By Tyler Atwood on March 4, 2010

Krys Barch likes to punch people. Image via hockeyfights.50webs.com
A glorious two points earned by the Blues in the desert brings our squad back toward the pack fighting for the 8th spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately, no official fights occurred (the scrum at the end of the 2nd period notwithstanding), so the Blues drop to 5th place while remaining at 54 fights on the season. The season fight record stands at 22-17-15.
The Dallas Stars – former Norris Divison rivals, don’tchaknow – sometimes have problems dropping the gloves. But I won’t hold it against them . . . they’re mediocre at best when it comes to WINNING fights. The Stars have registered 35 fights on the season – good for a tie for 16th in the league with the Florida Panthers. Their fight record on the season is 11-12-12. The Blues have fought with the Stars four times thus far this season, and the Note is 4-0-0, according to the good folks at Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights. On October 24th in St. Louis, DJ King defeated Krys Barch in a battle that cost King some time with a broken finger . . . also, Brad Winchester defeated Brian Sutherby and BJ Crombeen dispatched of Steve Ott after a questionable hit. In the November 25th game in Dallas, our own Captain Roboto, Eric Brewer, beat the living crap out of Ott in a performance that may have solidified Brewer’s captaincy for the rest of this season.
Winger Barch (6′2″, 220lbs, 3-8-4) is the lead goon on this Dallas squad – and with his size and fighting ability, it’s not hard to see WHY he’s their enforcer. Other multiple fighters for the Stars include center and general league pest Ott (6′0″, 193lbs, 4-2-2, day-to-day with an appendectomy and yes, both losses to the Blues), winger Sutherby (6′3″, 209lbs, 2-1-1, day-to-day with a shoulder issue) and defenseman Mark Fistric (6′2″, 232lbs, 1-0-2). On the season, nine Stars have fought this season, including old friend and defenseman Jeff Woywitka (6′2″, 217lbs, 0-1-0).
It’s Cam Janssen’s 2nd suspension game of five, but with the addition of Matt D’Agostini and the subsequent send-out of Derek Armstrong, it’s still no guarantee that King will get playing time on this squad. If King suits up, look for him and Barch to set a rematch. Otherwise, Crombeen or Winchester may be your best bet to fight Barch . . . but I don’t like their chances against him.
Can the Blues continue their Olympic-extended hot streak? Lord I hope so.
LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!
Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights
Posted in Articles | Tagged BJ Crombeen, Brad Winchester, Brian Sutherby, Cam Janssen, Dallas Stars, Derek Armstrong, DJ King, Eric Brewer, Florida Panthers, Jeff Woywitka, Krys Barch, Mark Fistric, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, Steve Ott
By Randall Ritchey on February 9, 2010
Sometimes its nice to hear things about the outside world other than just your team. Especially when your team is struggling and you need something else to keep you going.
Well I’m here to give it to you. I had a chance to talk with the Florida Panthers prospect Drew Shore and ask him a few questions about his new life down at the University of Denver. I figured I’d post what I could for you all.
BNZ – How are you enjoying your first season at Denver University?
Drew – I am really enjoying my freshman year. We are playing very well together as a team and I am starting to play better as well. We only have a few regular season games left and I am really looking forward to the playoffs!

Drew Shore was selected 44th overall by the Florida Panthers.
BNZ – How did you feel when your name was selected by the Florida Panthers at the draft?
Drew – I was absolutely thrilled when Florida called my name. I have a lot of family that lives down in Florida, plus they are a good up-and-coming team.
BNZ – How do you feel that your game can help the Florida Panthers?
Drew – I think I have the capability to be a strong two-way centermen. I can create some offense and also play a sound defensively.
BNZ – What do you feel is the biggest difference between the US National Development Program and playing at Denver?
Drew – The hockey aspect of things is very similar. The lifestyle on the other hand is much more different. First off, school is a lot harder. I also now live in a dorm instead of with a billet family.
BNZ – If you weren’t playing hockey, what would you rather be doing?
Drew - If I wasn’t playing hockey, I would definitely want to be a professional basketball player.
Like I said, it was just a short and sweet little questionnaire, trying to get my mind away from our falling Blues. I would like to thank Drew for answering these questions and I’d like to wish him the best of luck, along with the entire University of Denver in the playoffs this year!
Randall Ritchey
Posted in Around the NHL, Articles | Tagged Denver University, Drew Shore, Florida Panthers, US National Development Program, USNDTP
By Tyler Atwood on January 28, 2010

Zack Stortini shows little fear. Image via the now-defunct copperbluedreams.blogspot.com
There were no fights last night between the Canucks and Blues (at least nothing worth grading, anyway), although I nearly jumped through the television screen to have a few words with the officiating crew after that supposed slashing call in the 3rd period that led to the power play goal that ended up deciding the game. Sometimes we, as fans, exaggerate the role of officiating in whether our teams win and lose games, but for crying out loud, the backside official HAS to choke on the whistle there . . . right? Moving along . . . the Blues hang onto 5th spot in the league with 45 fights and hang tight to their 21-13-11 season fight record.
The Edmonton Oilers are currently duking it out with the Carolina Hurricanes for the right to draft Taylor Hall. You would expect a team this bad to be in the top 10 as far as fight totals . . . and you would be correct! They’re 12-12-16 in 40 bouts this season, good for 8th in the National Hockey League. Four of their bouts have come against the Blues, and they’re 2-1-1 against us on the season. On December 11th at the Kiel (Never gonna call it anything else) Center, Jean-Francois Jacques worked a draw with BJ Crombeen. On December 21st at Rexall Place, Zack Stortini defeated Crombeen, Brad Winchester took down Jacques and Ethan Moreau defeated Darryl Sydor.
The leading fighter for the Oilers is winger Stortini (6′3″, 228lbs, 4-2-6). The best description for him is David Backes without the skill . . . he’s about the same size, anyway. Other multiple fighters for the Oilers are winger Jacques (6′4″, 217lbs, 1-2-4), winger Ryan Stone (6′2″, 207, 1-1-2, out with a knee injury), defenseman Jason Strudwick (6′3″, 225lbs, 2-2-0), defenseman and former Blues prospect Steve Staios (6′1″, 200lbs, 0-1-2), defenseman Ladislav Smid (6′3″, 226lbs, 1-0-1, out with a concussion), winger Moreau (6′2″, 220lbs, 1-1-0) and defenseman Sheldon Souray (6′4″, 227lbs, 1-0-1). As you can see, there are a lot of contestants to choose from here . . . a total of 12 Oilers have fought this year; however, one of them (Steve MacIntyre) is now with the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers after being waived.
Personally, I would love to see Crombeen have another go at either Stortini or Jacques. One wonders if Backes will play again tonight given that he returned from injury last night (although he looked just fine to me), but if he’s absent, Cam Janssen may play, and he would not back down from any of these guys. Olympic watch? No one for Team Canada, but Denis Grebeshkov is on Team Russia and Lubomir Visnovsky is on Team Slovakia. Alas, neither has fought this season. So if Backes plays and fights, it probably will not be against an Olympian . . . this Western Canada swing wasn’t exactly great for his chances to take down Olympic opponents apart from game one.
This is not a must-win, but it would be hard to stomach the end of a Western Canada swing without a victory over the worst team in the Western Conference. Go out and get it, boys.
LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!
Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights
Posted in Articles | Tagged BJ Crombeen, Brad Winchester, Cam Janssen, Carolina Hurricanes, Darryl Sydor, David Backes, Denis Grebeshkov, Edmonton Oilers, Ethan Moreau, Florida Panthers, Jason Strudwick, Jean-Francois Jacques, Ladislav Smid, Lubomir Visnovsky, Ryan Stone, Sheldon Souray, St. Louis Blues, Steve MacIntyre, Steve Staios, Taylor Hall, Vancouver Canucks, Zack Stortini
By Jeff Quirin on November 1, 2009
I don’t like starting off saying “I told ya so”… so I won’t. However, I’m not going to do a straight “recap” on this game. More of a general though on what’s happened lately and how it pertained to Saturday’s game.
Before we delve in to the game/trends, I want to acknowledge Tomas Vokoun. It seems that more times than not a fan is more willing to blame their own team than recognize the other. Vokoun stopped all 34 of the Blues shots, while his defenders blocked 20 shots. From my seat in 318, it looked like more than 20 were blocked. The shutout was Vokoun’s first this year and 32nd in his career. Just like Bryzgalov the game before, he was on his game at the right time.
As I said in the Gameday post, do not count Florida as an easy win. Those do not exist anymore. The compete level of every team is at 110% right now. You win games by scoring opportunistic goals and playing a positionally sound game. This is how Florida beat the Blues with minimal sustained pressure. Is there a cure for the scoring drought that produced the first back to back home goalless games since 1997? I hope so.
The blocked shots are worth mentioning and the fact that it seemed like more than the 20 the NHL registered on the score sheet. The Blues did a fairly good job of moving the puck up ice. One obvious benefit of having Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo playing. However, the Blues are going down and coming back with too many one and done chances on net. Florida seemed to easily recognize the thee or four similar plays the Blues ran all night. The Panthers collapsed hard in to the slot and crease. Wen that happens, very few players are going to sneak a shot through six or seven bodies. Nor will a short pass from right behind the net materialize in to a legitimate scoring opportunity. Too much congestion that the Blues couldn’t break up. This is where the Blues five man offense needs to improve. Going low to high to change up the angles. Too many pucks went in to the slot with little or no room. Get the puck out to the point and bring the forwards back out to open up the shooting lanes. I am really very tired of seeing players come down the wing and try to snipe the far corner. The puck will ring out of the zone 90% of the time and result in a turnover or lost offensive zone pressure. I have seen Brad Boyes, Paul Kariya, and David Perron do this more than anyone else. It needs to stop.
Where did the board work and support of the late playoff push go? We have the same 12 guys out there, why is it so different now? The Blues forecheck was impressive at the end of the 08-09 season. Really getting the puck in deep and pressuring the other team. So far this season (Out side of the Sweden games) the Blues have had very poor forechecking support and pressure. The forecheck is a five man effort. The defensemen to get it in and hold the line and forwards to work the action to cause turnovers. Right now the Blues are lucky if the forecheck is more than a two man effort. I’m watching guys like Winchester and wondering…where did it go?
I know teams want to play in open ice and open ice at even strength is hard to come by. Please, stop throwing asses across the ice to the opposite boards. Florida picked off several of these the same way Phoenix did. There is no excuse for turning the puck over five or so feet in from the blue line. Again, Florida had a positionally sound game and that’s why they could pick off the passes. Another one and done turnover going the other way. Another one on Brad Boyes…chip it past the defender and let your line mates work. That way you can go about looking for openings to get shots off.
Going scorless at home as a playoff potential team cannot be tolerated by the coaching staff. They get the players out there to do a job and if someone isn’t they need to be told. That way you can adjust and produce. Why then was McClement, Crombeen, and Stastny on the ice for a faceoff in the Florida zone after an icing? Why not The Berglund or Tkachuk line? If Coach wanted McClement to win the faceoff, why not put Backes and McDonald out there?
All is not lost, as we saw last season. However, the ship needs to right itself quickly. It should as TJ Oshie and Barret Jackman are to return soon. Pietrangelo will have some hiccups, but is playing well overall. As much as I liked the idea of the Brewer-Pietrangelo pairing, it’s starting to look like a failed experiment. Both players have picked the other up on mistakes. Then again the majority of goals scored against the Blues have involved that pairing on the ice. Brewer doesn’t quite look up to game speed yet. I’m hoping to see the pair split and have Polak with Brewer and Weaver with Pietrangelo. Once Jackman returns pair him with Pietrangelo.
Did anyone take notice of some of the Panther’s players? Denis Seidenberg had a very good game. He notched a goal on two shots on goal while blocking 3 and ended up a plus-3 in 20 minutes of even strength time. Want to know why Carolina was not playing as well, his departure is a reason why. I am a big fan of Seidenberg from watching the Pens play the Hurricanes the last couple seasons. Seidenberg is a good player who is under the radar. Was silently pulling for the Blues to send a little after Jay McKee was bought out to bring him in. Nathan Horton had a pretty good game as well. Both are key players who need to step up for Florida while Dav id Booth is out had good games. I really feel hockey fans under estimate the Panthers. Watch out for them if they are healthy and Vokoun keeps them in games. They can make it in, they nearly did last season.
Overall the Blues effort was there, but the fine tuning isn’t. One or two key breakdowns are killing their chances to win games. The only solution is more games and more experience. Sometimes teams take a step back. The Blues rewarded Murray with an extension this summer, it’s time for him to find a way through and turn the ship around faster.
Posted in GameBlogs | Tagged Brad Boyes, Denis Seidenberg, Eric Brewer, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Tomas Vokoun
By Jeff Quirin on October 31, 2009
Game Info
Location: Scottrade Center St. Louis, MO
Game-time: 7pm Central
TV: FS-MW(HD)
Radio: KMOX 1120 AM
Previews:
ESPN Preview
Blues Official Website Preview
Panthers Official Website Preview
TSN Preview
Food for Thought
Coming in to tonight’s game the Florida Panthers find themselves towards the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Don’t let them fool you though, they are better team that where they currently sit in 13th. They have talent and a solid coach. The Blues have struggled with the Panthers since the lock out. Since the 05-06 season, the Blues are 1-3-0 in four contests. Scoring one goal or less twice. Last season’s series was split with the Blues winning 4-0 at home and losing 2-5 on the road. I know Blues fans are wanting an easy game to stock away two points at home. However, this won’t be game. Easy games are extremely few and far between in the NHL this season. Couple that with the Blues bland play on Scottrade ice, this could be a close one.
Reports from various sources are saying that Brad Winchester is back in and Tyson Strachan is sitting out tonight’s game. This will retun the Blues to a twelve to six mix of forwards and defensemen. In my opinion, this is a good move for Murray. Strachan didn’t see much ice time versus Phoenix and I think that took a toll on the forwards. The Blues were basically down two forwards since Strachan played for Winchester and Cam Janssen rarely sees more than 6 or so minutes. This forced Murray to double shift two forwards all night. Which reduced the team’s overall ability to forecheck and pressure with the forwards due to fatigue. I understand why Murray made this move, but Brewer was good enough for 15-18 minutes without a safety net tonight. I have not seen who will be in net. Ty Conklin has a pretty good career record versus Florida, but Chris Mason is still the #1 Goalie. I am hoping Mason will start, but I am not holding my breath.
Brad Boyes has 8 goals in 3 assists in 11 games played against Florida since 2005. Blues fans have been waiting for the streaky scorer to start lighting the lamp this season. Hopefully Brad will knock the monkey off his back tonight. Then again, I’ve been saying that for the last few games in which he has a good production history against the opposition.
I would expect the Brewer-Pietrangelo pairing on the ice again tonight. Brewer had a few misqueues versus Phoenix, but overall he looked good for not laying a game in nearly a year. Pairings should likely be: Sydor & Johnson – Brewer & Pietrangelo – Weaver & Polak. Speaking of Roman Polak…how solid has he been? He has 1 goal, 2 assists, is a plus-2, and is averaging over 20 minutes a night. Polak has the size, speed, stick work, and hokey sense to be a top 4 shut down defenseman. He continues to grow while the lime light is on Johnson and Pietrangelo.
Who to watch for?
Steven Reinprecht

Steven Reinprecht shouldn’t bee too foreign of a name to Blues fans. He spent the last couple seasons in Phoenix. Florida acquired him in an off-season deal for his rights. He later agreed to a three year contract extension. since his acquisition he has been the top producer in Florida, surpassing David Booth, Nathan Horton, and Stephen Weiss. Seven of Reinprecht’s eight goals have been at even strength. He is also one of two forwards on the whole team with a plus/minus rating above even who has played in all 11 games. While it is possible that he is playing over his head right now, you MUST pay attention to the hot hand. Not only from a fan perspective, but the Blues need to as well. Reinprecht has five points in his last two games.
Heading out for early trick or treating with the family tonight before the game. Will be back with a recap later tonight.
Posted in Articles | Tagged Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Steven Reinprecht