(10-8-2)

vs

Pittsburgh Penguins

(12-6-3)

at

Consol Energy Center 

Game Time 6pm CDT

TV- FSMW(HD) Radio- KMOX

Blues Team Recap- The Blues are coming off a regulation loss to the LA Kings last night at the Scott Trade Center. With a few botched plays from defenseman Barret Jackman and a couple of undisciplined minors later the Kings skated out of the Lou with two more points handing Ken Hitchcock his first regulation loss since taking over as head coach. Emotions were high in last nights game and none was more evident then a very dirty cross check from behind laid down by Kings defensmen Drew Doughty on Blues forward TJ Oshie. The hit sent Oshie head first  the boards who had no idea Doughty was going to check him from behind. Leave it to the good ole NHL officials to only call a 2 minute minor cross checking penalty. Another awesome development this morning would be the NHL sheriff Brendan Shanahan only fining Doughty 2,500 bucks for the hit and rendering no suspension. Just last week the front office Lawmaker laid out a 3 game suspension to Chris Stewart for a VERY identical hit on Redwings player Nikolas Kronwall. Shanny is not doing himself any favors by giving punishment that is not equal for hits that the NHL and the NHPLA want to remove from the game. I find it completely absurd that Shanahan delved out the punishment that he did and I feel disrespected and slapped in the face. If you can’t handle disciplining big name athletes from big name teams but you can hand out huge fines and games missed to the smaller ones you have no business being in control.  Do I think Stewart deserved the suspension that he received? You bet your sweet ass I think he deserved it. Stop giving Blues fans reasons to doubt and hold grudges against the people at the top.

Blues Keys To The Game- Score goals. Gee Tony, Isn’t the goal of every game? Yes, Yes it is but the blues have not done a good job of tallying marks against their opponents in the last several games. The power play has once again regressed and gone of for o well hell you get the idea. Scoring chances are coming the Blues way but they have not been able to finish on those chances like their opponents have. If you can’t finish on your chances you wont go very far in this league. Crash the net.. This is the bread and butter of this teams offensive ability and it seems they have lost touch once again with this idea. Shots are coming through but the opposing goal tender is able to see the puck thus making an easy stop from perimeter shots. A few lucky bounces is all the Blues need to get back to the winning ways that they have become accustom to under Hitch. Play hard, choral the Kid and fore check them into next week and the Blues should have a good night in P-Town. O by the way.. STAY OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX!

Pens Team Recap- After missing the last 10 months due to a concussion Pens center-man Sidney Crosby returned to the line up against the New York Islanders a few nights ago. It did not take Sid long to find his touch. Crosby went on to polish off 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points on the night. The only place the Penguins are headed from here is a steady climb upward in the Eastern Conference. Look for the polar aquatic birds to make a big splash come playoff time if this roster of offensive giants can remain healthy.

Pens Keys To The Game- Get the Blues to take bad penalties and score power play goals. This should be every teams MO from here on out against this team. The Blues have been very undisciplined over their last three match ups and have taken penalties that have lead either directly or indirectly to their demise. With a mediocre PK unit and a terrible Power Play the Pens could dominate this game if they keep possession of the puck time way up and force the stingy defensive Blues to play in their own end. The Blues will make mistakes and it is how the Pens react to those mistakes that will ultimately define this match up. Can Sid the Kid and company capitalize on some mistakes by a young team? Or will the Pens take a lazy approach to a very good team and get shown some humble pie? The puck is in the Pens court and it is up to them whether or not they dominate St. Louis or cough up two points.

Blues News- David Perron continues to skate with the team in full contact practices. No time table has been officially set for his return but all indications point to him being just a few weeks away from his 2011-2012 debut with the Blues. Andy McDonald remains on IR with a concussion and no time table for return at this point. Kent Huskins remains out on IR with a ankle fracture. BJ Crombeen is sidelined with a fractured shoulder blade and is expected to return some time in early January. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo was placed on IR with a hamstring injury. Cade Faichild has been recalled from Peoria to be the Blues 7th Defenseman.

I again as a Blues fan shake my head at the decision making of the disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan. When you let hits like this go you set a precedence that top teams and top players will get a free pass but those who are lower on the popularity pole will get crucified and made an example of. Shame on you Shanaban, Shame shame shame….

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It’s important to note that the officials, Frederick L’Ecuyer and Chris Rooney, did not see this hit in such a light that warranted a call more than a two minute minor. Obviously, Blues fans (and likely the Blues as a team) don’t agree. Honestly, what everyone else thinks is asinine. What matters is what Brendan Shanahan’s interpretation.

After watching the hit several times on the video replay in the NHL on NBC Overtime coverage, I’ve come to two conclusions.

1. The hit itself was not extremely dangerous.
2. Given the context of the game, the intent of the hit is questionable.

Oshie is not known for being a great skater. Few doubt his deft hands, but his feet clod around the ice like Clydesdale circling the field at Busch Stadium. It’s certainly possible that as Oshie came in to the corner he wasn’t exactly on stable footing (remember, bad late third period ice) and he toppled over with not much ability to keep up right.

That said, why is Doughty even taking the chance?

As one of the best defensemen of his generation and a Norris finalist in only his second pro season, Doughty certainly reads and understands situations well. To say he knew how much time was left and knew how to close off Oshie otherwise is a fair assumption. I’m sure he’s seen the Shanahan video explaining the correct plays to make along the boards. With barely enough time to get a pass off, let alone of shot that can best Jonathan Bernier, why not just wrap him up and pin him to the boards as the video shows Kris Letang doing in a preseason game against Chicago? He had support overloaded on his half of the zone, why did he need to separate the man from the puck as if in a one on one situation? Doughty could have easily tied up Oshie and allowed the clock to expire.

The answer is simple. Doughty clearly had ulterior motives beyond prenvting one last attempt for a game tying goal.

The two clubs really don’t get along. Which is odd because they haven’t met in the playoffs in forever, but dislike remains nonetheless. Looking for a little payback for the 5-0 thrashing they were given in October, the Blues set out to make the entire 60 minute affair as tight and chippy as possible (without crossing the proverbial line).

The style of game was a total 180 degree flip from the Islanders & Penguins game show on Versus the night before. If Tuesday’s game was like the trench warfare of WWI then Monday’s was Blitzkrieg.

If all’s fair in war, did Doughty not care that he was taking a risk to send a message? “You can’t beat us and to rub it in even more, eat boards and Plexiglas…”? If that’s not the case, then the hit walks like a duck, quack like a duck, but is actually a chicken.

Yeah, I don’t buy that. I doubt Shanahan will either.

If this hit was made in the first or second period, nothing likely comes of the play other than a phone call talking to. Maybe a fine for risky behavior. But with the game basically decided it’s a perilous hit that shouldn’t be made. Those are one of many that the league wants out of the game.

Given Chris Stewart’s suspension as a first time offender whose dangerous hit didn’t lead to injury, Doughty should expect missing the next 2-3 games. Then again, Stewart was given strict punishment by the officials; a 5 minute major and a 10 minute misconduct. The initial response does carry weight.

Agree or disagree? Put your Shanaban predictions in the comments.

Update: The NHL has fined Doughty $2,500 for the hit on Oshie. No suspension.

VS

(2-2-0)

AT

Game Time 9:30 Central Time

Media Coverage: RADIO- KMOX 1120 AM

TV- FSMW

 Team Recap - The rain is steadily falling here in St. Louis. One could almost discern a correlation between today’s gloominess and the feelings that some Blues fans are already having this season. Coming out of the gate at 2-3-0 with some very sloppy and bottom of the barrel special teams play has left some of us scratching our heads. Poor zone clearing on the PK and an inability to put pucks in the net on what has been many PP chances thus far in the season are a few things that Davis Payne has made clear this week that MUST improve and in a hurry. With Andy Mcdonald now headed to the IR(Blues on the IR) after suffering a concussion in the game against Dallas, this week the Blues are counting on some of the depth they added this off season to pull them through an already injury riddled first 5 games of the season. It will be a test to see if Blues GM Doug Armstrong has put together a unit that can withstand some tests in the early going and get the necessary wins to see them through until all the troops come back healthy.

Chris Stewart- TSN Photography

Blues Keys to the Game- The St. Louis Blues will come into LA looking to get their power play jump-started. The Blue Note will need a solid contribution from the man advantage this season to help them to beat their opponents when they make mistakes. If you can not convert your PP you will have a tough time in the new NHL winning games. With teams like Detroit and Chicago in your division, it’s easy to see why a PP problem becomes such a large issue. The Blues need to get the big bodies of Chris Stewart, Jason Arnott, and David Backes in front of Jonathan Quick tonight and take away his ability to see the shots coming in. The physical presence in front of the net has thus far been absent in the play this season. It is time to get back to basic, simple hockey. This team needs to be physical and dominate the opponent with size and tip ins to be effective. The Blues need the “dirty goals” more than ever as their ability to dangle is not seen throughout the entire line up as consistently as some of the highly skilled offenses in the league. With a PK that is dead last in the NHL, the Blues need some serious love and attention in this area. The guys in front of Halak are doing a abysmal job of clearing pucks away from the crease and an even more atrocious job at getting the puck out of the zone. I can’t tell you how many goals have been scored this season against the boys in the Blue Note this year due to lack of clearing pucks. Tonight the Blues will look to put up early goals on Quick and get him out of his rhythm. If Jonathan Quick finds his game early it may be hard for the blues to solve him.

Tonight’s Lines/Defensive Pairings:

According to Jeremy Rutherford, we can expect to see the following lines tonight:

Forward Lines:

Steen-Backes-Langenbrunner

Oshie-Berglund-Stewart

Sobotka-Arnott-D’Agostini

Grachev-Nichol-Porter

Defensive Pairings:

Huskins-Pietrangelo

Jackman-Shattenkirk

Nikitin-Polak

Starting Goaltender:

Halak

LA Kings Team Recap- The LA Kings started this season in Europe with a game against the New York Rangers where the Kings beat the BlueCoats in a hard fought game 3-2. The following night the Buffalo Sabers took it to the Kings pouncing on them for 4 goals in a 4-2 win. Coming back to the states, the Kings dropped an overtime game to the New Jersey Devils. Finally, in their last game defeated Philly 3-2 in regulation. Highly touted defenseman Drew Doughty left the game against the Flyer’s in the first period with an upper body injury. The Kings official web site is reporting that Doughty has been placed on IR and no time table for return has yet to be given.

LA Kings Keys to the Game- It is fairly simple for LA tonight. Get traffic in front of Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak and take as many shots as you can. LA will also look to capitalize on the weak PK of the Blues tonight. The Kings will need to stay disciplined though. The Blues might be a team in a bit of a confused state at this point. That being said, when they do figure it out and start to click on all cylinders they will be a team that is very hard to contain due to their size and physical work ethic. Look for LA to make a big attempt to get ahead of the Blues early tonight with a lot of offensive zone pressure.

This game should be fast paced and full of a lot of fun play making. The Blues need to step it up tonight and bring home a win tonight to improve their record to 3-3-0. Here in St. Louis, we can hardly afford to let points slip away early in the season causing us a mad dash for a final play off spot at the end. Grab your drinks, pull up a seat, and cheer on our Blues to a face stomping victory tonight!

Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Game-time: 9:30 pm Central
TV: FSMW (HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

Stat Pack

St Louis Blues: 14th in Western Conference & 5th in Central Division – 41 Points

Los Angeles: 8th in Western Conference & 3rd in Pacific Division – 53 Points

Power Play:
St. Louis (Road): 19.1%, (9th)
Los Angeles (Home): 23.8%, (T-3rd)

Penalty Kill
St. Louis (Road): 88.8%, (1st)
Los Angeles (Home): 73.5%, (29th)

Goals Scored per Game vs. Goals Against per Game
St. Louis (Road): 2.60 GF/G (16th) | 2.40 GA/G (6th)
Los Angeles (Home): 3.16 GF/G (8th) | 2.79 GA/G (19th)

Hot & Cold
Los Angeles: Drew Doughty (1 Goal, 8 Points (6 PPP) in last 10 games ) | Alex Frolov (Pointless in 7 of last 8 games)
St. Louis: David Backes (5 Assists and 14 PIM  in last 5 games) | TJ Oshie  (1 Assist in last 8 games)

Food For Thought

The Blues wrap up their warm weather trip to California this week with a tilt against the LA Kings. History is certainly not with the Blues in this one. In the last three seasons the Blues are 5-5-0 against LA. However, three of those victories came in the 07-08 season. From 08-09 season forward the Blues are 2-4-0 allowing 21 goals and scoring only 11. The Blues have only won three times in LA since the lockout.

It certainly seems the Blues have their work cut out for them. LA is a pretty tight team allowing only 27.6 shots per game (2nd best in the NHL) on average for the season. At home they are 4th best allowing a meager 26.5 shots a game. The Blues only average 27.5 shots on the road. A team that doesn’t shoot enough vs a team that lmits shots, not a recipe for Blues success.

What can be the recipe for success is a little rest yesterday and opening up the game flying like they did against San Jose. The Blues need to be concerned with flow vs match up early on, at least from the forward lines. I am all for putting Jackman and Polak on the ice against the Kopitar line, but I want to see three lines rolling consistently during play. Save the match ups for when you can get them easily. More so I mean I don’t want to see so many changes right after a faceoff or very early in a shift. Let the players do their job.

Difference Makers:

The Penalty Kill

LA has the second worst home penalty kill, the Blues have the best Road squad. Can LA shut down the Blues road power play to make this an even strength battle? Can the Blues keep LA’s power play off the scoreboard to give them a chance to win at even strength? The Blues have given up power play goals at home to weak power play teams. Can the Blues return the favor? If they can, they have a good chance at taking two points.

Player Notes:

Paul Kariya is on the trip with the Blues, but there really hasn’t been an indication if he will play tonight or not. Keith Tkachuk is still back in St. Louis recovering from his mouth injury.

LA will be without the services of Justin Williams (cut leg). Randy Jones (neck / head) could possibly return to the line up for tonight’s game. Jones is certainly someone to watch out for. In 18 games this season he has 12 points from the blue line.

I would assume Chris Mason gets the start. He has been solid and has had a day off after facing over 70 shots in two games. Payne is going to give Mason every chance to prove he is the number one goalie, at least that’s what it appears like for the time being.

LA has multiple Olympians as well. Goalie Jonathan Quick (USA). Defensemen Jack Johnson (USA) and Drew Doughty (Canada).  Forwards Dustin Brown (USA) and Michal Handzus (Slovakia).

I will come back with updates later today when they become available.

Keys to the Game

1. Special Teams
-  I am not removing this from the #1 Key to the Game till either the power play improves or the even strength play levels out. Right now this is the only way the Blues are going to be able to get leverage on an opponent.

2. Trust in Each Other
- The team needs to relax and know that they have back up and support. Go forth and make plays knowing the other four guys on the ice are doing their jobs.

3. Shoot the Puck
- Blues take few shots and LA allows few shots. The opposite needs to occur tonight.

Who to Watch for?

Drew Doughty

Doughty is the Kings second leading scorer with 9 Goals and 32 points. Image via frozenroyalty.net.

THE BEGINNING

Alex Pietrangelo, born January 18th, 1990 in King City, ON, Canada. The kid was born to play hockey. He grew up playing for the Richmond Hill Stars, Toronto Jr. Canadiens and the Vaughan Kings. He won a championship with the Vaughan Kings in 2003 and one with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens in 2005. Pietrangelo plays some high school hockey at a private school in King City at St. Thomas of Villanova College.

Pietrangelo was selected third overall by Niagara.

Going into the OHL draft in 2006, Pietrangelo was a candidate to go first overall. That honor eventually went to Steven Stamkos who was drafted by the Sarnia Sting. When it was time for the Oshawa Generals to pick second overall, Pietrangelo’s name could have been called, but the Generals went with another  offensive defensemen, Michael Del Zotto.

Finally it was time for the Mississauga Ice Dogs to pick third overall, and it was time that Pietrangelo heard his name called. The Ice Dogs made Pietrangelo their highest drafted defensemen in more then ten years.

Pietrangelo jumped right into the OHL that next season with the Ice Dogs and after playing 59 games, he finished with 52 points (7 goals, 45 assists). In his first season in Niagara, he didn’t see much power-play time, and in the time he did see, only notched three points. It was a very successful rookie season.

The next year, Pietrangelo saw his stock rise by having another successful season. In 60 games with Niagara in the regular season, Alex recorded 13 goals, 40 assists for 53 points. The most considerable jump in his stats was probably his penalty minutes. In 59 games a season before, Pietrangelo recorded just 45 penalty minutes. During his 2007-08 season, he recorded 94 penalty minutes. A significant jump from his prior year. Most of these formed as his physical play increased and he became harder to play against as he could beat you with his skills and his body as well.

Pietrangelo played six games for the Icedogs in the playoffs, recording five goals and four assists for nine points! A very successful six games for the soon-to-be draftee.

THE DRAFT

Moving into the draft, many suspected that Pietrangelo would go fairly high in the draft. Most people had the offensive powerhouse Steven Stamkos going first overall, which he did. After him, it was a toss up of the big five defensemen in the draft, Zach Bogosian, Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyler Myers and Luke Schenn, or the highly skilled Russian, Nikita Filatov could go be taken 2nd overall an on.

It was the L.A. Kings who selected second overall and they picked the kid who grew up a Kings fan, Drew Doughty with their pick.

Following the Kings, it was time for the Atlanta Thrashers to pick the second of the big five, defensemen, Zach Bogosian.

Pietrangelo was selected 4th overall in the NHL entry draft.

Next up was the St. Louis Blues. Out of the big five, only three were left. Tyler Myers, Luke Schenn and Alex Pietrangelo. Coming into the draft, they were rated in that order. Pietrangelo being the lowest ranked of the defensemen. But that didn’t stop the St. Louis Blues from selecting Pietrangelo with the fourth overall pick.

After being selected by the Blues, Pietrangelo took some time and spoke with reporters, he spoke on being drafted by St. Louis, “It feels great. I think I’m kinda still overwhelmed by everything that’s happening but its great to be apart of a great organization and I know they are certainly going in the right direction so I’m happy to be a part of it.” It’s obvious the kid is excited being drafted, but many questioned his ability to stick in the NHL the next season.

POST DRAFT AND PRO HOCKEY

They turned out to be correct. After an eight game trial with the St. Louis Blues, he was sent back to his OHL team, the Niagara Icedogs for a third season. Some believe that this is because of an injury Pietrangelo received after being boarded in his second NHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs then goon, Ryan Hollweg. He missed quite a few games and eventually was sent back to Niagara.

Pietrangelo wearing the 'C' in Niagara

Pietrangelo only played 36 games for the Icedogs in the regular season, but he had a lot more placed on his shoulders as he was named captain.

Pietrangelo finished with eight goals, 21 assists for a total of 29 points in those 36 regualar season games. Into the playoffs, Pietrangelo played 12 games, recording a goal and five assists which ended his OHL season.

After the Icedogs were eliminated from postseason play, Pietrangelo signed a PTO with the Peoria Rivermen. Pietrangelo played in one regular season game and seven playoff games for Peoria. He recorded one assists in one of his seven playoff games as Peoria was eliminated by the Houston Areos.

Coming into the 2009-2010 season, many suspected that Pietrangelo would stick full time with the Blues. But after playing hit and miss games in which Pietrangelo would play one game, then sit the next three, his total finally came to nine, the magic number for players who can’t play in the AHL. It was either keep Pietrangelo on the Blues roster, or send him back to the OHL. The Blues we’re to keen on sending him back to Niagara as they were one of the worst teams, and remain one of the worst teams in the OHL. He sat during games, but remained for NHL practices. A name on the roster and a seat in the press box wa the fate for Pietrangelo. But finally a release, Pietrangelo was selected by team Canada for the World Junior Championships. Four other Blues prospects were named to teams playing in the WJC (Jake Allen – Canada, Philip McRae – USA, David Warsofsky – USA, and David Rundblad – Sweden).

Pietrangelo playing for Team Canada.

Pietrangelo has played very well for team Canada. He’s played in five games throughout the tournament and has recorded three goals and eight assists, the most amount of points by a defensemen all tournament long.

He, along with team Canada is set to face off against team USA in the gold medal game of the WJC. In the last meeting between Canada and the USA, Pietrangelo scored the game tying goal, short handed to help lead Canada to a win in the shootout over USA.

We do not know the future of Alex Pietrangelo as of now. Will he return to the OHL or will he stick in St. Louis as they are heading in a new direction under a new coach in Davis Payne? Only time will tell, but one thing we can be sure of, Alex Pietrangelo has a very bright future ahead of him.

Thanks for reading,

Randall Ritchey

randallritchey@gmail.com