Days after advancing to the second round, the St. Louis Blues received more kudos for their extraordinary season. Blues captain, David Backes, has been nominated for the Frank J. Selke award for the best defensive forward of the season. Recently it has become more accurately described as the best two-way player of the season.

The leader of the Blues is in contention for the award with Boston Bruin, Patrice Bergeron, and Detroit Red Wing, Pavel Datsyuk.

On a team that led the league in defense, the face of that accomplishment is Backes. While his team is certainly to credit for this, the Blues center paved the road for that success. The team bought in to the plan because their foreman bought into the plan.

Year after year it has become obvious that Backes should be up for a Selke and the league has finally noticed what Blues fans have been saying for awhile. He shuts down the league’s best.

We are talking about the Sedin twins who rarely score a point when Backes is on the ice. We are talking about the big lines in San Jose and Anaheim being a non factor. Pittsburgh and Washington stars are inept against this American force on skates.

Not only does Backes eliminate the threat from the opponents top players, he makes them beg for the end of the game. He punishes these super stars night after night. He takes them off their game on a level that frustrates the biggest names in hockey.

In all three zones of the rink, Backes is in the face of his enemy. He is not picking their pockets with Euro style poke checks. He will hit his man, take his puck and ask if they want more. This type of play instills fear in his adversaries. The best defense comes from scaring competition into submission. The best defense comes not from picking away at them like a chisel, but from pounding them like a hammer.

David Backes is the Selke by every definition of the award (and he can score too).

Eminian has covered the Rivermen for 27 years.

Dave Eminian, who many of you might know as @IceTimeCleve on Twitter, has a job many of us can only dream of. Getting paid to watch and write hockey. But he’s earned his dues, and in doing so, he’s been able to cover to Peoria Rivermen, from their East Coast Hockey League days, all the way until now, one of the top organizations in the American Hockey League.

Dave was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions for us, helping us get another opinion on who’s improving, who’s holding the fort, and stories of some of the history of the Rivermen as well.

The Bluenote Zone – You have covered the Peoria Rivermen for 27 years now, You’ve got to see many players come up through the ranks and produce at the NHL level and you’ve seen players “bust” and never reach their potential. Out of all the players you’ve been able to see, who’s the best?

Dave Eminian – We were just discussing that on March 23-24 as nearly 40 former Rivermen players came back to Peoria to help the franchise celebrate its 30th season with an Oldtimers Game. I’m building an all-time franchise roster — the team has been in the old IHL, the ECHL and now the AHL — and I’m beyond 800 players and still researching.
I count myself lucky to have seen guys like Curtis Joseph, Nelson Emerson, David Backes, Ian Laperriere start their careers here. We’ve had guys who were great at the Rivermen level and are in the team’s Hall of Fame, like goaltender Darrell May, winger Doug Evans (played 700 games here), center Michel Mongeau and defenseman Dominic Lavoie (had a 102 mph slapper).
In that context, Mongeau was the greatest player in Peoria’s team history (165 goals, 282 assists in 328 games, IHL regular-season and playoff MVP honors).
In the NHL context, I’d have to go with Emerson or CuJo. And Backes was a guy who had that intangible aura about him from the moment he got here, no doubt he was going to be a significant NHLer.

BNZ – The Rivermen are now tied with Chicago with 75 points in their division, sit fifth in their conference and are primed for a post season run, much like their parent club. Who has been the top player on the Rivermen this season?

DE – The Rivermen playoff situation? Two weeks ago Peoria was tied with Chicago for the Midwest Division lead and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Five days after they reached that high, they were 11th in the conference. Yeah, it’s that tight a race. Through April 3, the Rivermen are sitting at No. 8 overall, on tiebreakers, and have 5 games left in the regular-season. For most of the season, All-Star center T.J. Hensick has been their MVP, sitting among the top three in the overall AHL scoring race. Hensick rusted for 25 days on a call-up to St. Louis, however, and has not been able to make a big impact since returning here. Down the stretch, Peoria’s MVP has been veteran Jonathan Cheechoo, who has 6 goals in his last 8 games while the rest of the team combined for 9 in that span. He’s playing inspired hockey and trying to lead the team.

BNZ -  The Rivermen just got TJ Hensick back from the St. Louis Blues after the signing of Jaden Schwartz, this is a move that can really help ramp the Rivermen up as they close out the season. How will this affect the line up going into the playoffs?

DE -  Hensick’s return to Peoria? Hensick has really struggled since returning from the Blues from a call-up in which he felt he was left to go to waste. His mental frame is not good at the moment, and he has scratched out just 2 goals, 1 assist and a -1 rating in 8 games since returning. Hensick is an elite player — arguably THE elite player — in the AHL and if he regroups and returns to form he can single-handedly push Peoria through the playoffs. Linemate Derek Nesbitt — one of Peoria’s six players to reach 20 goals this season — has gone 13 straight games without scoring and needs Hensick to set him up.

BNZ – One player you’ve got to watch dominate for the Rivermen, Jean-Guy Trudel, was just inducted into the Peoria Rivermen Hall of Fame. Trudel, who still lives in Peoria with his family started his career with the Rivermen when Peoria was apart of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and was a dominant force throughout the AHL in his career. What do you think held him back from making it in the National Hockey League?

DE – Jean-Guy Trudel was one of those prospects who started his pro career with the Rivermen in their ECHL era and came back to play for Peoria in the AHL, too. He won a Calder Cup ring as Houston’s star in the AHL, and blew up defenses for years in Europe. One of the toughest guys to knock off the puck, we just added him to the Rivermen Hall off Fame here in late March. Trudel was a terrific offensive player — heck, he even scored 4 goals in the Oldtimers’ Game in March — but it was his defense that kept him from gaining a foothold in the NHL. He wasn’t quite fast enough maybe, either. Had plus-speed for the AHL level and was so strong on his skates, he created a lot of fun moments for sure.

BNZ – With the trade of Ben Bishop to the Ottawa Senators, the load was given to Jake Allen, the Blues 2nd round pick (34th overall) in 2008. The Rivermen then acquired Alex Stalock on loan from the San Jose Sharks. How do you feel the Rivermen goaltending rank among the American Hockey League?

DE – The Rivermen goaltending? The Rivermen were braced for the trade of Ben Bishop almost before Christmas arrived. He tore up the AHL and is going to be a contender for Goaltender of the Year even though he’s moved up to Ottawa now. Jake Allen had a slow start to his season and seemed lost in Bishop’s shadow, but he has been very good since December, really, and just put together 15 straight starts for the Rivermen down the stretch. Bishop-Allen was the No. 1 tandem in the AHL — maybe Oklahoma City‘s David LeNeveu and Yann Danis were the exception — from January through late February. Stalock is a pretty good fallback position — he won 39 games for Worcester and was an AHL All-Star in 2009-10. Stalock jumped in for his first start on Sunday and promptly tossed a 1-0 shutout to keep Peoria alive in the playoff race.
As for Allen, more than one NHL scout has told me in the last couple months that he’ll be as good in the AHL next season as Bishop was this season.

BNZ – The Blues have one of the top prospect pools in the NHL and many of those prospects reside on the Rivermen roster. Out of all the kids in the AHL this season, who is most likely to make the jump to the NHL next season?

DE – Rivermen players making NHL jump next season? I don’t think we’ll see Ian Cole in Peoria again next season, and injuries in St. Louis this season merely sped up his graduation to the Blues. With Schwartz there, and maybe Tarasenko coming too, the Blues will continue to add young dynamic players. From Peoria, you can look for defenseman Cade Fairchild and center Phil McRae — McRae will be in his third season and needs to make some kind of move forward — to have the best chances in camp. Maybe Grachev as a role player replacing one of the older guys up there.

BNZ – The trade of Brett Sterling to the Portland Pirates in exchange for Patrick O’Sullivan raised quite a few eyebrows for the Rivermen fan base. However, O’Sullivan has four goals, six assists for 10 points in seven games with the Rivermen and Sterling has three goals and an assist for Portland in seven games. Is the trade as lopsided as the stat line suggests?

DE – The trade of Brett Sterling (22 goals with the Rivermen) for Patrick O’Sullivan in early March was an exchange of two great AHL players who do different things. Sterling is a pure finisher. O’Sullivan scores goals, too, but he also has a playmaking skill set that is similar to Hensick, who was in the NHL with St. Louis as the trade deadline arrived. The Rivermen made the move because it was unlikely Sterling was going to re-sign next season, but mostly because they were seeking O’Sullivan’s playmaking to protect them in the case Hensick didn’t return from the Blues.

BNZ – What is it going to take for the Rivermen to make a run in the playoffs for a chance at the Calder Cup?

DE – What it takes for Rivermen to make a Calder run? The Rivermen are an interesting team, one a few of the favored playoff-bound teams would like to see miss the field. I believe Peoria’s forward group ranks among the top 5 in the AHL. Its defense unit, however, is young and took big hits with the loss of Jake Gannon (injury out for season) and Cole. It ranks in the bottom third of the AHL, at best. The Rivermen have both PP and PK units among the league’s Top 10. So there are good pieces here to work with if they can get in. To go far, Peoria’s forward group will have to get hot again, and Allen will have to play at a sub-2,00 goals-per-game clip in the postseason.

BNZ – While covering the Rivermen the last 27 years, you’ve seen your fair share of visiting arena’s. What would you say your favorite arena is, aside from the Carver Arena in Peoria?

DE – Favorite arenas? I’ve been lucky to cover the Rivermen in 31 states and nearly 90 arenas over my 27 seasons. I’ve been in some big, beautiful new arenas in Minnesota, Cleveland, New Orleans, Salt Lake City … but I really loved the old arena in Toledo, Ohio. About 4,000 seats, just a lower bowl. Rink was only 174 feet long. Glass was only 4 feet high. And the press box was an old railroad boxcar lashed to the rafters with chains. Never sat down for a game up there because there were no seats in the press box. Old-time hockey.

BNZ – Out of all players who returned from last season, who has been the most improved player for the Rivermen this season?

DE – Rivermen player most improved? Adam Cracknell made his NHL debut with the Blues last season, but he has continued to improve in 2011-12. He earned his first captaincy, and is having a career-year with 20 goals. Anthony Nigro is having a career year, too. His goals are at 12, up from 9 last season, and his plus-minus is +12, far better than last year’s -1.

I want to thank Dave for giving us the chance to see inside the knowledge of a man who’s covered the same team for 27 years. A man who has spent so much time around the sport of hockey. He helps us see what most of us cannot see, as he’s around the team on a daily basis, compared to maybe catching a few games here and there like the rest of us.

Talking to Dave reminds me of the biggest reason why I enjoy interviewing writers and if I ever get the chance, coaches, scouts, and management over players. Sometimes, you get better stories out of guys who’ve been in one job for a long time, compared to what you get from the players themselves.

Be sure to follow Dave on twitter @IceTimeCleve and be sure to check out the daily Peoria Journal Star Rivermen coverage,  which includes pictures, video and words.

Thanks for reading everybody, and LETS GO RIVS!

Any questions? Message me at randallritchey@gmail.com

Comparing 1999-2000 to 2011-2012? Makes you miss Demitra...

It’s game day St. Louis Blues fans! The good guys, all of them, are in California and the healthy ones will take on the Anaheim Ducks. You should know the drill by now. The Bluenotes Podcast audio is below. Listening time is right about 10 minutes.

Links & References

Jeremy Rutherford’s Morning Skate blog from Anaheim

Rivermen Game Recap on PJStar.com

My Blues Info List on Twitter

Jaden Schwartz at Blues Practice Sunday

With St. Louis Blues Radio going on hiatus for a while my podcasting efforts will be moving in to new areas. One will be turning the sometimes daily Bluenotes post in to a daily podcast with updates on the St. Louis Blues and more. In Monday’s episode are updates on David Backes, Andy McDonald, Jason Arnott, Alex Steen, Kris Russell and Matt D’Agostini.

Just click the Download link below which will take you to the audio.

-

Links from Tidbits

David Backes is on the cover of The Hockey New’s April 2nd Issue.

Brookroyal’s Website – Go get Bleed Blue on iTunes today!

Link to the Blues Komen Team Info - Reminder: BNZ will have a sub-team again this year. Be on the look out for info.

References

My Blues Info List on Twitter

Andy Strickland’s Sunday article on TrueHockey.com

Game Info:

Location: Edmonton

Opposing Netminder: Devan Dubnyk (per Daily Faceoff)

Blues Probable Line Combos: (Based on Feb 27 game- line up not expected to change per Jeremy Rutherford)
Forward Lines:
McDonald – Backes – Oshie
Perron – Berglund – Stewart
Sobotka – Arnott – Porter
Crombeen – Nichol – Reaves

Defensive Pairings:
Colaiacovo – Pietrangelo
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Huskins  – Polak

Starting Goalie:
Jaroslav Halak

This is one of the top Wild enforcers due to injuries and demotions. Yes, Darroll friggin’ Powe. Image via Dinur/Flickr

That was a nice little bounce-back game, I’d say. You could say the St. Louis Blues were playing a weakened New York Islanders team, and I would probably agree with that (top goaltender Evgeni Nabokov could not play due to illness), but a 5-1 win over a team in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference is nothing to sneeze at, no matter what the circumstances, especially for a team like The Note that has had trouble scoring goals as of late. All that said, there were no fights in the contest, which was probably to be expected as the Isles don’t fight much and Ryan Reaves was told to take a spot in the press box buffet line anyway. I swear I’ll get over it. The Blues are now tied for 11th place in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres with 27 fighting majors. There was a correction in BJ Crombeen’s fight – it was NOT a draw, and in fact he was judged (somehow?) to have won that fight. Taking away the draw and adding a win, the team’s fight record now stands 13-3-11.

Afternoon games? Yes, there are two of them this weekend, and we start with possible future division/conference mate, the Minnesota Wild. When the Blues played the Wild on November 5th, Minnesota was in the thick of the playoff race. When the two teams played on November 19th, the Wild were second in the Western Conference and first in the Northwest Division. When the two teams squared off on January 14th, the Wild were sliding back in the playoff hunt but still held onto eighth place in the conference. Today, the Wild are in full free-fall mode, and while they’re still 10 points within a playoff spot, they’re thought to be possible trade deadline sellers. Hot starts can be a bitch, especially when you don’t follow up on them. Anyway, the Wild have fought 29 times this season, currently ahead of the Blues and good for a tie for eighth place in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils in the category. Their fight record, however, is relatively average at 10-9-10.

14 of the Wild’s 29 fights are shared amongst two players, neither of whom will be playing in this game. They are Brad Staubitz (6’1”, 215lbs, 4-3-2 including a Loss to Reaves, currently with Houston in the AHL) with nine and Clayton Stoner (6’3”, 225lbs, 2-2-1 including a Loss to Chris Stewart, on IR with a “Lower Body Injury”) with five. Following them is youngster Matt Kassian (6’4”, 232lbs, 2-0-2) with four fights and Justin Falk (6’5”, 215lbs, 2-0-1 with the Draw coming against David Backes) and Darroll Powe (5’11”, 212lbs, 0-0-3 with a Draw against Scott Nichol) with three fights apiece. Solo fighters include Carson McMillan (6’1”, 200lbs, Draw, on IR with a “Lower Body Injury”), Nick Johnson (6’1”, 183lbs, Loss), Warren Peters (6’0”, 195lbs, Loss), Nate Prosser (6’2”, 195lbs, Loss) and Cal Clutterbuck (5’11”, 213lbs, Loss).

Call it a hunch, but I don’t really expect a fight in this contest, especially with so many rematch possibilities falling by the wayside due to the injuries and demotions and such. But if there’s something to happen, expect it to be Crombeen going with Kassian. It would be an interesting tilt and a grand departure from the marathon Derek Dorsett tried to goad Crombeen into on Tuesday.

A second win heading into a nationally-televised game in Chicago would be quite nice, actually.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Game Info:

Location: St. Louis

Opposing Netminder: Evgeni Nabokov (per Daily Faceoff)

Expected Line Combos: (Per Lou Korac)
Fowards:
Perron – Backes – Oshie
McDonald – Berglund – Langenbrunner
Sobotka – Arnott – Crombeen
Porter – Nichol – Stewart

Defensemen Pairings:
Jackman – Shattenkirk
Huskins – Pietrangelo
Russell- Polak

St. Louis Blues

(29-12-6)

at

Detroit Red Wings

(32-15-1)

at

Joe Louis Arena

Game Time- 6:30 pm CDT

TV- NBCSN(VS) Radio- KMOX

Blues Team Recap- The St. Louis Blues don’t seem to be slowing down in their quest for the top of the mountain. The Blues, led by Captain David Backes, trounced Buffalo on Saturday night 4-2. In the game Backes had two goals and 2 assists adding yet another line in the book of get this man a Selke. In the NHL today, what team has a player that does all of the things that David Backes can do and do them consistently better than he? That’s right folks, there is not a forward in the league that can do all of the facets of the game as well as Backes. Count the Blues fortunate and lucky to have his services for the next 5 years. The Blues look to continue their impressive 8-1 January with a game in the Motor City. Detroit has won 18 home games in a row, which is a franchise record for the Red Wings. Detroit also sits one point ahead of the Blues in the standings, so tonight we will either leap frog over them or be three points behind. Tonight is a very important game and will be a good test to see just how serious the Blues are about competing with the big boys in the league.

Blues Keys To The Game- Domination. Plain and simple the Blues need to be on top of Detroit every second of every moment in this game. Do not give them any time or space to think or move. Puck domination with an overpowering forecheck will be a second key. The Blues have to be the more physical of the two teams when the puck drops tonight. The Blues should look to be disciplined and stay out of the box, but push the envelope right to the edge with feisty, hard nosed checks. Jimmy Howard has been phenomenal lately and will test the Blues and their ability to score goals on a consistent basis. The Detroit Red Wings need to be taught who the big dog in town is now, and tonight would be the perfect time to place the tail of the Red Wings squarely between their legs and make them run home to mama. Stay out of the penalty box!!!!! Do not give Detroit the chance to use special teams against you. If they Blues loose their cool and give Detroit chances with the man advantage it will be a baddddddd night.

Detroit Red Wings Team Recap- The Wings are 8-2 this month and own a 18 game winning streak at home, which is a franchise best. The Wings are coming off of a shoot out victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in a game where Henrik Zetterberg was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for a from behind push that sent defenseman Nikita Nikitin into the boards awkwardly, injuring his knee. After reviewing the video one can clearly see that Nikitins skate catches a valley and the slight hand placement on his back from Zetterberg is enough to send him sailing. Zetterberg is not known for being a dirty player and it was not his intent to injure Nikitin. The league decided to take no action against Zetterberg and, for once, the league got one right. That does not excuse them from the atrocities they have handed down to countless players and the countless suspensions and fines that have not be given out. Detroit will look to cool the jets on a red hot Blues team tonight when they come calling at the Joe. Detroit currently sits atop the Western Conference with 65 points and with a win tonight could pull out to a three point lead in the Central Division. If the Blues win they would trail St. Louis by 1 point in the standings.

Detroit Red Wings Keys To The Game- Find a way to get more shots on goal and traffic in front of the goal tender. Tonight the Red Wings will have a tough task on their hands. The Blues will be coming at them with a lot of physicality and speed in transition. The Wings will have to be able to match the physical play and keep the puck out of their zone. St. Louis will be hunting in front of Jimmy Howard tonight for any rebounds that may squirt away from his capable hands and bury them in the twine. If Detroit can lure the Blues into taking minor penalties and then capitalize on those man advantages, they will have a good chance at grabbing the two points from St. Louis. If Detroit allows St. Louis to get their game plan in action, which is tough defensive with quick transition and traffic in front of the net, its going to be all over but the crying in Detroit. Look for a strong effort from the Wings tonight as they are well aware of how hard this Blues team works. Do not think that Mike Babcock will let them forget just how talented they are.

Tonight’s Blues Line Up  (per Jeremy Rutherford)

Forward Lines  

Perron-Backes-Oshie 

 Sobotka-Berglund-D’Agostini

Langenbrunner-Arnott-Stewart

 Porter-Nichol-Crombeen

Defensive Pairings:

Colaiacovo-Pietrangelo

Jackman-Shattenkirk

Russell-Polak

Starting Goaltender- Halak

Game Night News- Blues forward Alex Steen did not accompanying the team on this one game road trip.  Only tomorrow’s night home game against the Penguins is left for the Blues prior to the All-Star Week break. Though Steen may return tomorrow at home, it is likely Steen will use this time to continue to rest and skate to get his legs under him as well as make sure he is fully ready to return to the line up when play resumes in a week and a half. Andy McDonald has not taken off the red jersey yet and, according to rumors, is closing in on that date in the very near future. With the long ALL Star break upon us, I would look for Andy to shed that red jersey in the very near future. Kent Huskins still has no definite time table for return but is headed in the right direction working on conditioning and getting himself back to game ready condition. Huskins has been out of the line up since blocking a shot in Calgary in October with an ankle injury that required surgery.

Tonight Detroit will be with out the services of Patrick Eaves as he remains on the IR. No additional players are listed on Detroit’s IR for tonight’s game.

Red Wings Line Up (per Daily Faceoff)

Forward Lines:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi

Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler

Miller-Helm-Cleary

Emmerton-Abdelkader-Holmstrom

Defensive Pairings:

Lidstrom-White

Kronwall-Stuart

Ericsson-Commodore

Starting Goaltender- Jimmy Howard

Tonight is a big night for St. Louis. I know we keep saying that the next game is the most important game yet. Tonight it holds true once again and will take maximum effort for the Boys in Blue to secured two more points and the top spot in the Western Conference! LET’S GO BLUES!!!

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

Steve Ott has an ‘A’ on his sweater, and I always imagine it stands for “A**hole”. Image via ladybugbkt/Flickr

The St. Louis Blues can win a game in the shootout? Holy crap! And so it was done on Saturday, as the Blues played the Minnesota Wild to a 2-2 tie in regulation and a scoreless five-minute overtime period, and took the victory in a shootout, most undoubtedly the single dumbest way I can think of ending a hockey contest (JUST END IT IN A TIE). The great news, aside from the win, in this one is that there were three (!) fights in this game. For starters, David Backes earned 19 minutes of penalties in sticking up for David Perron on what turned out to be a clean hit, “fighting” Justin Falk to a draw (video here, and this situation is exactly why the Instigator Rule is a load of crap). Then, rather inexplicably, Clayton Stoner went at it with Chris Stewart, with Stewart taking the win (video here). Finally, in what has to be the Blues’ fight of the year so far, Ryan Reaves and Brad Staubitz squared off in what I thought was a pretty excellent fight, a fight that displayed all the reasons why fighting should never be taken out of the game (A BIT OF NSFW LANGUAGE IN THIS LINK). Somehow, a decision was rendered in this fight, and it was given to Reaves (video here, and if you don’t like what you see, I’m sorry . . . but you are not a fan of hockey fights).With these three fights to add to the total, the Blues ratchet up to a tie for 11th place in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins, who each have collected 20 fighting majors on the season. The fight record, with the two wins and the draw added, now goes up to 9-2-9.

We now welcome to town former Norris Division mate and possible future division or conference mate, the Dallas Stars. You might recall that the Stars did pay a visit recently. The Blues and Stars have played one in Dallas (October 13th) and one in St. Louis (December 26th) this season. As you can see by the date, the St. Louis meeting was very recent, and some foul happenings took place in that game. It was also a close contest that was won by the Blues, one of very few the Blues seem to have won over the Stars recently. Is it an indicator of what is to come tonight? Probably not, as momentum is usually only as good as your next game. The Stars have fought 18 times this season, currently good for a tie for 16th in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers. The Stars’ fight record is not bad – a solid 5-4-9.

The Stars are led in fights by former Blackhawk Jake Dowell (6’0”, 198lbs, 1-2-2) with five fights. Following him is well-known pest and one of my least-favorite players ever, Steve Ott (6’0”, 190lbs, 1-0-3, including a “victory” over Barret Jackman), who has fought four times this season. Then, there’s Krys Barch (6’1”, 237lbs, 1-1-1 as a Star and 2-3-3 overall, traded to the Panthers on December 7th) with three fights as a Star. Team Captain Brenden Morrow (6’0”, 205lbs, 1-0-1) has fought twice. Among solo fighters for the Stars are future superstar Jamie Benn (6’2”, 205lbs, Win), veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray (6’4”, 237lbs, Draw with Stewart), hulking defenseman Mark Fistric (6’2”, 233lbs, Draw) and a son of former Islanders royalty, Eric Nystrom (6’1”, 193lbs, Loss).

These two teams have a recent past of brawling each other, and with the kind of fight matchups that happened in the first two meetings of the two teams, I would not be shocked at anything at this point. For posturing purposes, my pick for the night will be Dowell and Reaves, but don’t bet on it . . . bet on something else (ANYTHING else).

Two home wins in a row? As long as it doesn’t go to overtime, I’m cool.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights