Videographic evidence!:

“SHHHHHHH! F***IN’ SHHHHHHHH!” Y’know what? That’s worth a one-year RFA deal right there, Stew. Thanks for that. Rest up this offseason and get ready for the season of your life . . . because the team needs it.

In the next couple weeks, a run-down of every fight the Blues were involved in this regular season and postseason will be forthcoming. But for now . . . I am burnt the hell out.

Great season. Unfortunate ending.

More players my girlfriend likes . . . this time, we have former Fighting Sioux, Matt Greene. Image via Dinur/Flickr

It started with a bang for the San Jose Sharks, but thankfully for our St. Louis Blues, their effort ended with a loud thud. The boys in blue are through to the Western Conference Semifinals after five tooth-and-nail games, losing 3-2 in double overtime in Game 1, winning 3-0 in a violent Game 2, winning 4-3 in Game 3, winning 2-1 in Game 4 and clinching with a 3-1 Game 5 decision. Were there fights? Damn right there were fights . . . five, in fact . . . four in Game 2 alone and three of those after the final horn had sounded. The Blues went 4-0-1 in those five fights. The matchups were . . . Joe Pavelski against Kris Russell, Dominic Moore against Vladimir Sobotka, Justin Braun against Roman Polak (which was perhaps the most infamous fight of the series), Douglas Murray against Barret Jackman and Tommy Wingels against Chris Stewart. The fights were broken down thusly in Fight Card pieces. If we add the 4-0-1 record in these five fights to the regular season record, the Blues would now sport a 20-8-19 fight record overall in games that have counted this season, which is fantastic. But for now, I am only counting the 4-0-1 playoff record, which is even more impressive, actually.

Again, just a series preview . . . this time, for the Western Conference Semifinals and the eighth seed in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings. This team is the current toast of the league, having dispatched the President’s Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in quick fashion, behind strong goaltending play, great defense, timely goal-scoring and an aggressive forecheck. We covered the Kings four times in the regular season in this space (October 18th, November 22nd, February 3rd and March 22nd). The Blues went 1-2-1 in those four games, which raises concern about how this series will go. But this is a fight report, so for the time being, we’ll move on from that . . . the Kings finished the regular National Hockey League season with 33 fighting majors, good for 18th by themselves in that category. They were a measly 6-16-11 in those fights. They fought once in their series with Vancouver, earning a draw in that fracas.

In the regular season, the Kings were led in fights by Kyle Clifford (6’2”, 208lbs, 1-5-4 including a Loss to Stewart) with 10 fights. Following him was former Blackhawk Colin Fraser (6’1”, 191lbs, 1-5-1 including a draw with Scott Nichol that shouldn’t have even counted as a fight) with seven fights. Veteran brawler Kevin Westgarth (6’4”, 234lbs, 1-0-2, has been a lineup scratch every game since February 16th) and former Flyers Captain Mike Richards (5’11”, 199lbs, 1-0-2) each fought three times, and Jordan Nolan (6’3”, 227lbs, 2-0-0), Willie Mitchell (6’3”, 208lbs, 0-1-1) and Matt Greene (6’3”, 232lbs, 0-2-0) each fought twice. The Kings had four solo fighters, namely pancake-eating extraordinaire Dustin Penner (6’4”, 242lbs, Draw), team Captain Dustin Brown (6’0”, 204lbs, Loss), young Trevor Lewis (6’1”, 194lbs, Loss) and the well-paid Drew Doughty (6’0”, 212lbs, Loss). In the Vancouver series, superstar Anze Kopitar (6’3”, 225lbs, Draw) participated in the only Kings fight.

Again, I’m not even going to predict who will fight who because as we saw in the first round series with San Jose, a fight can come from the most meager and odd circumstances in the playoffs. But do expect some fisticuffs to happen in this series, much like there was in the first round.

Are you ready for Round Two? Well, you’d better be. I sure as hell am.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Again, like many playoff fights, this resulted from a post-whistle scrum in front of the net. Chris Stewart took exception to a couple whacks he received from Andrew Desjardins, at which point one Tommy Wingels stepped in. Why? Well, that beats the hell out of me, because Stewart was ready for him.

Here comes the pain:

Basically, Stewart grabbed hold and punched away in this bout while Wingels kinda stood there and took it. Wingels got a few shots in, but control of this bout was never in question. At one point, Stewart stopped punching Wingels so as to grab the back of Wingels’ helmet and pull it off so as to inflict more damage. Stewart even landed a couple uppercuts. Eventually, Wingels went to the ice and this mess ended. This is why many people try not to anger Stewart . . . he’s a large man that has a mean streak when he’s angry, and he has no problem hurting people. I need to see this version of Stewart MUCH more often.

Are you ready for the Western Conference Semifinals? You know I am. We’ll find out more as this next week goes along.

We’ll start with the first of two fights Friday night, featuring noted agitator Raffi Torres and pesky third-line winger Matt D’Agostini. It did not end well for D’Ags:

I don’t know about either the boarding call that D’Ags received or the Instigator Torres received (then again, I hate just about every Instigator call because that should not be a rule that’s still on the books . . . but I digress). What I DO know, though, is that D’Ags – while showing he was a willing participant – got his ass kicked in the brief time this fight lasted, not really getting one punch away while Torres landed several rights. This fight kinda sucked, actually, as it lasted about 10 seconds and didn’t really show much.

Next, a scrap between former Jacket Rostislav Klesla and a guy who has been a bit of an enigma all season for the Blues, Chris Stewart. This was interesting and kinda stupid:

This had been brewing for a time, because of how testy the game had gotten, and after a couple hits on a few Coyotes players by Stewart, Klesla decided he’d seen enough. As for the fight itself, it was basically a grab, a couple punches, a pull and a takedown. It was a clear draw, and really not worth my time.

Finally on Saturday, grizzled veteran Barret Jackman showed his mean side with youngster Ryan Garbutt in an affair that did not end well for the young Stars forward:

This started out as a gropefest, which is the fault of both players, but once Jackman – a natural southpaw – got his left arm free, this one was over for Garbutt, who tried getting his right arm loose for a few shots but basically flailed at air. A few lefts from Jackman, and we’ll call this an easy victory for the veteran, who gets props for letting up after Garbutt was kneeling on the ice.

The weekend’s win, loss and draw put the Blues at 42 fights on the regular season, good for a tie for seventh overall with the Minnesota Wild, holding a fight record of 17-7-18. Generally, a team that finishes third overall in the NHL standings doesn’t do that well in fights, but this Blues team has been defying expectations at all levels this year, so it’s not a shock to me.

On Wednesday, look for my Unscientific 2012 First Round Predictions. On Thursday, look for my Throwdown Lowdown preview of the Blues’ Western Conference Quarterfinals series with the San Jose Sharks (yes, one post for the whole series). And at some point after the playoffs are over for the Blues (hopefully after the Stanley Cup Finals, eh?), I will post videos of every fight the Blues were involved in during the 2011-2012 regular season and postseason. But for right now . . . to borrow a phrase from broadcaster Joe Buck used to describe the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals . . . “What a team. What a ride.”

It's playoff time, expect a scrum after almost every whistle.

After the Canucks and the Sharks had both won their respective games, the western conference was finally pegged down. The Canucks claimed the West and the President’s trophy. The Blues finished second, set to face off against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Looking at the rosters of each club, you can judge who’d better for yourself.

Jaroslav Halak/Brian Elliott vs Antti Niemi/Thomas Griess

There should be no question whatsoever in this case. You have the best statistical goaltender in the NHL in Brian Elliott and while Niemi has a cup, most would prefer Jaroslav Halak in net over the Finnish Niemi.

Halak and Elliott will share the William Jennings trophy for fewest goals allowed in the NHL. San Jose finished eighth in goals against, letting in fifty more goals overall than the Blues.

Offense Isn’t Lacking On Defense

When looking on the defensive side of the puck, both teams aren’t lacking offensively.

Dan Boyle lead the San Jose Sharks offense from the defense this year, scoring nine goals, 39 assists for 48 points on the year. He’s followed by Brent Burns’ 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists). Burns, however, adds a solid defensive game and grit on the blueline as well.

The Blues counter offensively with Alex Pietrangelo’s 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) and Kevin Shattenkirk’s 43 points (9 goals, 34 assists). Pietrangelo, however, has been playing at a Norris caliber level all season long for the Blues, something the Sharks haven’t had.

Then you have the supporting cast behind the “big two” for each club.

For San Jose, it’s the likes of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, Justin Braun, Colin White, Jason Demers, and Jim Vandermeer.

While the Blues have guys like Barret Jackman, Roman Polak, Kent Huskins, Carlo Colaiacovo, Kris Russell, and Ian Cole.

Obviously, you have to give the experience to the Sharks group, but overall, it’s fairly close and hard to really pick one side. We’ll call it a wash as I honestly can’t make a decision.

Depth The Story Offensively

While the Sharks probably have more well known names in Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski, they cannot say they have the depth like the St. Louis Blues do. The Sharks bottom six guys compared to the Blues bottom six just don’t add up.

When you have guys like Alex Steen, Jason Arnott, and even the struggling Chris Stewart playing third line minutes compared to Michal Handzus, Dominic Moore, and Andrew Desjardins, you’re going to have an edge offensively.

After the top nine, the Blues hold depth over the Sharks with the fourth line along with their scratches as well. The Sharks have Dan Winnik’s 23 points as top among their fourth liners, while the Blues have a guy who notched 20 goals last season in Matt D’Agostini and Jamie Langenbrunner’s 24 points as well.

The Blues are also holding a top prospect ready to play in Jaden Schwartz as well, very much like the Sharks did a few seasons ago with Logan Couture.

In terms of toughness, Ryan Reaves is by far the toughest player on either club’s roster, and given his ability to play a effective checking line role, he’s a valuable asset to the Blues here.

Heated History

We must also remember that these two organizations aren’t the biggest fans of one another. From the most recent Joe Thornton incident of Joe Thonrton concussing David Perron with a blindside hit, to the upset in 2000, games between these two are usually up tempo, hard hitting, grinding games, which favors the Blues more defensive system than the Sharks more offensive system.

Fighting usually isn’t common in the post season. The big, hard hits, the board battles usually tell the stories in playoff hockey, and that should give the Blues the advantage, like it has in the season series against these clubs, in which the Blues went 4-0 against them this season.

Leading The Ship

Another advantage the Blues have over the Sharks is leadership where it matters, the coaches. While Todd McLellan is a very good coach, he doesn’t have the pedigree that Ken Hitchcok has, which includes a Stanley Cup. Hitchock knows what it takes to get his team wins. Leading a team that many have stated was ‘built for the playoffs’ will again, give the Blues an advantage over San Jose.

The Sharks only have two players who have won a Stanley Cup on their roster in Dan Boyle who won it with Tampa, and Colin White, who won it with New Jersey.

The Blues have four guys in Jason Arnott (NJD), Jamie Langenbrunner (NJD, DAL), Andy McDonald (ANA), and Kent Huskins (ANA) who’ve won Hockey’s Holy Grail. So though as a team the Blues don’t have a lot of experience, they have more guys who’ve been there and know what it takes to win it all.

Home Sweet Home

The biggest factor in this series likely wont be the players, or the coaches, or the history of these two teams, it will be the Blues having home ice advantage. The Sharks will go into a hostile territory in which the Blues have lost six, yes only six games on home ice all season long. It will easily give a boost to the Blues all series long.

If the Sharks can take a game in St. Louis, it could help them gain momentum, but that will be no easy feat. Expect the crowd’s energy to carry over into the players and it could end up giving the Sharks fits if they cannot find a way to put the puck in the net.

Overall, the advantage has to be in St. Louis’ favor in this series from goaltending to forward depth, coaching and style of play. This projects to be a very hard fought series and the winner will have to earn their victory. This is where it all matters, where players will disappoint and players will prove their worth. Who will shine? We’ll have to watch to find out!

Series Schedule

Game One – San Jose vs St. Louis -Thursday, April 12th, 6:30 pm

Game Two – San Jose vs St. Louis -Saturday, April 14th, 6:30 pm

Game Three – St. Louis vs San Jose-Monday, April 16th, 9:00 pm

Game Four – St. Louis vs San Jose- Thursday, April 19th, 9:00 pm

Game Five (if necessary) – San Jose vs St. Louis – Saturday, April 21st, 6:30

Game Six (if necessary) – St. Louis vs San Jose – Monday, April 23rd, TBD

Game Seven (if necessary) – San Jose vs St. Louis – Wednesday, April 25th, TBD

I’m not a fan of this guy. Image via PNLT_BX/Flickr

Not good. In a possible playoff preview, the Phoenix Coyotes took the fight to the St. Louis Blues, winning a 4-1 decision. There were two fights in the game . . . one between Rostislav Klesla and Chris Stewart that appeared to be a draw, another between Raffi Torres and Matt D’Agostini that Torres appeared to win. I’ll report on these in a Fight Card piece next week, but this brings the Blues to 41 fights on the season, good for a tie for eighth in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Blackhawks. With the draw and loss, the Blues’ fight record moves to 16-7-18.

And now, the final regular season game for the Blues, facing the Dallas Stars. The Stars were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday, so this is their last hurrah. We’ve covered them three times this season (October 13th, December 26th and January 16th). The Stars are currently tied for 22nd in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers and last night’s opponent in that category. Their fight record is an average 7-7-13.

The Stars are led in fights by former Blackhawk Jake Dowell (6’0”, 198lbs, 2-3-4 including a Draw with Scott Nichol) with nine fights. Following him is well-known pest and one of my least-favorite players ever, Steve Ott (6’0”, 190lbs, 1-0-5, including a “victory” over Barret Jackman), who has fought six times this season. Then, there’s Captain Brenden Morrow (6’0”, 205lbs, 1-1-1) and Krys Barch (6’1”, 237lbs, 1-1-1 as a Star and 4-4-4 overall, traded to the Panthers in December) with three fights each as a Star. Son of former Islanders royalty, Eric Nystrom (6’1”, 193lbs, 0-2-0) has fought twice. Among solo fighters for the Stars are future superstar Jamie Benn (6’2”, 205lbs, Win), youngster Ryan Garbutt (6’0”, 190lbs, Win), veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray (6’4”, 237lbs, Draw with Stewart) and hulking defenseman Mark Fistric (6’2”, 233lbs, Draw).

With this being the final game of the season for the Stars, expect there to be some fisticuffs. In what manner, though? I’m not sure, but a rematch between Dowell and Nichol seems possible, if Nichol plays.

Finish strong.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

In lieu of an actual fighting picture, there’s this. Image via Chris Breikss/Flickr

Backing into the division title? Yeah, that happened, but that shouldn’t diminish what the St. Louis Blues have accomplished all season. What SHOULD diminish things a bit is what exactly happened in their home game with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, looking a bit out-of-sorts in a 5-2 loss to the worst team in the league. Sure, the Jackets wanted it more, but that loss shouldn’t happen in your own building. There was a fight in the game, as after a clean yet harsh hit from Jared Boll, Scott Nichol decided to take matters into his own hands in a fight that was recapped in this Fight Card piece. After this was written, the fight was ruled a victory for Boll, which I can’t exactly argue with as even though the fight didn’t last long, Boll did throw and land a few more punches than Nichol even if Nichol got a bit of a takedown. So the Blues now boast 39 fighting majors on the National Hockey League season, good for a tie for ninth place overall with the New Jersey Devils. With the loss, the team’s fight record moves to a still-spectacular 16-6-17.

And now, the final Central Division game of the season, and who better to stage it with than long-time nemesis, the Detroit Red Wings? We’ve covered the team five times in this space this season (November 15th, December 6th, December 27th, December 31st and January 23rd). It’s long-known that they seem to have their gloves glued to their hands and don’t fight much, and when I pointed out this fact in the most recent edition of this report against the Wings, it didn’t settle well with some of their brethren. I embrace the hatred. Anyway, what still holds true is that the Wings are dead last in the NHL with 15 fighting majors on the season. To put it this way, there are six individuals with more fights than the whole Wings team, and one player – Brad Staubitz – has been waived once this year and still has as many fights as the Wings. Yikes. The Wings fight record? Predictably not good, at 5-9-1.

Of those 15 Wings fights, Justin Abdelkader (6’1”, 219lbs, 2-4-0) has taken part in six of them. Three of them were battled by veteran Mike Commodore (6’4”, 227lbs, 0-2-1 including a Loss to BJ Crombeen and 0-3-1 overall, traded to Tampa at the deadline) and two of the fights involved Todd Bertuzzi (6’3”, 229lbs, 1-1-0). The solo fighters have been Jonathan Ericsson (6’4”, 221lbs, Win), Brendan Smith (6’1”, 199lbs, Win, currently with Grand Rapids of the AHL), youngster Jakub Kindl (6’3”, 216lbs, Loss) and Brad Stuart (6’2”, 213lbs, Loss to Chris Stewart).

And while I expect this to be a tightly-checked and physical contest, I do not expect any fighting. It’s just not the Wings’ Modus Operandi, and the Blues probably don’t want to go down that path tonight.

I would love that top seed in the West.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Jared Boll usually isn’t left licking wounds after fights. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Well, the division title is still in range for the St. Louis Blues, as they gained a point in a game they probably didn’t deserve to get one in after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a free-throw shooting contest. But while there were a few mild skirmishes, there were no fights to speak of in this game. So the Blues stay at 38 fights on the National Hockey League season, good for a tie with the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks and the Hawks on that ladder, and the team’s fight record sticks at a very good 16-5-17.

I could spend an hour talking about how horrible tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been this season. But, it would do no good, really. This is the last meeting of the season between the Blues and Jackets, so we’ve covered them on five occasions on this report (November 27th, December 18th, February 14th, March 10th and March 11th), and there have been seven total fights between the two teams in those five games, with videos to each below. The Jackets are currently tied for fourth in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators with 52 fighting majors collected on the season, sporting a fight record that’s relatively average at 18-20-14.

The Jackets are led in fights by Jared Boll (6’2”, 219lbs, 5-6-5 including a Draw with Ryan Reaves and a Draw with Chris Stewart) and Derek Dorsett (6’0”, 192lbs, 5-8-3 including a Loss to BJ Crombeen), who each have fought 16 times this season and Cody Bass (6’0”, 205lbs, 2-3-1 including a Win over Reaves, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with six. Dane Byers (6’3”, 204lbs, 0-1-2 including a Draw with Roman Polak and a Loss to Crombeen) has fought three times this season, while Derek MacKenzie (5’11”, 180lbs, 1-0-1, out indefinitely with a concussion) and Derick Brassard (6’1”, 202lbs, 1-1-0) have each fought twice. Seven former and current Jackets have fought once each this season, and they are current Blue Kris Russell (5’10”, 172lbs, Win), James Wisniewski (6’0”, 208lbs, Win, Day-To-Day with a concussion), Fedor Tyutin (6’2”, 216lbs, Win, out with a broken hand), Jack Johnson (6’1”, 231lbs, Win, acquired in trade from the Kings), Colton Gillies (6’4”, 208lbs, Draw, claimed off waivers from the Wild), Darryl Boyce (6’0”, 200lbs, a Draw with Chris Porter, claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs) and RJ Umberger (6’2”, 220lbs, Loss).

Even with the Blues now boasting a full roster and even with the fact that the “goons” will probably sit out, I still anticipate a fight or two in this contest. Look for Scott Nichol to get involved somehow. The best possible matchup size-wise might be Dorsett, but that may be a bad fight for Nichol to take.

Win the game. Win the division. Clinch at least a 2-seed in the West. Do it.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

FULL DISCLOSURE: When I opened this video to see it, it was the first time I saw it because I missed it live. I know. I am awful, right?

Anyway, see the fight right here:

You may recall that Clifford was the one who was knocked out standing on one punch late last season by Ryan Reaves. This, obviously, was a better showing for the guy they call “The Big Red Dog” (which has to be one of my favorite nicknames in the history of time). At least this time, Clifford was able to land a few punches, even if Stewart landed a majority of them. They were both in tight on each other, Stewart threw about ten rights, Clifford only a few, then both went down within about 10 seconds. You give this decision to Stewart basically on points, but had he landed nothing, it would’ve been a straight-up draw.

I hope for better fights than that down the stretch. Whether I get them is a different story entirely.

This is Tim Gleason getting “Baptized” by Jared Boll’s fists in 2007. Image via msmail/Flickr

Normally, when you play like crap against a desperate team in their building, you lose your ass. In this case, somehow the St. Louis Blues were able to garner a point in a 4-3 shootout loss to a Chicago Blackhawks squad that is desperately trying to stay ahead of the Western Conference playoff bottom-feeders. Things looked great in the first period for the Blues, and we even had a couple fracases – one involving BJ Crombeen and former Blue Jamal Mayers, another involving Ryan Reaves and Brandon Bollig after a hard hit by Reaves on Mayers. Both ended in draws, and they were recapped in this Fight Card piece. The Blues have fought 37 times now on the National Hockey League season, good for seventh overall in the category. Adding the two draws, the Blues’ fight record now stands at a solid 15-6-16.

And now, for the two-game Southeast portion of this road trip, starting with a date in Raleigh to face the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s been a season of mostly lows for this Canes squad, battling injuries, a coaching change, leadership issues and – occasionally – talent not living up to expectation. Despite all that, they’re still dangerous. We covered the Hurricanes once earlier this season (October 21st). The two teams didn’t fight in that contest and it should be noted that despite how bad the Canes have been this season, they do not like to drop the gloves more often than they have to. They have only fought 16 times on the NHL season, good for 29th (Yes, that’s “next-to-last”) in the league in that category, only ahead of the Detroit Red Wings. Not only that, they’re not great at the practice when they do drop the gloves, recording a 3-5-8 record in those 16 fights.

The Canes are led in fights by four defensemen, starting with Tim Gleason (6’0”, 217lbs, 0-2-3) with five fights, Derek Joslin (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-0-3) with three fights and Bryan Allen (6’5”, 226lbs, 1-1-0) and Jay Harrison (6’4”, 211lbs, 0-1-1) with two fights each. The rest are solo fighters: Anthony Stewart (6’3”, 230lbs, Win, Chris Stewart’s older brother), Tim Brent (6’0”, 188lbs, Win), Justin Faulk (6’0”, 205lbs, Draw) and Brett Sutter (6’0”, 200lbs, Loss, currently with Charlotte of the AHL, Brian Sutter’s nephew).

I honestly do not expect a fight to happen in this game. Carolina isn’t known to fight much, and I doubt Reaves plays in this contest. It’s entirely possible Crombeen doesn’t play either, what with the arrival of Jaden Schwartz leaving the team to find the right times to play him.

Time to transform back into “Road Warrior” mode.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights