“No golf carts? Sweet, bro.” Image via Mafue/Flickr

They are the St. Louis Blues, and lately all they can do is win hockey games, even if it’s just brutal to watch. Another ugly-yet-effective game led to a 2-1 win to spoil Dale Hunter’s  Washington Capitals coaching debut. And there WAS a fight in the contest! Scott Nichol got into it with noted scrapper Matt Hendricks. I thought a slight edge could be given to Hendricks, but the bout was adjudged a draw (you be the judge – video here). The fight brought the Blues to a total of 11 fighting majors on the season, currently good for a tie for ninth in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins. The team’s fight record now stands at 5-1-5 on the season.

The last stop on this weird road trip takes the Blues to Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche. A hot start had Avs fans thinking the days of glory could be returning, but a quick crash back to reality now leads folks to wonder whether or not their head coach will keep his job. Familiar story, eh? Well, except for the whole “hot start” thing. Anyway, the Avs are not the most violent team on the planet, which is pretty evident if you take a look at their roster. That said, the team is tied for 13th with the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders and San Jose Sharks with 10 fighting majors apiece. The team’s fight record is relatively atrocious at 1-5-4. Last year, the Avs were 11-14-18 in 43 fights, good for 16th in the league.

Of Avs players that have fought this season, noted brawler Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 1-2-1) leads the way with four fights. Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2) and David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0) have each fought twice, and newly-minted journeyman Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, Draw) and Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss) each have fought once. Among players currently on the Avs roster, last season’s fighters are led by McLeod (5-2-7) with 14 bouts. Wilson (3-1-2) followed him with six fights. O’Brien (1-4-0) follows with five fights. Brandon Yip (6’1”, 195lbs, 1-0-1) and former Blue Erik Johnson (6’4”, 232lbs, 1-1-0) each checked in with two fights. Solo fighters include former Wild Chuck Kobasew (6’0”, 192lbs, Draw), Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Draw), Kevin Porter (6’0”, 190lbs, Draw), O’Byrne (Loss), young star Matt Duchene (5’11”, 200lbs, Loss) and Matt Hunwick (5’11”, 190lbs, Loss).

Last year, toward the end of the season, McLeod and Ryan Reaves went after each other. I would say this is the best bet for a fight this evening, honestly. Who knows, though? Johnson could figure out someone he’d like to pick a fight against. A lot of possibilities abound in this matchup.

I like this whole “Blues Winning Games” thing. I will not at all be upset with it continuing.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

“PLEASE, MISTER REFEREE, TELL ME ARRON ASHAM IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN!”, says Jay Beagle. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Ugly wins count as marks in the win column, indeed, and it’s doubtful that many wins this season will be much uglier than the St. Louis Blues’ 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday evening. Speaking of ugly . . . I’m not sure exactly what the hell you would call this skirmish between Ryan Reaves and Cody Bass other than, well, kinda ugly, actually. Despite the fact that Bass pretty much slipped to finish the fight, but because of the fact that he landed some REALLY solid rights in the short time this fight actually was on, I (along with the voters) have to give the decision to Bass on this one (and yes, that means the Blues are no longer “undefeated” this season in fights). And lookie there! The Blues are now tied for 10th in the National Hockey League with three other teams (the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks) with 10 fights on the season! I thought they’d NEVER make it to double-digits for a while there. Anyway, the Blues are now 5-1-4 in those 10 fights.

And now, the Blues head eastward for Washington. The Washington Capitals raised some eyebrows yesterday morning by announcing the dismissal of coach Bruce Boudreau and replacing him with long-time Captain and long-time Caps fan favorite Dale Hunter behind the bench. It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to the change, but in my estimation, the change can only be favorable to the Caps in the long-run, provided there is no looming comeback for Pierre Turgeon and Hunter does not skate out there to board him after a playoff goal (somewhat tragically, this – and the 21-game suspension that rightfully ensued – is what most people will always remember about Hunter’s playing career, when he was quite the impressive player for a long, long time in the NHL). All joking aside, the Caps are one of the lower-tier fighting teams in the NHL a year after they were one of the mid-range fighting teams in the league – currently tied for 27th with another team that just changed coaches yesterday, the Carolina Hurricanes, with five fighting majors on the season. Their current fight record is pretty decent, though, at 3-1-1. Last year, the Caps were dead-center, 15th in the NHL, with 45 fighting majors and a rather unremarkable 9-18-18 fight record.

Of Caps players that have fought this season, Matt Hendricks (6’0”, 211lbs, 2-0-1) leads the way with three fights, while John Erskine (6’4”, 220lbs, Win, out indefinitely with a shoulder injury) and Jay Beagle (6’3”, 215lbs, a rather infamous Loss to Arron Asham, on IR with a head injury) each have fought once. Among players currently on the Caps roster, the fighters are led by Hendricks (1-4-9) with 14 bouts. Erskine (2-0-4) followed him with six fights. Former Blackhawk Troy Brouwer (6’3”, 213lbs, 0-2-1) checks in with three fights and Mike Green (6’1”, 207lbs, 1-0-1, out indefinitely with a groin injury) each fought twice. Solo fighters included another former Blue in Dennis Wideman (6’0”, 200lbs, Loss), former Canadien Jeff Halpern (6’0”, 200lbs, Loss), überstar Captain Alexander Ovechkin (6’3”, 230lbs, Loss) and another former Canadein in Roman Hamrlik (6’2”, 206lbs, Loss). Former Blue DJ King would be on this list if he weren’t sent down to Hershey early in the season.

I’m having a hard time believing there will be a fight in this game, but the likes of Reaves and Scott Nichol have proven me wrong previously by working a fight with someone completely unexpected. Nichol would be best suited fighting someone like Hendricks, though that’s still a tough size matchup for Nichol to navigate. I just doubt there will be a fight in this contest.

“That train keeps a rollin’”, but not “on down to San Antone” as the Johnny Cash song goes. But hopefully another victory is on board.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Hendricks has to cover his face a lot. Image via Comcast Sportsnet Washington

While there is little doubt the Blues’ future is bright, Tuesday’s brutal 6-0 loss to the Calgary Flames left very few doubts about this season’s final path (folks, it’s not good).  But at one point, to try to inject some positive energy into the club, Cam Janssen went at it with “The Greek God of Hockey Violence”, otherwise known as Tom Kostopoulos (video here).  It was pretty obvious that Janssen won that fight quite handily, and in fact it was pretty much a unanimous decision.  It helped nothing as far as the game result, but at least it was fun.  The Blues move to second in the NHL all by themselves with 60 fights due to Janssen’s efforts.  The Blues’ fight record now stands at 25-18-17.

The last time the Blues played the Washington Capitals (December 1st, report here), both teams were mired in middle-of-the-pack position.  “The Great Eight”, Alexander Ovechkin, is not having one of his finer seasons.  But now, the Caps appear fueled to at least another playoff run after some retooling at the NHL Trade “Dudline” (Jeff’s word, not mine) and are currently locked in a tight race for the Southeast Division title with the Tampa Bay Lightning, while our Home Six are pretty much done like an over-charred beef roast.  The Caps HAVE shown the propensity to mix it up, though – to the tune of 37 fighting majors this season, which is tied for 13th in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators.  Their record in those fights?  Not very good at 8-16-13.  Also, note below that Marcus Johansson was listed on the previous report, but upon further review his “fight” was more of “the other dude went after him with gloves on”, so it has been expunged from this report.

Matt Hendricks (6’0”, 205lbs, 1-5-7) leads the Caps in fights with 13 and recently-signed two-year extensions with one.  Following him is Matt Bradley (6’3, 201lbs, 3-3-1) with seven fights.  John Erskine (6’4”, 220lbs, 2-0-3) and recently-waived but unclaimed former Blue DJ King (6’3”, 230lbs, 1-4-0) each have fought five times.  Top-scoring defenseman Mike Green (6’1”, 204lbs, 1-0-1), the recently-traded-to-Jersey David Steckel (6’5”, 217lbs, 0-1-1) and former Blue Jacket Jason Chimera (6’2”, 216lbs,0-2-0) have each fought twice.  Rounding out the list?  None other than Ovechkin (6’2, 223lbs, Loss) with one fight.

To me, the obvious choice for a fight matchup to look for would be Janssen and Hendricks.  Will it happen?  Maybe, but Hendricks plays a secondary scoring role while Janssen is lucky to get 7 minutes of ice time per night.  But we will see.

Ready for the offseason?  I think I might be.  But I ride or die with the Blues regardless.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Sometimes Matt Hendricks WINS fights, even over Colin Campbell's son! Image via Russian Machine Never Breaks by way of Mitchell Layton

Last night’s Blues 7-5 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks may not have been fun to watch in the grand scheme of things, but at least the game had an old-school hockey feel to it.  The decision was given to John Scott in his bout  with Cam Janssen, BJ Crombeen pretty easily handled Nick Boynton and a draw  was issued in the fight between Jeremy Morin and Chris Porter (each man’s first NHL fight, by the  way).  For the time being, the Blues are now on top of the NHL fighting world – yes, that’s right, the team is in first place SOMEWHERE!  26 fights on the season puts The Note one ahead of both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.  The better news?  They’re doing WELL in these fights – 13-7-6, to be exact.

Now, you’d think the presence of the Washington Capitals in the next game would make my job easier for this game . . . something like “Geez, Tyler, they DID trade for DJ King in the offseason, didn’t they?”  Well, yes they did, actually.  However, he hasn’t played since November 9th, and in his six games, he’s a -3 player.  He HAS fought twice, though.  So he’s got that going for him.  More on DJ in a bit, but first, the raw numbers for the Caps fighting-wise: 17 fights, tied for ninth in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers, and a fight record of 4-6-7.

Of course, people may remember the only fight last year between these two teams.  Matt Bradley – who actually IS a leading fighter for the Caps – slid a pass from the left circle that ended in a shot, stood for a few seconds and then was planted into the Olympic Break by Janssen in a game in St. Louis on February 13th.  Quintin Laing came to Bradley’s defense and got eviscerated by Janssen.  Video evidence of the hit and fight is here.

Matt Hendricks (6’0”, 215lbs, 0-2-3) leads the Caps with five fights on the season.  He is followed by Bradley (6’3”, 201lbs, 2-1-0) and John Erskine (6’4”, 220lbs) with three fights each, King (6’3”, 230lbs, 0-2-0) and Mike Green (?!) (6’1”, 204lbs, 1-0-1) with two each and Marcus Johansson (6’0”, 197lbs, Draw) with one.  I would have to call this a very balanced fighting attack for the Capitals, despite not using Deej very often.

For whatever reason, I’d like to see Bradley and Brad Winchester go at it. Will it happen? We’ll see.

I beseech you, STOP THIS LOSING STREAK!

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

"Hey dude, wanna have a beer after the game?" Image via UPI (but you probably won't be seeing David Koci tonight)

The Blues aren’t just beating people on the scoreboard, they’re punching people too.  There were two fights on Thursday between the Blues and Dallas Stars – one featuring expected contestants and one featuring not-so-expected contestants.  First, we had the long-awaited rematch between DJ King and Krys Barch.  King broke his hand on Barch’s helmet in their last fight back in November (a fight that King won).  King won the rematch handily.  Next, it was the second fight of Erik Johnson’s career.  He squared off against Jamie Benn, who was in the first fight in a regular season NHL game in his career.  Johnson controlled Benn early but Benn charged late and won the battle.  Despite the two fights, the Blues sunk back into 5th place in the league with 56 fights on the season and now sport a fight record of 23-18-15 in ’09-’10.

Now the Blues are in Denver to face the Colorado Avalanche.  Four weeks ago, the Blues squared off in Denver, and the Throwdown Lowdown was on the case.  Since then, not including the two fights in their previous matchup with the Blues, the Avs have only fought twice.  They have no problems throwing down the gloves when they feel the need to, as evidenced by their 9th place standing with 47 fights.  Their fight record on the season is an underwhelming 9-14-24; however, two of those wins were against the Blues.  Both came in Denver on February 28th; David Koci edged King (and in a bit of irony, Koci injured his hand in the process) and Chris Stewart took down BJ Crombeen.

The only changes from the previous meeting are in the records of multiple fighters for the Avs: Koci is now 2-4-5, Stewart is now 3-0-2, Cody McLeod is now 2-3-9 and Matt Hendricks is now 1-3-3.  Otherwise, the information from the previous report is still accurate, except that Koci is on injured reserve

Despite Koci’s absence, I anticipate multiple fights in this game.  The Avs have played in three games since the Olympic Break (including one with mutual bitter rival, the Detroit Red Wings), but their only fight was on Wednesday with the Anaheim Ducks.  The Blues bring physicality, which seems to bring out the best in the big, tough Avs.  Assuming King suits up, look for him to fight someone like Stewart amidst the absence of Koci.  Also don’t be surprised if McLeod goes at it with someone like Crombeen or Brad Winchester.

The Blues haven’t lost since losing to Colorado, in Denver, back on February 8th.  Can the Blues avenge that loss, take down this almost-certain playoff club and continue this hot streak?  I SAY YES!

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

I had the great honor of being in attendance for Saturday’s tilt between the Blues and the Blackhawks.  Despite the result, it was a great time – especially since there were TWO fights in the contest.  The first one – pretty much a hug-out between SIR JAXX (Barret Jackman) and Cam Barker (I blame it on Barker . . . he seemed not ready to throw fists, but . . . oh well) – was scored a draw at Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights, whereas the second fight between Eric Brewer and Andrew Ladd was called in favor of Ladd.  The second fight, I thought, was even, but I also am biased (obviously).  Jackman is now 1-0-2 on the season and Brewer is now 1-1-0.  With the two fights, the Blues did not move up or down in the season standings, holding steady at 5th place with 48 fights on the season and a 21-14-13 season fight record.

The Colorado Avalanche are one of those teams with a mixture of a bit of everything – youth, locker room vets, skill players, tough guys, grinders and big boys.  Much like the rest of the Northwest Division, the Avs are not allergic to fighting – they have fought a collective 43 times on the season, good for 7th place in the National Hockey League.  However, they do not have a propensity to win fights – they’re 7-14-22 on the season, this despite starting the season 0-8-10.  The Blues and Avs did not fight in the previous meeting between the two teams back on December 7th at home.

10 Avs have fought this season, and the leading fighters on the team are wingers Cody McLeod (6’2″, 210lbs, 2-3-8) and David Koci (6’6″, 238lbs, 1-4-5).  As you can see, McLeod is big but Koci (who last season was a Blue for, like, five minutes) is much bigger.  Center Matt Hendricks (6’0″, 215lbs, 1-3-2) is next on the list, but he is on IR with an ankle issue.  Others with multiple fights are winger Chris Stewart (6’2″, 228lbs, 2-0-2), defenseman Ryan Wilson (6’1″, 207lbs, 0-1-2), veteran winger Darcy Tucker (5’10″, 178lbs, 0-1-1) and winger Chris Durno (6’4″, 205lbs, 0-0-2).  Among these fighters are 6 of the 7 fight victories the Avs have recorded this season.  They LIKE to fight, they just don’t WIN fights.

The dream matchup of the evening involves whichever between Cam Janssen and DJ King plays and either Koci or McLeod.  If it’s King, I’d like to see him go at Koci.  If it’s Janssen, he and McLeod match up well size-wise.  I would also not be against a fight between someone like Jackman and a wily veteran like Tucker, although that’s a bit of a size mismatch.

One road game, then back home.  The Blues need to make this one count against a very formidable foe on in Denver.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights