Word is that you MIGHT remember this guy. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Road wins are really cool, y’know. The St. Louis Blues were able to snag a big two points in Ottawa on Tuesday in Brian Elliott’s return to the place he called home to begin his National Hockey League career, earning a win over the Ottawa Senators 3-1. There was an early scrap between two familiar opponents, and it was recapped here. Zenon Konopka is ready and willing to throw down at a moment’s notice, and he did just that with BJ Crombeen, though the fight was largely unspectacular and ended in a draw. With that fight, the Blues move up to 26 fighting majors collected on the NHL season, still good for a 10th place tie with the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild in that category. With the draw, the team’s record moves to 12-3-11. That is still quite impressive, I would say.

Welcome to the swamp! The Blues’ road train moves to Newark, NJ to face the New Jersey Devils. You may recall that a recent popular figure on Blues teams of the past signed with this squad in the offseason, and while I’ll mention him later, you can only imagine how fired up he will be to see his old squad. As a result of some tough veteran members of the team, some youngsters needing to play because of injuries and some other acquisitions through various sources, the Devils have themselves a fisticuffs-ready club, top to bottom. The Devils are tied for seventh in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks, each team having 28 fights. The Devils’ fight record is quite alright at 11-8-9.

You may recognize the Devils’ leader in fighting majors this season, as he is our aforementioned “Old Friend” (and one of my personal favorites due to his sheer perseverance). Yes, I’m talking about the one and only Cam Janssen (6’0”, 215lbs, 0-1-5), who has collected six fights this season. Following CamSmash is the veteran duo of Eric Boulton (6’1”, 225lbs, 4-1-0) and David Clarkson (6’1”, 200lbs, 3-1-1), who have each fought five times. Ryan Carter (6’1”, 200lbs, 0-2-1, Day-To-Day with a hand injury) has fought three times, but is not expected to play tonight. Brad Mills (6’1”, 195lbs, 1-1-0, recently sent to Albany of the AHL) has fought twice this season. Mark Fraser (6’4”, 220lbs, 1-0-0 as a Devil and 1-0-1 overall, traded to Anaheim in December and currently in the AHL) fits a special category as he HAS fought twice this season, but only one of them was with New Jersey. Other Devils “solo fighters” include another guy in that Anaheim trade, Rod Pelley (5’11”, 200lbs, Win, traded to Anaheim in December), as well as team superstar Ilya Kovalchuk (6’3”, 230lbs, Win), Tim Sestito (5’11”, 200lbs, Draw, currently with AHL Albany), Alexander Urbom (6’4”, 215lbs, Draw, currently with AHL Albany) and Calder Trophy candidate Adam Henrique (6’0”, 195lbs, Loss).

I’m pretty sure if Janssen plays, he will be fighting someone. Expect the opponent to be the guy who basically took his job, Ryan Reaves, if anyone. It would be hard to imagine him fighting anyone else.

Two wins in a row over the Eastern Conference would be mighty fun, for sure.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

He’s a badass fighter, he’s a entrepreneur, he’s a face-off wizard and he has an awesome Polish name. This is the current NHL leader in fighting majors, Zenon Konopka. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Well, that sucked. The St. Louis Blues were hoping to break their struggles with the Nashville Predators, but instead found out how good Pekka Rinne really is . . . AGAIN . . . in a 3-1 regulation loss in Tennessee on Saturday. A great fight happened, and it was recapped here. Sure, Ryan Reaves performed admirably AND bloodied fight veteran Brian McGrattan, but McGrattan won by landing more quality punches. So the Blues move up to 25 fighting majors collected on the National Hockey League season, which is good for a 10th place tie with the Minnesota Wild in that category, and with the fight loss, the team’s record moves to 12-3-10.

Now, back to Canada, and in this instance it’s Canada’s national capital to face Brian Elliott’s former team, the Ottawa Senators. The Sens were hot to begin the 2011-2012 campaign, but since have cooled to the tune of losing six straight games leading into tonight’s match. Not only that, Elliott played well enough to earn an All-Star Game appearance in his old stomping grounds, and now he’s back. That said, this could be a trap game, but who knows? Anyway, the Sens are one of the top fighting teams in the league, largely due to one man (he is pictured above, but more on him later). They are in fifth by themselves with 36 fighting majors collected on the NHL season. Their fight record? It is perfectly even and average, at 12-12-12. (No, that is not a typographical error.)

The Sens’ leader in fights also leads individual fighters in the NHL and is a face-off wizard, Zenon Konopka (6’0”, 209lbs, 6-7-3), with 16 fighting majors collected on the season. Following him is Chris Neil (6’1”, 215lbs, 3-1-1) with five fights. Noted league meathead Matt Carkner (6’4”, 237lbs, 2-1-0) and Zack Smith (6’2”, 212lbs, 0-1-2) have each fought three times. Nick Foligno (6’0”, 210lbs, 1-0-1), rookie Colin Greening (6’3”, 212lbs, 0-0-2) and Jesse Winchester (6’1”, 206lbs, 0-1-1, on IR with a concussion) have each fought twice. Solo fighters include Brian Lee (6’3”, 205lbs, Draw, on IR with the dreaded “Lower Body Injury”), former Coyote Kyle Turris (6’1”, 195lbs, Draw) and recent top-ten pick Jared Cowen (6’5”, 230lbs, Loss).

My guess is that if there IS a fight, it would be between Reaves and Konopka, despite Konopka giving two inches and about 30 pounds to Reaves. Konopka is one tough S.O.B., and he commands respect just about every time he drops his gloves.

Time to get back to some winning, don’t you think?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

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

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

Steve Ott has an ‘A’ on his sweater, and I always imagine it stands for “A**hole”. Image via ladybugbkt/Flickr

The St. Louis Blues can win a game in the shootout? Holy crap! And so it was done on Saturday, as the Blues played the Minnesota Wild to a 2-2 tie in regulation and a scoreless five-minute overtime period, and took the victory in a shootout, most undoubtedly the single dumbest way I can think of ending a hockey contest (JUST END IT IN A TIE). The great news, aside from the win, in this one is that there were three (!) fights in this game. For starters, David Backes earned 19 minutes of penalties in sticking up for David Perron on what turned out to be a clean hit, “fighting” Justin Falk to a draw (video here, and this situation is exactly why the Instigator Rule is a load of crap). Then, rather inexplicably, Clayton Stoner went at it with Chris Stewart, with Stewart taking the win (video here). Finally, in what has to be the Blues’ fight of the year so far, Ryan Reaves and Brad Staubitz squared off in what I thought was a pretty excellent fight, a fight that displayed all the reasons why fighting should never be taken out of the game (A BIT OF NSFW LANGUAGE IN THIS LINK). Somehow, a decision was rendered in this fight, and it was given to Reaves (video here, and if you don’t like what you see, I’m sorry . . . but you are not a fan of hockey fights).With these three fights to add to the total, the Blues ratchet up to a tie for 11th place in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins, who each have collected 20 fighting majors on the season. The fight record, with the two wins and the draw added, now goes up to 9-2-9.

We now welcome to town former Norris Division mate and possible future division or conference mate, the Dallas Stars. You might recall that the Stars did pay a visit recently. The Blues and Stars have played one in Dallas (October 13th) and one in St. Louis (December 26th) this season. As you can see by the date, the St. Louis meeting was very recent, and some foul happenings took place in that game. It was also a close contest that was won by the Blues, one of very few the Blues seem to have won over the Stars recently. Is it an indicator of what is to come tonight? Probably not, as momentum is usually only as good as your next game. The Stars have fought 18 times this season, currently good for a tie for 16th in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers. The Stars’ fight record is not bad – a solid 5-4-9.

The Stars are led in fights by former Blackhawk Jake Dowell (6’0”, 198lbs, 1-2-2) with five fights. Following him is well-known pest and one of my least-favorite players ever, Steve Ott (6’0”, 190lbs, 1-0-3, including a “victory” over Barret Jackman), who has fought four times this season. Then, there’s Krys Barch (6’1”, 237lbs, 1-1-1 as a Star and 2-3-3 overall, traded to the Panthers on December 7th) with three fights as a Star. Team Captain Brenden Morrow (6’0”, 205lbs, 1-0-1) has fought twice. Among solo fighters for the Stars are future superstar Jamie Benn (6’2”, 205lbs, Win), veteran defenseman Sheldon Souray (6’4”, 237lbs, Draw with Stewart), hulking defenseman Mark Fistric (6’2”, 233lbs, Draw) and a son of former Islanders royalty, Eric Nystrom (6’1”, 193lbs, Loss).

These two teams have a recent past of brawling each other, and with the kind of fight matchups that happened in the first two meetings of the two teams, I would not be shocked at anything at this point. For posturing purposes, my pick for the night will be Dowell and Reaves, but don’t bet on it . . . bet on something else (ANYTHING else).

Two home wins in a row? As long as it doesn’t go to overtime, I’m cool.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Clayton Stoner says “I WILL FIGHT EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU!” Image via rburtzel/Flickr

To continue my remembrance of when the St. Louis Blues sucked at hockey back in the middle to late ‘00’s, back then a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks would not have been viewed as a disappointment. Now? It is a disappointment, which is a good sign of where this club is headed going forward. As for fights . . . there were two. First, BJ Crombeen and Dale Weise worked a draw (video here, and might I add that Beej made the RIGHT decision to let up on Weise after he slipped . . . I wish more fighters would do that). Then, Roman Polak went into “Berserk Mode” and wailed fists all over Maxim Lapierre for a victory (video here). Despite the two fights, the Blues stay at 18th place in the National Hockey League, albeit by themselves, with 17 fighting majors on the season. The fight record, with the draw and the win, now goes up to 7-2-8.

So hey, now we get a home game with another Western Conference playoff candidate in the Minnesota Wild. We have covered these folks twice, both for road contests (November 5th and November 19th). While this team, like the Blues, is not in the upper echelon of fighting teams, they are not afraid to drop the gloves and go at it. This is not to say that it will happen tonight, but there is a bit of a recent history between the two clubs. The Wild are tied for 13th in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers and Winnipeg Jets, who each have collected 18 fighting majors on the season. Their fight record stands at a stout 9-5-4.

The Wild are led in fights, unsurprisingly, by Brad Staubitz (6’1”, 215lbs, 4-2-2) with eight of the team’s 18 fights. Following him are young Twitter fiend Matt Kassian (6’4”, 232lbs, 2-0-1, currently with Houston in the AHL, follow him here) and big defenseman Clayton Stoner (6’3”, 225lbs, 2-1-0), each with three fights. The rest of the Wild players on this list have fought once each, and they are Justin Falk (6’5”, 215lbs, Win), Darroll Powe (Draw with Scott Nichol), Nick Johnson (6’1”, 183lbs, Loss) and Warren Peters (6’0”, 195lbs, Loss).

You never know . . . Nichol and Powe could go at it again with one another. But what I really want to see is a fight between Stoner and Ryan Reaves. That would be perfect . . . two heavyweights, going fist-for-fist. I would love it.

It’s time to get the bus back on the road and win some more hockey games, starting tonight.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Does this look like a face-puncher? Well, it is. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Two things completely unexpected happened in Thursday night’s 4-1 St. Louis Blues home victory over the New York Rangers. First, the Blues were able to dominate action for about 45 of the 60 minutes of play despite a full four-day layoff. Secondly, there was only one penalty called, and at that, it was a petty holding call deep in the Rangers’ zone. This means that there were no fighting majors recorded by either team – which included the Rangers, one of the most punch-happy teams in the National Hockey League. So the Blues stay at 11 fighting majors collected on the season, good for a tie for 20th in the NHL in the category with the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Perspective to be found here – Ottawa Senators forward Zenon Konopka has 11 fights BY HIMSELF, which would tie him INDIVIDUALLY with the Blues, Oilers and Leafs in the fight standings. Yikes. The Blue Note’s fight record remains at 5-1-5. Smashville? More like Twangville to me, but I think I can manage. I am typing at you live from a hotel in downtown Nashville, Tennessee in preparation to watch tonight’s Blues game with the Nashville Predators. We covered this team way back on October 8th here on the Throwdown Lowdown report. You’ll find almost everything you need to know about last year’s fighters on this Predators squad and how they did as a team after dropping the gloves last season. But what you really need to know here is this – despite the divisional rivalry and matchup, expecting a fight in this contest is not exactly the wisest thing to do. That said, the Preds have fought a little more often than the Blues this season – 13 times, in fact, which ties them for 12th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild in that category. The Preds’ fight record is alright as well – 6-3-4.

Preds players who have fought this year begin with journeyman enforcer Brian McGrattan (6’4”, 235lbs, 4-0-1) with five fighting majors on the season and one of my least favorite NHL players, Jordin Tootoo (5’9”, 199lbs, 2-0-0), with two. Solo fighters include Blake Geoffrion (6’1”, 190lbs, Draw), Matt Halischuk (6’0”, 185lbs, Draw), Mike Fisher (6’1”, 208lbs, Draw), Colin Wilson (6’1”, 210lbs, Loss), Francis Bouillon (5’8”, 198lbs, Loss) and Zack Stortini (6’4”, 215lbs, Loss to Ryan Reaves).

I fully do not expect to see a fight in tonight’s contest, but if it does happen, expect it to be early and expect McGrattan to mix it up with Reaves. I’ve seen sillier things happen.

Time to turn Smashville into . . . something other than Smashville. Whaddaya say, gang?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

My favorite NHL Newf. Image via Dimur/Flickr

A great showing from the Home Six on Thursday led to an easy 4-2 St. Louis Blues win over a reeling Anaheim Ducks squad. The likelihood of a bout was significantly lowered when it was learned that Ryan Reaves would be a healthy scratch, which he was. So no fights on the game means the Blues are tied for 13th in the National Hockey League with six other teams (the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets), sporting a record of 5-1-5.

The San Jose Sharks are relatively even in the fight standings with the Blues, but just like the Blues, the fight record does not tell the full story. Both teams have veterans to lean on, and they’re both physical at the point of attack. The Sharks have one fewer fight on the season – 10, if you’re scoring at home – than the Blues. But because of ties, the Sharks are tied for 21st on the season in fights with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Islanders. They carry a fight record of 3-4-3. I covered these guys on a previous report, October 5th, to be exact. That’s where you can find info about the Sharks and their fight work from 2010-2011.

Newfoundland native Ryane Clowe (6’2”, 225lbs, 0-1-2) leads the team with three fights this season. Old friend Brad Winchester (6’5”, 230lbs, 2-7-0) and Jim Vandermeer (6’1”, 210lbs, 0-1-1) each have fought twice this season, and Jamie McGinn (6’1”, 210lbs, Draw), Andrew Desjardins (6’1”, 210 lbs, Loss) and Douglas Murray (6’3”, 240lbs, Loss) each have fought once.

I’m not going to say that the chances of this game not having a fight are spectacular, but the chances of a fight in this one are so slim even the die-hards of both teams wouldn’t even anticipate it.

FINISH THEM.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

How can you not love a face like this? Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

3-2 wins by the St. Louis Blues over the Detroit Red Wings make me happier than I should be. Wait, what am I talking about? It’s so awesome, actually. The only positive thing that I didn’t see out of that game was an actual fight, despite Jimmy Howard’s best attempt to try to start one with the wrong person (Hey, Jimmy . . . when your own defender steers an opponent toward you, almost killing you, the dumbass is the guy who steered the opponent, NOT the opponent . . . therefore, feel  perfectly free to start punching Johan Franzen in the face, dawg. Too bad it’ll never happen.). The Blues remain stuck at 11 fighting majors tallied on the season, good for a tie for 11th in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs, and they remain at a 5-1-5 record in those fights.

We’ve covered the Anaheim Ducks once in these spaces (October 16th,to be exact). Their history of violence on the ice is very well-known throughout the league, and it does not go unwarranted. This team employs one of my favorite fighters in the league, who we will discuss later, but if you need hints . . . he is pictured above, he is a handsome human being, he has an Ivy League education AND he is strong as an ox. What a combo, ladies! Anyway, the Ducks’ fight record from a year ago is noted in the previous issue, but this year the team is tied for seventh in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in that category with 15 fighting majors collected on the season. Coming into this game, they carry a very respectable fight record of 5-3-7.

One addition to Ducks players that fought last year from the previous addition is recent call-up and former Oiler Jean-Francois Jacques (6’3”, 231lbs, 3-1-1) with five fighting majors collected. The fight breakdown for the Ducks this year has Sheldon Brookbank (6’1”, 202lbs, 1-0-3) leading the way with four fights and aforementioned handsome and affluent Ivy League fighter George Parros (6’5”, 228lbs, 2-1-0) and Matt Beleskey (6’0”, 204lbs, 1-0-2) with three fights each. The rest are solo fighters: Jacques (Win), Luca Sbisa (6’2”, 207lbs, Draw), Ryan Getzlaf (6’4”, 221lbs, Draw), Andrew Cogliano (5’10”, 188lbs, Loss) and Corey Perry (6’3”, 212lbs, Loss).

The likelihood of a fight in this game rests mostly with whether or not the two enforcers suit up. I, of course, am talking about the aforementioned Parros and Ryan Reaves. Sure, there are possibilities of secondary fights (Last year, Sbisa went at it with Matt D’Agostini once), but look for a marquee matchup and not much more in this contest.

Anyone want to pay ME $250 million for 10 years to write about hockey fights? I’m available!

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Ericsson vs. Clowe is Swede-On-Newf violence. Image via pyle313/Flickr

What started out as awesome ended up being . . . not so much. David Perron scored a goal in his long-awaited return to the St. Louis Blues, but the Chicago Blackhawks carried the day with an impressive 5-2 win over the Blues. It was testy throughout, and there were several times that I was sure there WOULD be a fight, but never was there to be one. So the Blues stay put at 11 fights on the season and remain at a 5-1-5 record, but now that number of fights puts the team at a tie for 11th in the National Hockey League with the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs in that category.

When we last saw the Detroit Red Wings (November 15th, to be exact), the team had a total of four fighting majors on the season. Coming into tonight’s game, the Wings have . . . a total of four fighting majors on the season. That is good for a tie for DEAD LAST in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning in that category, so this report is nice and concise since it has already been done in the previous issue. If you want to look up who has fought this season for the Wings both this season and last plus fight records for the team and all parties involved, please click on the link in the first sentence of this paragraph.

Will there be a fight in this game? I would say it is highly doubtful. But if I had to put money on someone fighting in this contest, being that Ryan Reaves is likely to be a healthy scratch in this one, it would have to be Scott Nichol fighting someone bigger than him . . . someone such as, say Justin Abdelkader. It seems like a very good match, really. Despite the big hit by Chris Stewart on Niklas Kronwall in the previous matchup, I just don’t see a big opportunity for a major bout in this one.

It’s Hated Rival Weekend, Extended. Can the Blues at least win one of the two contests at home? We’ll find out.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights