan Reaves and Kaleta to go at it. But we’ll see what happens.

Keep winning. That’s all.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

This guy stepped on Taylor Hall’s face with his skate. By accident. But still. Image via Dinur/Flickr

What a run this team is on, albeit aided by lots of home dates. A great setup led to a spectacular goal in the St. Louis Blues’ 1-0 victory over the Dallas Stars in what can best be described as a slugfest of a game on Monday night, in front of a captivated home crowd AND a semi-national television audience. We even got to see a fight! After Jake Dowell pretty much did the same thing to Scott Nichol that David Backes did to Alexandre Burrows last Thursday, Nichol got up and put his fists to work on Dowell, working a draw out of the scrap (the full video of the incident is here). For some dumb reason, Nichol was assessed an extra two-minute minor for roughing along with his five minute fighting penalty, while Dowell was just given five. If you need any proof that the officiating in the National Hockey League is in need of a serious fix, look directly at THAT play right there. But I digress . . . the Blues have now fought 21 times on the season, good for a tie for 10th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild in that category. With the draw, the team’s fight record ratchets up to 9-2-10 on the season. Not bad at all, actually.

Continuing the Home Stand That Lasts For Days On End, we welcome the youthful Edmonton Oilers for a second Thursday out of the last three. We have covered the Oilers twice this season (October 30th and, as alluded to, January 5th). You probably already know this is a young team with a few vets just to keep the seats warm and a team that will probably be really good in a few years, so I won’t waste your time there. As far as fighting is concerned, however, the Oilers are tied for 21st in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs with 15 fighting majors on the season. They hold a fight record of 4-4-7.

The Oilers are led in fights, as most teams are, by a pair of journeyman brawlers – in this case, it’s Darcy Hordichuk (6’1”, 212lbs, 2-2-0) and Andy “Are You An Expert?” Sutton (6’6”, 245lbs, 0-0-4, and I will never tire of re-posting that YouTube clip . . . EVER), with four fights each. Following them are tough younger brawler Theo Peckham (6’2”, 235lbs, 1-0-1) and the oft-injured Sam Gagner (5’11”, 195lbs, 0-1-1) with two each. Solo fighters include AHL veterans Lennart Petrell (6’3”, 198lbs, Win, currently with Oklahoma City in the AHL) and Josh Green (6’3”, 218lbs, Draw) as well as former Blackhawk Ben Eager (6’2”, 240lbs, Loss).

Two games have gone by between these two teams, and no fights have occurred, despite Eager’s presence and Sutton’s constant lunacy on the ice. So to anticipate a fight in this game would be silly. I honestly doubt there will be a fight, actually.

I’m not greedy if I ask for three home wins in a row. I won’t even question it. So let it happen.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Ryan O’Byrne (3) is tall. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

What a rally! The St. Louis Blues have proven to be a never-say-die team under Ken Hitchcock, and they proved it again by rallying from a 3-1 deficit after a HORRIBLE second period to win 4-3 over the Edmonton Oilers with a flurry of goals to begin the third period. The only bad part about all this was the lack of a fight. This was only a touch disheartening, considering how the action was going in this game and the fact that the game flow and action nearly dictated that a fight was to happen. Oh well, I guess I’ll survive . . . . Anyway, the Blues stick and stay at 15 fights on the season, which now gives the squad 18th spot all alone in the National Hockey League. And they remain at a nice 6-2-7 fight record. Hey, when your team plays well, your team generally does not have to fight as often. I get that. So I’m cool with it.

The last game of THIS home stand (but only the third home game of the month out of a total of nine) brings Denver’s hockey team to town . . . yes, the Colorado Avalanche. We’ve covered the Avs twice this season, both prior to road losses to that team (December 2nd and December 21st). The Avs are not allergic to fisticuffs, but they seem to do it just about as often as the Blues do this season, which is to say “not that much”. Also of note . . . the Avs are coming off a road game in Chicago, so it’s possible they may not be in the mood to fight anyone tonight. But I digress . . . the Avs are tied for 10th in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild with 18 fighting majors collected on the season. Their fight record is a very respectable 5-5-8 on the season.

The Avs are led in fights by a familiar face around these parts, fighter extraordinaire Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 3-2-2) with seven fights on the season. Following him is former Predator and Canuck Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 2-0-1) with three fights. Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2, on IR with a head injury) and David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0) each have fought twice. Three Avs players have fought once each, they are former Blue and golf cart driving extraordinaire, Erik Johnson (6’4”, 232lbs, Draw), fresh figher TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw), Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss) and Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Loss).

Since there were no fights in the first two contests between these two teams, plus this being the second of a back-to-back set for the Avs, I will not predict a fight, and it’s possible that there will be no fights tonight. But that’s not what I want! I want BLOOD! That said, in four games last year, the two teams fought somewhere around 10 times, and there was big trade between the two clubs less than a year ago. Anything is possible. For your best bet, go with McLeod and BJ Crombeen.

Let’s continue this winning streak, why don’t we?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Anyways… On to hockey related rambling….

Of Blues & Blue Jackets

After watching last night’s 6-4 Blues win over Columbus the BJ’s faithful took to Twitter to air their complaints.

…Just take a quick glance at the #CBJ hashtag…

Not at an inept front office, overmatched coaching staff or even an underperforming lineup. They preferred to snark and snivel their way further in to the that perverted little niche we all have. That one where you just love to poke and prod at someone even though you know you shouldn’t. Kind of like the middle child taking out his frustrations on the baby of the family because the oldest picks on the middle.

A little jovial bantering between rivals is one thing. A PhD student blogger saying Blues fans are on drugs is something else. Of course those of us who called him out we’re told to “go away”.

Much like the team he roots for, can dish it out, but can’t take it.

Yes, I did call RJ Umberger, “Toolburger”. I also called captain Risk Nash, “Captain Douchebag”.

Why?

In my best Jim Carey’s Grinch voice: “I don’t LIKE’UM!”

For Umbergler it all goes back to “Soccergate” and his contribution to the clusterf*** that was November 2010. Add in his meager contributions to my keeper team and there is my disdain.

Nash… I just don’t think he’s THAT good. Oshie blew him up twice and he bounces like a ping ping ball off guys now unless he’s throwing them in to the boards. Love ya TJ, but you aren’t that big of a hitter in the NHL. That’s be like Backes being blown up by Patrick Kane. Just sayin’.

An irrational perspective? You betcha. But that’s how rivalries work. It’s good to see another taking hold.

Especially with it one sided in the good guy favor.

Don’t worry Columbus. The bad times will go away. I mean this in all sincerity. The Blues know how it feels. Hell, it was their reality more often than not before Doug Armstrong. Give Howson, Arneil and the rest of that staff the boot, get some better hockey people in charge and you’ll be fine.

I’m pretty sure Doug MacLean is available. He took the Panthers, yes the PANTERS, to the Finals. He’s just sitting around Sportsnet. Pierre McGuire would look good as GM. If Jay Feaster can transition back in to the game after hanging out in the media world, he can, too!

Low blow? Yeah…sorry. Go get Randy Carlyle to start.

Paging Chris Stewart

Where have you gone, Stewie? No more lowered shoulder drives to the net. No more bull in a china shop mentality? Oshie, Sobotka and McDonald are half your size and they muck it up better than you do right now.

Get that mojo back before Army sends you packing.

Quick Hits Around the NHL

- Has anyone in Ottawa asked Kyle Turris what he will and won’t do? Hopefully he does rebounds and goals.

- How can Carolina even consider releasing Justin Faulk to the US WJC team? They’re banged up and bad. Get him some NHL minutes. Worth more to him long term than another tourney. Right? That is unless they think their so bad that it’ll burn the young man. If that’s the case, send him. Sounds like they aren’t though.

- Ray Emery has “Elliott’d” Corey Crawford in Chicago. Sticktap to the Dobber for coming up with that one first.

-Speaking of Chicago, Dan Carcillo, I really don’t like you as a player. A left handed Tootoo. Ugh… Blame the game last night for bringing that mini rant on!

Does this look like a face-puncher? Well, it is. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Two things completely unexpected happened in Thursday night’s 4-1 St. Louis Blues home victory over the New York Rangers. First, the Blues were able to dominate action for about 45 of the 60 minutes of play despite a full four-day layoff. Secondly, there was only one penalty called, and at that, it was a petty holding call deep in the Rangers’ zone. This means that there were no fighting majors recorded by either team – which included the Rangers, one of the most punch-happy teams in the National Hockey League. So the Blues stay at 11 fighting majors collected on the season, good for a tie for 20th in the NHL in the category with the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Perspective to be found here – Ottawa Senators forward Zenon Konopka has 11 fights BY HIMSELF, which would tie him INDIVIDUALLY with the Blues, Oilers and Leafs in the fight standings. Yikes. The Blue Note’s fight record remains at 5-1-5. Smashville? More like Twangville to me, but I think I can manage. I am typing at you live from a hotel in downtown Nashville, Tennessee in preparation to watch tonight’s Blues game with the Nashville Predators. We covered this team way back on October 8th here on the Throwdown Lowdown report. You’ll find almost everything you need to know about last year’s fighters on this Predators squad and how they did as a team after dropping the gloves last season. But what you really need to know here is this – despite the divisional rivalry and matchup, expecting a fight in this contest is not exactly the wisest thing to do. That said, the Preds have fought a little more often than the Blues this season – 13 times, in fact, which ties them for 12th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild in that category. The Preds’ fight record is alright as well – 6-3-4.

Preds players who have fought this year begin with journeyman enforcer Brian McGrattan (6’4”, 235lbs, 4-0-1) with five fighting majors on the season and one of my least favorite NHL players, Jordin Tootoo (5’9”, 199lbs, 2-0-0), with two. Solo fighters include Blake Geoffrion (6’1”, 190lbs, Draw), 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).

I fully do not expect to see a fight in tonight’s contest, but if it does happen, expect it to be early and expect McGrattan to mix it up with Reaves. I’ve seen sillier things happen.

Time to turn Smashville into . . . something other than Smashville. Whaddaya say, gang?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

My favorite NHL Newf. Image via Dimur/Flickr

A great showing from the Home Six on Thursday led to an easy 4-2 St. Louis Blues win over a reeling Anaheim Ducks squad. The likelihood of a bout was significantly lowered when it was learned that Ryan Reaves would be a healthy scratch, which he was. So no fights on the game means the Blues are tied for 13th in the National Hockey League with six other teams (the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets), sporting a record of 5-1-5.

The San Jose Sharks are relatively even in the fight standings with the Blues, but just like the Blues, the fight record does not tell the full story. Both teams have veterans to lean on, and they’re both physical at the point of attack. The Sharks have one fewer fight on the season – 10, if you’re scoring at home – than the Blues. But because of ties, the Sharks are tied for 21st on the season in fights with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders. They carry a fight record of 3-4-3. I covered these guys on a previous report, October 5th, to be exact. That’s where you can find info about the Sharks and their fight work from 2010-2011.

Newfoundland native Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 0-1-2) leads the team with three fights this season. Old friend Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-7-0) and Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-1-1) each have fought twice this season, and Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, Draw), Andrew Desjardins (6’1”, 210 lbs, Loss) and Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Loss) each have fought once.

I’m not going to say that the chances of this game not having a fight are spectacular, but the chances of a fight in this one are so slim even the die-hards of both teams wouldn’t even anticipate it.

FINISH THEM.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Ericsson vs. Clowe is Swede-On-Newf violence. Image via pyle313/Flickr

What started out as awesome ended up being . . . not so much. David Perron scored a goal in his long-awaited return to the St. Louis Blues, but the Chicago Blackhawks carried the day with an impressive 5-2 win over the Blues. It was testy throughout, and there were several times that I was sure there WOULD be a fight, but never was there to be one. So the Blues stay put at 11 fights on the season and remain at a 5-1-5 record, but now that number of fights puts the team at a tie for 11th in the National Hockey League with the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs in that category.

When we last saw the Detroit Red Wings (November 15th, to be exact), the team had a total of four fighting majors on the season. Coming into tonight’s game, the Wings have . . . a total of four fighting majors on the season. That is good for a tie for DEAD LAST in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning in that category, so this report is nice and concise since it has already been done in the previous issue. If you want to look up who has fought this season for the Wings both this season and last plus fight records for the team and all parties involved, please click on the link in the first sentence of this paragraph.

Will there be a fight in this game? I would say it is highly doubtful. But if I had to put money on someone fighting in this contest, being that Ryan Reaves is likely to be a healthy scratch in this one, it would have to be Scott Nichol fighting someone bigger than him . . . someone such as, say Justin Abdelkader. It seems like a very good match, really. Despite the big hit by Chris Stewart on Niklas Kronwall in the previous matchup, I just don’t see a big opportunity for a major bout in this one.

It’s Hated Rival Weekend, Extended. Can the Blues at least win one of the two contests at home? We’ll find out.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Yes, it’s STILL strange seeing Jamal Mayers playing for the Blackhawks. Image via clydeorama/Flickr

So . . . overtime? I hate the National Hockey League’s idea of overtime, but we had to endure it once again in a 3-2 shootout loss by the St. Louis Blues to the Colorado Avalanche. Furthermore, there were no fights in the contest, so the Blues hold steady with 11 fights this season, currently good for a tie for ninth in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. The team’s fight record stands at 5-1-5 on the season.

Remember the 90’s? Well, the Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks seem to have turned back the clock to a time when both divisional opponents were really good . . . y’know, like they were back in the 90’s. This time around, both teams seem to be doing it in different ways – the Blackhawks with more of a scoring touch, and the Blues with more of a defensive approach. Either way, the two teams are very close in both the Central Division and Western Conference standings, and hopefully it stays this way throughout the season. Not only that, it will be hard to imagine the crowd being any more charged than tonight, what with the return of David Perron to live action after a long concussion recovery. Fight-wise, the Blackhawks are also not too far away from the Blues, having squared off in only (two) fewer fights than the Blues. Yet the Hawks are currently tied for 19th in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets with nine fighting majors on the season. The Blackhawks are 1-3-5 in those nine fights. And yes, we have covered the Blackhawks once before this season on Throwdown Lowdown (November 8th, to be exact).

Blackhawks players that have fought this year include former Blue Jamal Mayers (6’1”, 222lbs, 1-1-3) with five fights on the season, Daniel Carcillo (6’0”, 203lbs, 0-2-1 including this loss to Ryan Reaves) with three fights and former Sabre Steve Montador (6’0”, 210lbs, Draw) with one. If you’d like to see a more complete detail on Blackhawks fighters and their fight records from 2010-2011, you can find that in the link above to the November 8th report. It’s starting to get to the point in the season where last year’s fight records are becoming irrelevant compared to this year’s fight records, and while they will not be cut off immediately, I’ll stop posting them for previous opponents and probably stop posting them altogether VERY soon.

What would be hilarious, considering his mouthing-off to Reaves about “ducking” him recently, it would be awesome if, say, Reaves got into it with, say, Mayers . . . WHILE John Scott was on the ice. And let me make this perfectly clear regarding Scott . . . I have a hell of a lot of respect for you as a fighter, but dude, you are not even close to a competent National Hockey League performer, and Reaves has a six-inch height and 30-pound weight disadvantage on you. He is NOT in your weight class, and he is NOT ducking you. So please proceed to shut your tall, wide trap and LEARN HOW TO PLAY RESPONSIBLE HOCKEY IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE. /END RANT

What a charged atmosphere this is going to be tonight. Boy, am I glad I will be there. I cannot wait.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights