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

(17-24-4)

vs

St. Louis Blues

(27-12-6)

at

Scottrade Center

Game Time 7:00 pm

TV- FS-MW(HD) Radio- KMOX

Blues Team Recap- The Blues are coming of a tough, hard fought game against the Dallas Stars in which forward TJ Oshie scored the games only goal on a pretty pass from David Perron. The win catapulted the Blues into a tie with the New York Rangers for the top spot in the NHL in points. Since that time, with the Blues sitting idle, the team has fallen to 5th place in the Western Conference and has not played a game to slide that far. The Western Conference proves to be a tightly stitched network of good teams that do not seem to be letting off the gas pedal. How will the rest of this season shake out for the Blues? If they continue to put forward the effort each night they should remain securely inside a play off spot for the first time in 2 years and only the second time since the lock out.

Blues Keys To The Game- Tonight the Blues face the young but talented Edmonton Oilers team. The Oilers have shown flashes of great brilliance this season and also some dismal failures. The Blues will need to keep track of the young stars like Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle. Luckily, Hall will be sitting out tonight.  Tonight in front of the home crowd the Blues need to continue to push their fast defensive strong on the puck mentality and make the Oilers make bad plays. Puck posession has been the strong suit of the St. Louis Blues since Ken Hitchcock took over and will remain to be the sole focus for tonight.

Edmonton Oilers Team Recap- Taylor Hallhas been put on IR and is listed as “out indefinitely” after suffering a skate to the face in warm ups Tuesday. Hall received 30+ stitches to close the laceration. The Oilers are coming off  a 4-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Oilers this season are confusing to watch: one game they absolutely dominate the opposition, and then the next night they get completely blown out. This seesaw battle of the mind should sounds very familiar to Blues fans as it was not all that long ago our very own team dealt with this exact issue. The issue of inconsistency is a sore spot that the Oil will have to figure out how to mend. Edmonton will remain a bubble team with the potential to slide well into the cellar of the NHL if they can not turn things around in a hurry.

Edmonton Oilers Keys To The Game- Puck Possession…. Can the Oilers keep the puck away from the St. Louis Blues? With as strong as St. Louis is playing right now it will be very hard for the Oilers to come in to Scottrade Center and sneak away 2 points. The Blues own the best home record in the NHL with 19 wins already in a season that has just crossed over the half way point. Edmonton will look to get the Blues to take bad penalties, put traffic in front of the net, and try and create some havoc in front of the Blues net minders. The Blues don’t give up very many odd man rushes anymore, so hard work on the end boards and lots and lots of pucks to the net with traffic are about the only way you will see your shot total rise above 20 when you play St. Louis. Can the young Oilers team keep pace with the soaring Blues? We will see tonight at 7:00 pm.

Blues News- Forward Andy Mcdonald will be shedding the red jersey in the very near future. A return of the nimble soft handed goal scorer will be a much needed increase to the Blues ability to pot goals. Forward Alex Steen may return to the line up tonight after missing several games with a concussion. The hard working Winnipeg native will look to lace up the skates on the Blues top line with David Backes and Chris Stewart. This leaves a ton of ran rumblings on who will sit out of tonight’s game. Lou Korac believes it will be Ryan Reaves, but fans on Twitter are speculating that BJ Crombeen or even Matt D’Agostini could be in the press box tonight.  Defenseman Kris Russel will be looking to get back into the line up tonight aw sell, and it appears Ian Cole will drop out of the top 6 defensemen if that happens.  Kent Huskins continues to skate and is likely to return in the coming weeks creating a bit of a log jam at the defense position.

The sale of the St. Louis Blues remains to be a mystery.  Tom Stillman the only perspective buyer left in the pool of potential has entered in to his exclusive window to buy the team according to the NHL front office. Rumors have been rumbling in the last few days the Stillman may be soon ready to sign a purchase agreement to buy the team. Details of the alledged agreement have not been verified.

Get up off your butts and get your hands up in the air! It’s time once again for some BLUES HOCKEY! 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

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

Backes knows about speed and big hits. Richards knows about concussions. Is NHL doing enough to protect game quality and players themselves?

Connections.

I love them. I hunt them down like 15 year old girl does TJ Oshie after a practice at the Mills.

Yeah, it’s like that.

My fascination goes beyond the mere fact that they exist. I am enamored with the entire process. Researching as many angles and takes on relevant information I can find. Then running them through the puzzler till conclusion. A methodical venture that brings a sense of order in completion. No matter the outcome.

The quest for connections defines how I think, act, feel, work and play.

It is also in this alleviation (or affliction some may call it) that I cannot un-see the revelation I saw in the Blues poorly officiated 4-3 victory over Edmonton Thursday night.

Each call in the second period stands out like the FedEx arrow. All pointing to a seemingly ludicrous proposition when lines are drawn to previous events this season.

Some Blues fans have cried “conspiracy”. After last night, although I know better, I find myself struggling to disagree.

The belief stems from more than one game in January. It goes beyond the 5-minute major for slashing and game misconduct Roman Polak was given. More than the pair of pretentious calls on David Perron. They are the latest in a line of questionable calls by the orange banded zebras.

- The 5-minute major spearing and game misconduct handed out to Scott Nichol against Florida.

- The interpretation of the hit by Ian Cole on Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader and subsequent suspension.

- The lack of even a two minute penalty or league review of the headshot Pavel Datsyuk put on Barret Jackman.

Those may be more recent, but the list carries on and on this season. Those outside St. Louis who read this may not understand (doubters can check beat writers timelines and blog comments on game recaps), but those of us who bleed blue know. We’ve watched it ourselves in our Scottrade seats and with cautious DVR aided examination on our couches.

I’ve watched the Shanahan videos. I’ve read blogs from Vancouver to Miami, Halifax to Anaheim. I’ve seen the length and breadth of inconsistent decision making. It’s troubling. The players are only getting bigger. The game only getting faster.

There is no conspiracy. There is no nefarious plot to promote East coast hockey supremacy. The truth is becoming obvious. The league is struggling to keep up. They’ll never admit it, but they are. The pace of play is too much for even eight eyes to provide adequate management services.

What troubles me, the connection I see, is that game trends are still scaling in a manner that promotes the exponential growth of speed.

Instead of adding leniency to minor stick offenses and holding along the boards players are told “just let up”.

Just make the squared glass around the benches rounded. Don’t address the issues leading to the play where a player can have his head pinned between forearm and stanchion.

Why decriminalize clearing the puck over the defensive zone glass down to equal an icing? Why add hybrid icing to make calls simpler and safer?

Speed, speed and more speed!

The lack of root cause identification (or ignorance) and appropriate response leads me to believe the league will always work by whatever misguided logic they employ to determine the best way to produce a quality product. Far too many important players and teams have been hurt to suggest otherwise.

Sure, Blues fans see decisions tilting in a rival’s favor and think big brother is against them. But look at this year’s Winter Classic. Look at the Bruins and Marc Savard. The Penguins and Sidney Crosby. If consideration was truly being given to protecting the best and showcasing the beauty of the sport more substantial changes would have been made by now. It’s a problem for all. Not one of 30.

My conclusion? A crisis of faith as mine begins to wane in the NHL.

In the face of proof they snark saying more is needed. Providing the illusion of progress. Transparency is wonderful. It’s even better when coupled with continuity. Hopes were high that with a changing of the guard in the department of safety times would be better. So far, they are not. Sacrifice one area to improve another somehow feels like a step forward and two steps back.

Thoroughbreds are beautiful when allowed to run unabated within the confines of a properly maintained track. Today they sit and watch too often. Either in a box, on the bench or at home waiting for headaches to stop.

When will the fans headaches stop? Probably when the players’ do. Hockey gods only know when that will be.

On paper tonight’s tilt down at 14th and Clark doesn’t look all that exciting. The Oilers are floundering around the bottom third of the conference again and are without one of their young guns, 2011 1st overall draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The Blues don’t help very much based on their lack of goal scoring proficiency at regular strength and the man advantage.

Safe to say NHL Tonight isn’t likely salivating to get their hands on the highlights.

Sure, the good guys have a respectable chance at bringing home two points in regulation, but that doesn’t always get the blood going when getting ready to head to the game. There just really aren’t any obviously enticing storylines to follow. Fear not though. Interesting secondary storylines are there for the following.

Dig deeper with me. Here is what I’ll be watching for tonight.

Dueling Enigmas: Blues winger Chris Stewart and Oilers centerman Sam Gagner come from very different backgrounds, but they meet in the NHL with similar situations. Both have earned high praise and expectations with solid efforts in their first full NHL campaign.

Stewart scored 28 goals in 77 games for Colorado in 2008-09. Gagner was part of the young core that nearly made the 2008 playoffs with a strong late push. His 36 assist and 49 point effort had many thinking he would develop in to a very good playmaking center.

In the years that have followed Gagner stagnated and Stewart has glided up and down between the waves of production multiple times. Both stand to become Restricted Free Agents come season’s end and neither are in a great position to demand a raise.

But opportunity comes for both early in 2012.

With RNH out and captain Shawn Horcoff ailing, Gagner has the chance to take over the top center role at a critical juncture of the season. Edmonton sits 10 points back of the playoff line. A road heavy month of January could easily sink them. If amid the strife he can keep the ship stable, it speaks volumes to what he can still become.

With Alex Steen out with a concussion, Andy McDonald still trying to return from his third in two years and the Blues in the bottom half of league scoring, Stewart’s scoring touch is in desperate need of return. It seems as if captain David Backes may have sparked it’s return as evident with Stewart’s performance Tuesday against Phoenix.

Edmonton is exactly the team to play against now to get Stewart rolling. In two games with the Blues against the Oilers last season he buried 3 goals. Two of which game on the power play. It’s going to happen, tonight is as good as a chance as there will be.

With Backes likely taking matchup duty against the oppositions top line, Stewart and Gagner will be on the ice together quite often. Who wants it more?

The Stealthy Dangler: Shuuuush… Don’t tell anyone but David Perron has been back for 14 games and has 13 points (2 goals, 11 assists). A mark good enough to lead the team over that stretch. He’s returning to puck wizard status and is creating more scoring chances than anyone else in a bluenote sweater. He’s quietly playing very well.

Time to break the silence against a weak defensive team? Probably.

The Return of the Monster: Jaroslav Halak had a horrible start to the season. The death of Pavol Demitra surely had something to do with that. The time of troubles may have felt like an eternity, but they truly were not. With the closure that the memorial night brought so too came an improved Halakness Monster.

His recent numbers show he is returning to form. In his 13 games for all of November and December, Halak was 6-2-5 and allowed only 24 goals on 344 shots against. A .930 save percentage and allowing 1.85 goals per game isn’t too shabby. Neither is taking 65% of the points possible.

Despite the success on the ice and in the stats book, many fans still cut him down. Thought Edmonton is without Nugent-Hopkins, they still have a deadly duo in Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. Those two have combined for 28 goals and 69 points in 70 games. Don’t forgot the Oilers own the second best power play in the league. Halak will be tested.

Will he continue to perform up to the same high level he has for two months? Keep an eye on him so you can tell the doubters “I told you so” later.

Techno Viking Power: Speaking of whipping boys – boy that’s been the whole post – Patrik Berglund needs to get back to his confident ways in the same manner Stewart does. Much like Stewart again, there is no better team than the Oilers to break the dam with.

Last season Berglund lead all Blues skaters with 1 goal and 4 points in 4 games against the Alberta based club. A weakened blueline corps (see today’s GameDay preview for the extensive list of injuries to the Oilers backend) certainly plays to his advantage.

Will he find the bull and run north in to the china shop? He better, because if he doesn’t ans Stewart does, Berglund may find himself in “Erik Johnson’s skates”.

Enjoy the game my fellow blue bleeders. There is much to see, if you’re looking for it…

Edmonton Oilers vs St. Louis Blues

Location: Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri
Game Time: 7:00 pm Central
TV: Fox Sports Midwest (HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM

Previously

The OIlers defeated the Blues 4-2 in Edmonton on October 30th in the their first meeting of the 2011-12 season. Tonight’s tilt is the second in the four game season season.

By The Numbers

Oilers Record: 16-20-3, 5th in Northwest Division and 13th in the Western Conference.
Blues Record: 22-12-5, 3rd in Central Division and 5th in the Western Conference.

Goals For/Game: Edmonton – 2.72 (13th) | St. Louis – 2.54 (21st)
Goals Against/Game: Edmonton – 2.77 (T-15th) | St. Louis – 2.08 (3rd)

Power Play: Edmonton – 21.0% (2nd) | St. Louis – 13.0% (29th)
Penalty Kill: Edmonton – 84.3% (9th) | St. Louis – 82.4% (17th)

Major Penalties: Edmonton – 16 (T-17th most) | St. Louis – 17 (T-14th most)
Fighting Majors: Edmonton – 13 (T-19th most) | St. Louis – 15 (T-17th most)
Minor Penalties: Edmonton – 165 (10th most) | St. Louis – 157 (T-14th most)

Oilers Leading Scorers
1. Jordan Eberle (39gp, 16g, 42p)
2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (38gp, 13g, 35p)
3. Ryan Smyth (39gp, 15g, 32p)
4. Taylor Hall (31gp, 12g, 27p)
5. Shawn Horcoff (39gp, 8g, 22p)

Blues Leading Scorers
1. David Backes (39gp, 11g, 26p)
2. TJ Oshie (37gp, 13g, 25p)
3. Alex Steen (36gp, 13g, 24p)
4. Kevin Shattenkirk (38gp, 5g, 20p)
4. Jason Arnott (38gp, 8g, 20p)

Injuries

Out for the Blues: Forwards Steen (concussion like symptoms), Andy McDonald (post concussion symptoms), Ryan Reaves (ribs) and defensemen Kent Huskins (ankle), Kris Russel (hip), Ian Cole (suspension)

Out for the Oilers: Forward Nugent-Hopkins (Shoulder) as well as defensemen Alex Plante (concussion) and Cam Barker (ankle). The Oilers website lists defensemen Tom Gilbert (knee) and Ryan Whitney (ankle) as day to day.

According to the Oilers Twitter feed, Whitney is in Charlotte, NC for further evaluation and will rejoin his team in Dallas. Gilbert skated, but left the morning practice early.

Lineups

Team lineups are always available on DailyFaceoff.com. Any updates from the beat writers will be noted here as well.

Oilers

Blues