A Newfoundland native who loves to fight? Naturally, my girlfriend loves Ryane Clowe, but now we both may have to hate him for 4 to 7 games. Image via The Bay Area Bias/Flickr

I guess that will count as a strong finish. The St. Louis Blues took advantage of the mistakes given to them by the Dallas Stars after licking their wounds from Friday night’s beating, taking the battle to the Stars and taking home a 3-2 victory to bring the team into some kind of a momentum swing leading into the playoffs (even if it’s not very negligible). There was a fight in this contest as well, featuring tough veteran Barret Jackman and scrappy youngster Ryan Garbutt, in a fight that was a rare victory for “SIR JAXX”. I recapped this fight as well as the two fights from Friday’s game in this Fight Card piece. As noted in that Fight Card write-up, the Blues finish with 42 fights in the regular season, good for a tie for seventh place in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota Wild, and the Blues’ fight record ends up at a very stellar 17-7-18.

And now, the playoffs begin. As most of you know, the gloves generally stay on during the playoffs, yielding to tight checking, sheer will and determination and low-scoring affairs that feature few – if any – fights. If there ARE fisticuffs, usually they arrive late in games after they are decided as a team tries to turn momentum a different direction from game to game. With this in mind, I will only be doing one Throwdown Lowdown report per series (and hopefully, there will be a total of four series to report on), starting with the Western Conference Quarterfinal series that will start Thursday.

And the lucky opponent for this first round series is none other than our old nemesis from Northern California, the San Jose Sharks. A perennial powerhouse in years past, the Sharks staggered at times this season, getting caught up in a mess at the bottom of the playoff standings. As it turns out, they received a 7 seed, earning this draw with the Blues, a team they lost four out of four to in the regular season. This is not to say that this series will be easy . . . this Sharks team can get hot at a moment’s notice and can reach out and grab anyone, the Blues included. We’ll see how this goes. We covered the Sharks four times this season (October 15th, December 10th, February 12th and March 3rd). The Sharks were a middle-of-the-pack fighting team this season as they generally end up being every year, finishing in a four-way tie for 14th in the NHL with three teams that did not make the postseason – the Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets. Their fight record was relatively average at 11-12-12.

The Sharks are led in fights by Newfoundland native and bench puck player Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 3-1-5) with nine fights on the season. An old friend of ours, Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-1-3), follows him with six fights, while veteran defenseman Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-3-2) fought five times this season. Andrew Desjardins (6’1”, 210lbs, 1-2-0) fought three times this season. Fighting twice each as Sharks are now-Avalanche forward Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, 1-0-1 as a Shark and 1-0-2 overall, sent to Colorado as part of a six-piece trade) and Tommy Wingels (6’0”, 190lbs, 1-0-1). Eight Sharks have fought once each, and they include Dan Boyle (5’11”, 190lbs, Win), Colin White (6’4”, 215lbs, Win), team Captain Joe Thornton (6’4”, 230lbs, Win), Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Loss, currently day-to-day with an undisclosed injury), Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, Loss, currently with AHL Worcester), Joe Pavelski (5’11”, 195lbs, Loss), Justin Braun (6’2”, 200lbs, Loss) and Torrey Mitchell (5’11”, 190lbs, Loss). Also of note are newcomers from the Avalanche from the aforementioned trade, Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0 including, ironically, a loss to Clowe) and TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw).

Again, with the playoffs, it’s a crapshoot to predict who will fight who, and you really can’t predict such activity anyway, as usually such activity comes in late-game activity from late hits, net scrums and the like. As such, I will not be able to give even reasonable guesses as to who will fight who, but I will predict that there will be some fisticuffs in this series at some point.

It’s playoff time. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long while now. Get it done, gang. Hopefully, a fresh report will be yours before the Western Conference Semifinals. Until then . . .

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Here’s Ryane Clowe fighting a Red Wings player. Image via pyle313/Flickr

Moral victories don’t count, but if you’d like something nice to take away from the St. Louis Blues’ 2-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, it’s that the team hung right with the best team in the National Hockey League pretty much all game on what amounted to “a quarter tank of gas”. I can’t fault the team’s effort in this game, and that they put on such a gutsy effort is what makes people like me feel great about this team and where they’re headed in the weeks to come. All that said, it’s a loss, and it sucks. What else sucks? Well, there were no fighting majors issued in this game. The Blues are now 11th by themselves in the National Hockey League in fights with 31 on the season. A fight record correction . . . rightfully so, the fight between BJ Crombeen and Guillaume Desbiens fight from Monday was ruled a draw, so the Blues’ fight record now stands at 13-5-13.

Down the coast we go, as the Blues pay a final visit (assuming there is no playoff matchup) on the season to perennial Western powerhouse, the San Jose Sharks. The Note has basically dominated the Sharks all season, a reversal of fortune from what happened in the 2010-2011 season. We’ll see tonight whether or not the dominance gets to continue, but I DO know that we have covered the Sharks in this report on three occasions this season (October 15th, December 10th and February 12th). The Sharks are alone in 16th in the NHL with 28 fighting majors collected on the season, carrying into this game a relatively average fight record: 8-8-12.

The Sharks are led in fights by Newfoundland native Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 2-1-3) with six fights on the season. An old friend of ours, Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-0-3), has fought five times this season, as has Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-3-2). Fighting twice each on the season are new Avalanche forward Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, 1-0-1, sent to Colorado as part of a six-piece trade), Tommy Wingels (6’0”, 190lbs, 1-0-1) and Andrew Desjardins (6’1”, 210 lbs, 0-0-2). Six Sharks have fought once each, and they include Dan Boyle (5’11”, 190lbs, Win), Colin White (6’4”, 215lbs, Win), Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Loss, Out with a throat injury), Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, Loss, currently with AHL Worcester), Joe Pavelski (5’11”, 195lbs, Loss) and Justin Braun (6’2”, 200lbs, Loss). Also of note are newcomers from the Avalanche from the aforementioned trade, Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0 including, ironically, a loss to Clowe) and TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw).

There has not been a fight in the first three games between these two tough teams, and there’s no reason for me to believe there will be one here. If there is one, a matchup I’d love to see would be Clowe against Crombeen. Both are good fighters and have fought each other before, with Clowe besting Crombeen in the past. But Crombeen hung in well with Clowe in prior fights. It would be a good bout.

The Blues are allergic to five-game winning streaks. Oh well, start a NEW winning streak now.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

I remember this guy, Brad Winchester, but should I have? Image via TeamNiemiClowe/Flickr

Great teams find ways to win games. The St. Louis Blues were able to defeat the Colorado Avalanche last night, even though there were times THAT seemed a bit of a stretch, taking the game 3-2 in overtime. Remaining with the status quo of the first three contests, the two teams did not fight each other during the game. The Blues STILL sit in an 11th place tie with the Buffalo Sabres with 26 fighting majors each on the National Hockey League season. The team’s fight record still holds at 12-3-11.

No rest for the weary, not down THIS home stretch. We now turn our attention to the visiting San Jose Sharks. It’s been a while since the Blues have squared off with this team, but in both contests, our hometown boys took the decision, so that’s nice. We have covered those two games (October 15th and December 10th), and a fight has occurred in neither of those contests. The Sharks have fought 24 times this season, putting them currently in a tie for 14th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Blues’ opponent from last night, the Colorado Avalanche, in that category. Their fight record is not at all spectacular, actually, at 6-9-9.

The Sharks are led in fights by an old friend of ours, Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-0-3) and Newfoundland native (they’re rare in the NHL, actually), Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 1-1-3) with five fights each. Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-2-2) has fought four times this year. Fighting twice on the season are Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, 1-0-1) and the only dude to wear the jersey number 69 in the NHL at the present time, Andrew Desjardins (6’1”, 210 lbs, 0-0-2). Six Sharks have fought once each, and they include Dan Boyle (5’11”, 190lbs, Win, Day-to-day with the flu), Colin White (6’4”, 215lbs, Win), Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Loss), Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, Loss, currently with AHL Worcester), Joe Pavelski (5’11”, 195lbs, Loss) and Justin Braun (6’2”, 200lbs, Loss).

In the previous match, I called for a fight between Winchester and Ryan Reaves, and it didn’t happen. I will hope for that match to happen THIS time, and see where it takes me.

Great teams win games. This is a great team. Win more games.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Newfoundland native Ryane Clowe is not afraid of a fist battle. Image via Zimbio

Well, that was not exactly what I liked to see. An uplifting win at home is followed by a lackluster start against the Dallas Stars, partially to blame for the 3-2 loss the St. Louis Blues took in Dallas. The one good note, though I am not sure it really IS that good, was that Chris Stewart squared off with Sheldon Souray in the contest (video evidence here). While I immediately declared Souray the winner in this bout after seeing it live, Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights voters gave a slight edge to a draw in the vote count. Being a man of democracy order, I will go with that decision. This pushes the Blues to an early third place slotting in the National Hockey League with two fighting majors on the young 2011-2012 season. The Blues’ fight record for the season now stands at 1-0-1.

Let’s go to California, shall we? The San Jose Sharks – for a club that was considered an elite force in the NHL last season – sure fought a lot in 2010-2011. This is more a credit to their physical style of play and their position as one of the top dogs in the Western Conference more than anything else. This pugilistic bunch fought 48 times last season, good for 12^th place in the NHL. And they were incredibly good at fighting last season – 20-5-23, to be exact. Thus far in 2011-2012, the Sharks have not fought. Expect that to change tonight as the Blues roll into town.

Among players on the current Sharks top-level roster, Sharks top-six forward Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 7-0-5) leads the team having fought 12 times last year. Old friend Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-3-5) finished last season with 10 fighting majors. Those who fought four times each included Swedish pugilist Doug Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, 3-0-1), Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, 1-1-2) and former Oiler Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 1-1-2). Newcomer Brent Burns (6’5”, 230lbs, 0-0-2) only fought twice last year. Those who fought once each last season were Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, Win), Colin White (6’4”, 215lbs, Win), Dan Boyle (5’11”, 190lbs, Draw) and Logan Couture (6’1”, 195lbs, Loss . . . to Petro).

Again, I doubt the Sharks leave this game still having not fought once on the season. Winchester, if he plays, will likely be ready to square off against anyone on his former team. McLaren, if he plays, would be a dangerous matchup for any Blues fighter. And Scott Nichol, who played for the Sharks recently, may want to square off with his former teammates. The book is wide open.

Stop the skid at one? That would be awesome if it happened.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Anyone with the stones to wear #72 on a hockey sweater kicks ass. Image via Wikipedia

Talk about your epic turn-arounds from one day to the next.  I missed most of the Blues’ 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings, but learning the shot differential was +18 in favor of the Blues usually tells the story, and I’ve heard it was about that dominant.  Not only that, there were two fights in the game – one which led to a Blue knocking a King silly.  First, it was Cam Janssen against Kevin Westgarth, a fight that Westgarth won relatively easily (video here).  Then, Ryan Reaves knocked Kyle Clifford into next season with two punches (video here, and I really DO hope Clifford turns out to be OK because that looked SCARY).  So the Blues, with those two fights, move to 67 fighting majors on the season, moving into second place in the NHL.  With the win and the loss, their fight record shifts to 28-20-19.

The Blues have a history with the San Jose Sharks this season.  We’ve covered them on three occasions this season (November 4th, December 18th and January 15th).  And there was some incident involving Joe Thornton and David Perron.  The bad blood has resulted in seven fights between the two teams this season.  And it’s not like the Sharks don’t know how to fight . . . they do so a LOT.  Right now, the Sharks are tied for 12th in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers, each with 41 fights on the season.  And their fight record?  Well, let’s just say it’s one of the best in the league . . . 18-4-19.  Quite impressive.

Your old friend and mine, Jamal Mayers (6’1”, 214lbs 3-2-6 including a draw with Brad Winchester and an overwhelming win over Winchester) leads the team with 11 fights on the season.  A close second?  Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 6-0-4 including a draw with BJ Crombeen) with 10 fights.  Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, 1-1-2, currently with Worcester of the AHL) and Scott Nichol (5’9”, 180lbs, 1-0-3 including a draw with Chris Porter, on IR with an upper body injury) each have fought four times.  Ben Eager (6’2”, 235lbs, 2-0-1 as a Shark and 3-0-3 overall, acquired from the Thrashers near the deadline) has three fights as a Shark.  Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, 2-0-0) and Brandon Mashinter (6’4”, 235lbs, 1-0-1 including a win over Reaves) each have fought twice.  The rest have fought once each: Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 200lbs, Win, currently with Worcester of the AHL), Mike Moore (6’1”, 200lbs, Win, currently with Worcester of the AHL), Devin Setoguchi (6’0”, 200lbs, Draw), Benn Ferriero (5’11”, 195lbs, Draw . . . with Ian Cole, currently with Worcester of the AHL) and Logan Couture (6’1”, 195lbs, Loss . . . to Alex Pietrangelo) each have fought once.

Odds are that there WILL be a fight, but whom?  Most of the regular participants seem to have left the building.  I would think Reaves would be good for a rematch with Mashinter.  Otherwise, Janssen is ALWAYS a good bet to throw down.  Maybe against Clowe?  We’ll see.

Two good games in a row?  That’d be nice.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

I AM IRRITATED BY YOUR FACE! Image via NBC Sports

First, you get updates from the Anaheim game on Wednesday.  As mentioned, there were four fights in that game – George Parros overwhelmingly defeated Barret “SIR JAXX” Jackman, BJ Crombeen soundly defeated Maxim Lapierre, Eric Brewer and Luca Sbisa worked a draw and Matt Beleskey got a sound win over Vladimir Sobotka.  An updated fight record comes later in the report.

A very fun 3-1 Blues win over the Los Angeles Kings – mind you, the first Blues win in 2011 – was not made more fun by the fists as there were no fights in that game (although as in most Blues games, there were several near-fights that never came to fruition).  So the Blues stay at 42 fighting majors on the season, good for second in the NHL behind those Anaheim Ducks.  Their fight record – despite that less-than-stellar 1-2-1 fight performance in Anaheim – is still solid at 18-14-10.  That downward slide really concerns me . . . .  But I digress.

Who said the West Coast was all about finesse?  This may be the most rugged road trip – in sheer volume – that the Blues will face all season.  And it ends with a San Jose Sharks team that is not only ill-tempered from a bad losing streak, but has no problem shedding the gloves and throwing punches.  We’ve reported on the Sharks twice before this season (November 4th and December 18th).  There’s still some lingering bitterness from Joe Thornton’s hit on David Perron, even if the players on either side try to play it off.  And there were fights in each previous game (mostly in the second contest), so you can be sure the contestants will think about another go at it.  The Sharks have collected 31 fighting majors on the season, good for seventh in the NHL, holding a very impressive fight record of 13-3-15 in those bouts.  So it’s not all wine and cheese just north of Napa Valley.  I don’t mind this, as you should know by now.

Two-way stud and possible All-Star snub Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 4-0-5 including a draw with Crombeen) leads the team with nine fights on the season.  Former Blue and former hero of this reporter, Jamal Mayers (6’1”, 214lbs, 3-1-4 including a draw with Brad Winchester and a win over Winchester), has fought eight times.  Frazer McLaren (6’5”, 250lbs, 1-1-2, currently with Worcester of the AHL) and Scott Nichol (5’9”, 180lbs, 1-0-3 including a draw with Chris Porter) are drawn at four fights apiece.  All other Sharks fighters have only gone at it once each this season – Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Win), Jamie McGinn (6’0”, 185lbs, Win), Mike Moore (6’1”, 200lbs, Win, currently with Worcester of the AHL), Devin Setoguchi (6’0”, 200lbs, Draw), youngster Brandon Mashinster (6’4”, 235lbs, Draw) and Calder candidate Logan Couture (6’1”, 195lbs, Loss – to Alex Pietrangelo, questionable with a knee injury).

I think Ryan Reaves – following his barrage of goals since his recent call-up – will throw down the gloves tonight with someone.  Clowe would be a good matchup for him, as would Mayers.  Crombeen could fight either of them.  And Winchester could fight Mayers like he did in both previous meeting.  Or, like last game, both Crombeen and Reaves could score goals.  Or Winchester could continue his recent hot scoring stretch.  You never know what might happen with this team these days.  And yes, I really do like this Reaves kid – he’s big, he’s strong, he plays hard and he fights.  And he wears an offensive lineman’s number.  KUDOS!

A two-game winning streak would be nice to come home to on Tuesday.  Let’s say you get it done, boys.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Yes, it’s true. I still love Jammer. Image via Zimbio

It appears the Blues scored a week’s worth of goals in a 6-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, but at least there was a fight to help calm the nerves.  Kyle Clifford – a noted young bruiser – took on Tyson Strachan – a Noted seventh defenseman (see what I did there?) – in a quick bout.  Clifford was more active and thereby was able to win the fight handily.  Video evidence of the fight is here.  The Blues are still in third place but now with 31 fighting majors on the season, possessing a record of 16-8-7.

So, the last time the San Jose Sharks were in town, this happened.  Somehow, David Perron finished that game (even scoring a goal), but he hasn’t played since.  Joe Thornton, for his part, was ejected from that game and given a two-game suspension.  It would stand to reason that the Blues haven’t forgotten about the incident, even if it really wasn’t NEARLY as dirty as it looks (but, for all intents and purposes, was not a clean hit).  The issue I’m having with the Sharks right now is this: they haven’t fought since November 24th.  At that time, the Sharks were one of the top fighting teams in the league (as in, “Top Five” top teams).  In fact, I gave them some slight praise in the lead-up report (find it here).  Now, they’re in a tie for ninth with the Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars with 23 fights.  They hold a 9-3-11 record in these fights, which isn’t terrible.

Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 3-0-3) and former Blue Jamal Mayers (6’1”, 214lbs, 1-1-4 including a draw with Brad Winchester) are co-leaders of this team with six fights each.  They are followed by Frazer McLaren (6’4”, 225lbs, 1-1-2, currently with Worcester of the AHL) with four and Scott Nichol (5’9”, 180lbs, 1-0-1) with two.  Solo fights have been contested by Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Win, day-to-day with a lower body issue), Jamie McGinn (6’0”, 185lbs, Win), Mike Moore (6’1”, 200lbs, Win, currently with Worcester of the AHL), Devin Setoguchi (6’0”, 200lbs, Draw) and Calder candidate Logan Couture (6’1”, 195lbs, Loss – to Alex Pietrangelo).

This would be the perfect time for the Sharks to bust out of their dry fighting spell, and I think the perfect contestants would be Winchester and Clowe.  But hey, another fight involving Jammer would not wreck my feelings.

A home winning streak would be beautiful.  So let’s do this thing.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Ryane Clowe, International Badass. Image via Yahoo! Sports

Surprisingly with the number of former Blackhawks playing against the Blues in Saturday’s dramatic 4-3 shootout win over the Atlanta Thrashers, not to mention the seeming one-sidedness of the calls going against the Blues in that game (not that we’re biased or anything here at The Bluenote Zone), there were no fights.  Too bad, so sad . . . but such is life.  The Blues remain at nine fights on the young season (5-2-2).  Despite the sparse October schedule that leaves The Note as one of two teams AT THIS MOMENT to have played less than ten games, the team is in a tie for ninth in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals (teams that have played five and three more games, respectively, than the Blues).  So not only is this team succeeding at winning, they’re succeeding at throwing punches.  And trust me, this is a good combination!

The San Jose Sharks are one of those special “Total Pain In The Ass” teams – they score goals, they have agitators, they have role players, they have grinders and they have fighters.  They even have some guys that can play a combo of two or three items from that menu.  In 2009-10, the Sharks went 20-15-22 in 57 fights (tied for ninth with the Toronto Maple Leafs) en route to a 2-seed in the Western Conference side of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a subsequent Western Conference Finals appearance.  These guys were good at many things last year, and this year – despite a slight unexpected dip in the standings – they’re still good at fighting as they hold third place in the NHL with 13 fights (4-3-6).  Last season, Cam Janssen destroyed Brad Staubitz November 14th in St. Louis, Ryane Clowe defeated BJ Crombeen December 3rd in San Jose and Janssen and Jody Shelley worked a marathon draw January 6th in St. Louis.  Links to the YouTube clips of each fight are on each opponent name.

The Sharks’ leading fighter last year was Staubitz (6’1”, 210lbs, 3-3-6, signed with Minnesota) with 12.  The Sharks’ leading RETURNING fighter is Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 8-1-2) with 11 last season.  Following them were Shelley (6’3”, 230, 3-3-4, signed with Philadelphia) with 10, youngster Frazer McLaren (6’4”, 225lbs, 2-3-3) with eight, Scott Nichol (5’9”, 180lbs, 1-1-2) with four and Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, 1-1-0) and Jay Leach (6’4”, 220lbs, 0-1-1 as a Shark and 0-2-1 overall, now in the AHL) each with two.  Single-fighters included Jed Ortmeyer (6’0”, 200lbs, Loss, now in the AHL), Manny Malhotra (6’2”, 220lbs, Win, signed with Vancouver), Kent Huskins (6’3”, 210lbs, Loss), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (6’1”, 200lbs, Draw), Torrey Mitchell (5’11”, 190lbs, Draw), Jason Demers (6’1”, 185lbs, Draw), Niclas Wallin (6’3”, 220lbs, Draw) and Devin Setoguchi (6’0”, 200lbs, Win).  They made one key fight addition, adding the 15 fights of my favorite former Blue (and my former favorite Blue, too) Jamal Mayers (6’1”, 214lbs, 7-3-5 with Toronto and Calgary last season).

Contesting in this year’s 13 fights for the Sharks have been Clowe (1-1-2) with four, McLaren (1-1-1) and Mayers (0-2-1) each with three, Nichol (1-0-1) with two and Murray (Win) with one.

If I had my druthers, I would bet on a rematch between Crombeen and Clowe, but if Janssen plays, do not be shocked if he goes after either Clowe or Staubitz . . . or vice-versa.  And I’d really like to see what Nichol has, as I really haven’t seen much of him as a fighter but it appears he’s trying to get in the mix.  Other than someone like Vladimir Sobotka, who doesn’t fight, there doesn’t seem to be the right matchup for him here, though.

Keep the home winning streak alive, you say?  Don’t mind if you do, gang.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Boulton won’t sing, but he takes no Boll. Image via, of all places, the Wall Street Journal (A very minor prize to the one who gets one of the references in this caption)

There were no fights in Thursday’s 3-0 Blues win over the Nashville Predators, but there was an incident involving quite possibly my least-favorite NHL player in the history of ever – yes, Jordin Tootoo was at it again, this time blasting Carlo “Splodeybones” Colaiacovo with a hit that should get him suspended (which obviously means I do not agree with Jeff or, for that matter, Darren Dreger, on this – to a degree) for at least a couple games.  Seriously, Tootoo brings close to no value offensively and very little value defensively, save for cheap moments like this.  Nearest and dearest to my heart . . . he doesn’t fight when challenged, especially after he does any of his stupid stunts (Hey, Tyson Strachan tried).  WHY IS HE STILL IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE?!  Get him out, now.  The Blues remain at 9 fights on the season, and while that was good for sole possession of 4th in the NHL on Thursday morning, things change fast early in the season.  That total of 9 fights is now tied for SIXTH with several NHL clubs, but with a fight record of 5-2-2, everyone’s looking at the Blue Note for inspiration at this point.

The Atlanta Thrashers are a solid young up-and-coming team and, thanks to some salary cap problems with the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks (I STILL hate saying that), were the beneficiary of a few more young players – one who should have been a Conn Smythe Trophy winner in this reporter’s opinion and all whom fought last season.  The Thrashers fought 40 times last season, good for 19th in the NHL, and they amassed a more-than-modest 16-13-11 record in these fights.  This year has been a different story, as they’ve only fought twice this season.  Both fights were judged draws, and one of the fights involved a current Thrasher that is a familiar foe to the Blue Note.  The last time the Blues and Thrashers fought was in a game on November 30, 2008 in Atlanta (which some might remember as the game Keith Tkachuk picked up his 500th career goal), and the fight involved BJ Crombeen and Eric Boulton – both of whom happen to still play for their respective teams.  The problem?  The game was not televised, so there is no video evidence of the fight happening.  Can we blame this on Gary Bettman?  I’ll go ahead and do that.

Leading the Thrashers in fights last season was Boulton (6’1”, 225lbs, 4-3-6) with 13 and Chris Thorburn (6’3”, 230lbs, 2-4-3) with nine.  That would be 22 out of the team’s 40 fights from just two players, so it is quite clear who the enforcers are.  Other Thrashers fighters from ’09-’10 include Jim Slater (6’0”, 200lbs, 2-2-0) and Boris Valabik (6’7”, 245lbs, 1-1-2, assigned to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves) each with four, young up-and-comer Zach Bogosian (6’3”, 215lbs, 3-0-0) with three and über-young superstar Evander Kane (6’2”, 195lbs, 1-1-0) and Colby Armstrong (6’2”, 195lbs, 0-2-0, signed with Toronto) each with two.  Single-fight players were not-their-problem-anymore Ilya Kovalchuk (6’3”, 230lbs, Win, obviously with the Devils now – via trade), Ron Hainsey (6’3”, 210lbs, Win) and Evgeny Artyukhin (6’5”, 254lbs, Win, Free Agent, also 1-0-0 with Anaheim).  Added from the Blackhawks were eight fights from Ben Eager (6’2”, 235lbs, 3-3-2), two from Andrew Ladd (6’3”, 205lbs, 2-0-0) and one from my Conn Smythe Trophy choice from the 2010 Cup Finals, Dustin Byfuglien (6’5”, 265lbs, 1-0-0).

This year, the Thrashers’ two fights were contested by Thorburn – who worked a draw with Anaheim beast-tank George Parros – and familiar foe Eager – who went even with San Jose’s Frazer McLaren.

I could certainly see Crombeen going at it with Boulton or Thorburn.  He gives a few pounds to each but loses no reach advantage with either.  And is “Cam Watch” in full effect?  Cam Janssen was removed from Injured Reserve on Thursday but did not play.  This would not seem to be the type of game he would play in as he does not match up fight-wise with anyone.  And, really, who would you remove from the lineup right now, other than Brad Winchester?  (Then again, I would like that.)

Keeping the home winning streak alive is a must.  Get it done!

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Brad Staubitz is not afraid to punch people. Image via sharkspage.com

There was plenty of testiness between the Blues and Blackhawks on Wednesday, but no fights since the Blackhawks have some sort of allergy that causes them not to drop the gloves.  So the Blues remain in 5th with 46 fights and a 21-13-12 fight record.

We have covered the San Jose Sharks once on the Throwdown Lowdown – in fact, it was my very first Throwdown Lowdown report.  Since then, the Blues have shot up the ranks in fights while the Sharks have pretty much stayed steady.  The Sharks are currently 10th in the league with 39 bouts on the season, sporting a solid season fight record of 16-9-14.  They are an even 1-1-1 against the Blues in fights this season: Cam Janssen defeated Brad Staubitz on November 14th in St. Louis, Ryane Clowe defeated BJ Crombeen on December 3rd in San Jose and Janssen and Jody Shelley worked a draw on January 6th in San Jose.  It’s obvious that this club believes in violent behavior to settle a point, unlike pretty much all of our Central Division rivals.

First thing’s first: should this be classified as skill or fluke?  Winger Clowe (6’2″, 225lbs) is 7-0-0 on the season.  He hasn’t lost and hasn’t ended a fight in a draw.  That’s crazy, right?  I’d call it a fluke but I saw his bout with Crombeen, and he’s good.  Clowe is not the only fighter on this team – in fact, 12 different Sharks have fought this season.  You’re likely familiar with winger Shelley (6’3″, 225lbs, 2-2-3) from his days in Columbus as well as his scrap with Janssen last month.  Winger Staubitz (6’1″, 215lbs, 2-2-3) is also not afraid of fisticuffs.  Winger Frazer McLaren (6’5″, 235lbs, 2-3-3) registers the most fights on the team with 8, but he was sent back to the minors last month when Shelley was taken off IR.  Other Sharks with multiple fights include center Scott Nichol (5’9″, 178lbs, 1-0-2) and defenseman Jay Leach (6’4″, 220lbs, 0-0-1 in SJ and 0-1-1 overall).  Another fighter to look out for, just for pure size reasons, is Team Sweden Olympic defenseman Douglas Murray (6’3″, 240lbs, 1-0-0).

Might David Backes battle Murray in honor of Team USA?  Backes gives 15 pounds to Murray, but they both are Olympians and it sure would be exciting.  Excepting that, Shelley and Janssen are familiar with each other as are Shelley and DJ King.  There are many possibilities in this matchup for fisticuffs as the Sharks are trying to hold off the Blackhawks for top spot in the West, while the Blues are trying to ratchet up the NHL standings and get INTO the postseason.  And they may want to break the tie of the season fight record, too.  1-1-1 is WAY too even.

#2 in the West last night.  #1 in the West TONIGHT.  Let’s get it done.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights