(12-8-2)

vs

Washington Capitals

(12-9-1)

at

Verizon Center

TV- FSMW(HD) Radio- KMOX

Game Time- 6:00 pm CDT

Blues Team Recap- The St. Louis Blues stroll into Washington tonight to take on the Capitals in the first meeting of the season between these two teams. The Blues are coming off of a 2-1 win in Columbus 2 nights ago and are playing some very gritty hard nosed hockey. Tonight will proove to be a new challange for this Note as the Caps recently fired head coach Bruce Boudreauand named Dale Hunter as the new commander and chief. Hunter takes over after spending the last 11 seasons in the OHL as head coach of the London Knights. A shot of energy is what the Caps are hoping for tonight against St. Louis with the coaching change. The Blues will need to put their best foot forward if they wish to take yet two more points on to their next desination on this three game road trip.

Blues Keys To The Game- Contain number 8. Do not give him break aways, do not leave him in front of the net alone, and for god sakes do not give him room to skate. Yes,Washington has plenty of capable skaters and play makers but no one can finish like Ovi can. Like him or not, he is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the NHL. Keep the great Russian quiet and the rest of the team should fall into place for the Blues. Check them hard and keep them in the offensive zone. Do not allow Washington to dictate the flow of the offensive puck possession time. If St. Louis allows the Caps to handle the puck for a majority of the play, they will find themselves looking at the little black rubber bicuit behind Halak A LOT tonight.

Washington Capitals Team Recap- After having one of the best if not the best start in franchise history, the Caps have fallen flat on their faces. Losing 6 of their last 8 games and giving up a 5-1 beat down at the hands of the tattered Buffalo Sabers in their last game prompted the front office to vote Bruce Boudreau off the island. A record of 17-20 in post season play has been hard for Captials fans to swallow after their team played so well and dominate like during the regular season. It seemed under Boudreau the team lost its ability to play during the playoffs. Call it fatigue, call it lack of preparation, call it plain being out coached the Caps no longer have to worry about that. Dale Hunter has taken over the reigns and if it is any indication from his past history in the NHL the Caps players are in for a rude awakening if they think they can just skate by and not give a 110% effort each night. Hunter was known for being hard nosed and determind player around the puck and did not shy away from contact. Will the Capitals become a more physical team? I am not convinced with the group of players assembled that they can be a truly physical team. The Caps rely on a fast transition game that allows them to use their speed and offensive ability to overwhelm the oposition. Time will tell if this switch is what the doctor order or if it will be a complete mega star melt down.

Capitals Keys To The Game- The Caps have looked just awful in thier last 6 games. They can’t score goals, they can’t keep the puck out of their zone, and they can’t keep the puck out of the net. Simplify the game… Be responsible in your own end and get the puck out of the offensive zone quickly. Do not allow St. Louis to get the cycle set up along the low boards. Inevitibly, some one will come open in front of the Caps net minder and it will end up not a pretty picture for the team from DC. The Blues play a very physical and up tempo game. The Capitals must match the speed and the physicality the Blues will bring to the rink tonight. The Blues take a lot of penalties. If the Capitals can “Capitalize” ( I know right..) on the Blues mistakes they may have a shot at winning this game tonight. If they sit back on their heels and let the Blues dictate the pace of the game the Caps are going to loose this game by a large margin.

Blues News- Tonight Alex Pietrangelo will not be in the line up. Petro has been sick per a Jeremy Ruthuford tweet earlier today and will not play in tonights match up. Cade Fairchild has been recalled from the Peoria Rivermen and will play in his place tonight. No word on possible pairings has been released yet. Pietrangelo is not expected to miss more then one game at this point. David Perron might get back into the line up as early as this saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford has a hunch that David could get back into the action this weekend providing a shot in the arm in terms of scoring and puck handling ability. Andy Mcdonald remains sidelined with a concussion with no time table for return. Defenseman Kent Huskins is still nursing a fractured ankle back to health and is expected to miss 3-4 more weeks. BJ Crombeen has skated with the team wearing the red no contact jersey and is slated for a late December or early Janurary return to the line up. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo is nearing a return from the IR with a hamstring injury. No exact date is available but it is assumed he will return soon. Vladamir Sabotka will miss tonights game as well after suffering a fractured maxilla (upper jaw bone) when he blocked a puck with his face against the Calgary Flames in St. Louis this past weekend. Sobotka is traveling with the team and may return to play against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

With Sobotka and Pietrangelo out tonight, the Blues will need to work together to get through this match up. Play strong, hard, and fast and get us another two points to bring home! LET’S GO BLUES!!!

]]> http://bluenotezone.com/2011/11/29/game-day-preview-st-louis-blues-vs-washington-captials-11-29-2011/feed/ 0 http://bluenotezone.com/2011/11/23/game-day-preview-st-louis-blues-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-11-23-2011/ http://bluenotezone.com/2011/11/23/game-day-preview-st-louis-blues-vs-pittsburgh-penguins-11-23-2011/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:22:31 +0000 Tony Timpe http://bluenotezone.com/?p=9305 St. Louis Blues

(10-8-2)

vs

Pittsburgh Penguins

(12-6-3)

at

Consol Energy Center 

Game Time 6pm CDT

TV- FSMW(HD) Radio- KMOX

Blues Team Recap- The Blues are coming off a regulation loss to the LA Kings last night at the Scott Trade Center. With a few botched plays from defenseman Barret Jackman and a couple of undisciplined minors later the Kings skated out of the Lou with two more points handing Ken Hitchcock his first regulation loss since taking over as head coach. Emotions were high in last nights game and none was more evident then a very dirty cross check from behind laid down by Kings defensmen Drew Doughty on Blues forward TJ Oshie. The hit sent Oshie head first  the boards who had no idea Doughty was going to check him from behind. Leave it to the good ole NHL officials to only call a 2 minute minor cross checking penalty. Another awesome development this morning would be the NHL sheriff Brendan Shanahan only fining Doughty 2,500 bucks for the hit and rendering no suspension. Just last week the front office Lawmaker laid out a 3 game suspension to Chris Stewart for a VERY identical hit on Redwings player Nikolas Kronwall. Shanny is not doing himself any favors by giving punishment that is not equal for hits that the NHL and the NHPLA want to remove from the game. I find it completely absurd that Shanahan delved out the punishment that he did and I feel disrespected and slapped in the face. If you can’t handle disciplining big name athletes from big name teams but you can hand out huge fines and games missed to the smaller ones you have no business being in control.  Do I think Stewart deserved the suspension that he received? You bet your sweet ass I think he deserved it. Stop giving Blues fans reasons to doubt and hold grudges against the people at the top.

Blues Keys To The Game- Score goals. Gee Tony, Isn’t the goal of every game? Yes, Yes it is but the blues have not done a good job of tallying marks against their opponents in the last several games. The power play has once again regressed and gone of for o well hell you get the idea. Scoring chances are coming the Blues way but they have not been able to finish on those chances like their opponents have. If you can’t finish on your chances you wont go very far in this league. Crash the net.. This is the bread and butter of this teams offensive ability and it seems they have lost touch once again with this idea. Shots are coming through but the opposing goal tender is able to see the puck thus making an easy stop from perimeter shots. A few lucky bounces is all the Blues need to get back to the winning ways that they have become accustom to under Hitch. Play hard, choral the Kid and fore check them into next week and the Blues should have a good night in P-Town. O by the way.. STAY OUT OF THE PENALTY BOX!

Pens Team Recap- After missing the last 10 months due to a concussion Pens center-man Sidney Crosby returned to the line up against the New York Islanders a few nights ago. It did not take Sid long to find his touch. Crosby went on to polish off 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points on the night. The only place the Penguins are headed from here is a steady climb upward in the Eastern Conference. Look for the polar aquatic birds to make a big splash come playoff time if this roster of offensive giants can remain healthy.

Pens Keys To The Game- Get the Blues to take bad penalties and score power play goals. This should be every teams MO from here on out against this team. The Blues have been very undisciplined over their last three match ups and have taken penalties that have lead either directly or indirectly to their demise. With a mediocre PK unit and a terrible Power Play the Pens could dominate this game if they keep possession of the puck time way up and force the stingy defensive Blues to play in their own end. The Blues will make mistakes and it is how the Pens react to those mistakes that will ultimately define this match up. Can Sid the Kid and company capitalize on some mistakes by a young team? Or will the Pens take a lazy approach to a very good team and get shown some humble pie? The puck is in the Pens court and it is up to them whether or not they dominate St. Louis or cough up two points.

Blues News- David Perron continues to skate with the team in full contact practices. No time table has been officially set for his return but all indications point to him being just a few weeks away from his 2011-2012 debut with the Blues. Andy McDonald remains on IR with a concussion and no time table for return at this point. Kent Huskins remains out on IR with a ankle fracture. BJ Crombeen is sidelined with a fractured shoulder blade and is expected to return some time in early January. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo was placed on IR with a hamstring injury. Cade Faichild has been recalled from Peoria to be the Blues 7th Defenseman.

I again as a Blues fan shake my head at the decision making of the disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan. When you let hits like this go you set a precedence that top teams and top players will get a free pass but those who are lower on the popularity pole will get crucified and made an example of. Shame on you Shanaban, Shame shame shame….

VS

(1-1-0)

AT

Thursday if you happen to be in Dallas around 7:30 pm a cheap ticket might be able to be found. With the Texas Rangers locked in an ACLS battle with the Detroit Tigers most eyes will be glued to coverage of the game with little thoughts of hockey. Enough, however, of that baseball stuff as we take a quick look at the upcoming game. The Blues will be facing off against the Dallas Stars at 7:30; don’t forget the game will be on Fox Sports Midwest (HD) and FRESH 102.5 FM- NOT KMOX. The Blues are coming off an offensively impressive game against the Calgary Flames. The Blues were able to bury 5 goals in a game that they dominated most of the 2nd and 3rd periods. The Blues got off to a shaky start when Calgary winger Curtis Glencross netted his second goal of the season to put the Flames up 1 to nothing in the first period. Jarosalav Halak once again looked to be a bit shaky between the pipes in the early part of the game. With goals from 5 different players the Blues came from behind to snuff out the Flames and send them packing without a win yet this season.

One of the more impressive back hand goals we have seen from a Blues player in quite some time came off of right winger Chris Stewart’s stick. Stewart made it seem like it took such little effort as he fluttered the puck with a gentle flick of his wrists. If you can not get excited about Chris Stewart and his top end potential, you should check your self into the closest crazy bin and stay far away from the windows! The Boys in Blue will need to come in to Dallas with a full bag of tricks and effort. The Stars will not go down quietly and goalie Kari Lehtonen is known to have a hot hand when playing against St. Louis. The Blues will need to control puck possession just as they did against Calgary. Containing the likes of Mike Ribeiro, Loui Eriksson, and Brenden Morrow to name a few will be paramount. Getting a few early goals on the Stars and keeping the pressure in the Dallas zone are my two keys to the game for the Blues. With Carlo Colaiacovo (Lou Korac, Blues beat writer reports) headed to the IR after a knee to the head in the opener against Nashville the St. Louis Blues acquired Taylor Chorney from the Edmonton Oilers. The waiver claim will keep rookie Defenseman Ian Cole in Peoria for the time being. The Rivermen are off to a very sluggish start and the front office wants to keep Ian there as the leader on the blue line to play big minutes.

The St. Louis Blues lines for Thursday’s game should remain the same and look a little something like this:

Mcdonald-Backes-Langenbrunner

Oshie-Berglund-Stewart

Steen-Arnott-D’Agostini

Sobotka-Nichols- Reaves

Defensemen Pairings:

Jackman-Pietrangelo

Huskins-Polak

Nikitin-Shattenkirk

7th D-man Chorney

The Dallas Stars continue to lay down the wins coming out of the gate at 2-1 on the new 2011-2012 season. With guys like Mike Ribeiro and solid goal tending from Kari Lehtonen the Stars are off to one of the better starts in the league this season. Head coach Glen Gulutzan has his boys fired up and playing well so far. Except for a bad game number 2 of the season the new head coach is pleased with the performance of his guys and hopes that they can continue to play well. Thursday night you can expect once again to see some sparks between these two teams. With the tension between the two over they years, one would think the two come from the same division. With Steve Ott being a royal pain in the Blues back-sides it will be interesting to see what antics he brings to the rink this season. Grab a few frosty cold ones… A bag of your favorite snacks… and watch our boys put a whoopin’ on those pesky Stars from Big D!

This guy may be missing teeth, but he was a definite Cutie with the kids

The Blues are back at home after their first road win in Nashville on Thursday.  Tonight, they are looking to keep the energy going and continue a winning record at home.  Tonight, Cam Janssen, Carlo Colaiacovo, and Roman Polak will be sitting the game out with their respective injuries.  Look for Nathan Oystrick to replace Carlo; he’ll be paired with Strachan.  Here is who my eye will be on tonight:

Nathan Oystrick #37:  This cutie has been a powerhouse of points for the Peoria Rivermen, where he wears #20.  This defensemen has 3 goals and 7 assists, 3 of those points coming on the power play, in his 10 games with the Rivermen.  Although he probably won’t be on the powerplay with the Blues, look for Oystrick to continue to be an offensive defenseman.  Oystrick mainly got picked as tonight’s Featured Cutie because of his interaction with the kids at the Jr. BlueNote press conference at FanFest.  The kids asked some pretty funny questions, and here is what I learned about Nathan.  When not playing hockey, Nathan likes to sleep and play video games, although he mostly talked about sleeping when aksed.  He said that in his entire professional career he has been in 30-40 fights, and this Cutie has 16 penalty minutes so far with the Rivermen this season. He has lost 3 teeth in his career: one on the top from a stick to the face and two on the bottom from a puck shot by Jonas Junland.  Growing up he loved Gretzky, and hated any team who played him.  Watch for this Cutie to play an offensive defense game, and hopefully he can perform as well as he did in the Jr. BlueNote press conference!

Thrashers Cutie to Watch:  The Thrashers are headed to St. Louis with a split road record.  Watch for Ondrej Pavelec to make his comeback after collapsing on the ice on October 8.  Here’s who my eye will be on:

This Cutie knows how to get the puck in the net

Evander Kane #9, Left Wing:  This young guy, he’s only 19, may not be the cutest guy on the team, but his record for this season and enthusiasm for the game make Kane the Cutie to Watch.  So far this season, Kane leads the Thrashers with 6 goals in 10 games.  Not too shabby for a sophomore NHL player.  Last season, Kane had only 14 goals in his 66 games, so he is looking to make a big upward swing this season instead of having a sophomore slump.  Watch for this Cutie in front of the net, although he may not have the most points on the Trashers, he obviously knows how to score.

Blues Forward Derek Armstrong - Image via blues.nhl.com

Hockeybuzz.com’s Andy Strickland reports that the Blues have recalled Forward Derek Armstrong from their AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. With Keith Tkachuk’s new injury (pinkie finger + surgery = out 10 days) and Cam Janssen’s 5 Game suspension, the Blues were down to 12 active forwards. With David Backes coming back from the Olympics (and a potentially tired Backes) the Blues were likely running with only 11 forwards at 100% coming out of the break. Armstrong’s recall will allow the Blues to carry 13 forwards as they await the return of Tkachuk and Janssen. With the first 6 games after the break being on the road, the Blues will likely need the depth.

Armstrong has five NHL games on the books this season. In those five games he has no points and is a Minus-2 while averaging a 7:34 in ice time per game.

If I were a betting man I would expect to see Armstrong centering a line with King or Winchester + BJ Crombeen to compose the Blues “4th line”.

Blues Interm Coach Davis Payne - Image via pjstar.com

Payne, 39, has a career 62-44-3-6 record with the Blues AHL affiliate in Peoria. This season Peoria is 19-13-1-2 in 3rd Place in the AHL’s Western Conference, West Division. They are tied with three other teams with 41 points, which are the 5th, 6th, and 7th spots on the Conference standings. Last season Payne returned the Riverman to the AHL playoffs after missing two straight. Payne also coached the Blues ECHL affiliate Alaska Aces to a ECHL Championship in 2006.

Former Coach Andy Murray - Image via blues.nhl.com

Murray’s time in St. Louis has been a mixed bag, full of high and low points. When he came to the team on December 11th, 2006 the Blues were in sad shape. Mike Kitchen was just fired as the team began its full scale rebuild. Andy Murray was brought in to maximize the veterans onteh roster while the organization was reshaped. The goal was a team more geared for post lockout styles and rules. Murray lead the Blues to a second half surge, but finished out of the play offs. In the 07-08 season the Blues were still a rebuilding team that Murray was working hard with. Instilling fundamentals anda solid work ethic with newer players. This trend continued to the 08-09 season where he orchestrated a history book like second half run to get the Blues in to the playoffs despite losing Erik Johnson, Eric Brewer, Paul Kariya, and Andy McDonald over long stretches. Expectations were heightened for the 09-10 camping based on returning players and Murray’s Jack Adams Nomination. The team has largely struggled this season, posting a 17-17-6 record with 40 points leading to a 4th place ranking in the Central Division and 12th in the Western Conference.

A fairly good synposis of Payne’s coaching style can be found here.

Please allow me to temper expectations Blues fans. I’ve seen some fans liken tis to the Penguins firing Michel Therrien and bringing in Dan Bylsma. As a huge Pens fan I can shed some light here. Dan did a good job because he understood what he had to work with and relates well to the younger players while still having respect of the veterans.  The high end talent level the Pens have pushed that team over the top. Please, do not put unrealistic expectations on Davis Payne because of Dan Bylsma (or Joe Sacco even). Payne did coach some of the players on the Blues roster, but not many. He will have to work hard to establish himself and that may take time. Do not expect a 5-0 thrashing of the Blackhawks tonight.

Expect some changes in ice-time since Payne is not a match-up intensive coach. Payne likes to be aggressive and forecheck and get the puck north (similar to Byslma, I know, but that’s the new style). I would say expect a high energy game, maybe not the best results to start, but the Blues should be bringing some heat.

I will not be able to get around to a Gameday, I don’t think. I am going to catch Chicago at the Fox today before the Blues game. Please stay tuned to Jeremy Rutherford and Andy Strickland on their websites and Twitter today for updates. We have links to their homes online on our Links Page.

Its a dawning of a new era Blues fans. Right or wrong, both the players and Murray are at fault for the mess that this season has become. As much as I like Murray (and I honestly do), he is just not the coach to take this young team forward. Blues fans had to question if he was able to adapt to the new styles of the post lockout game. From what we can see, he cannot change under adversity. Hopefully Payne can bring his “new school” approach and ramp this teams level of play up like Bylsma, Sacco, and Boudreau have for their teams.

Derek Armstrong recalled from Peoria - photo via blues.nhl.com

Per the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Blues Official Website, the Blues have recalled Forward Derek Armstrong from their AHL affiliate Peoria Riverman.

It appears the Blues are trying to add a little bit of toughness and leadership to the roster. At age 36 Armstrong has 471 career NHL games played, many of which were with Andy Murray in Los Angeles. Murray was quoted in the Post Dispatch saying:

“I think he brings a Danny Hinote personality to our room, which is good for us. I think we miss Danny’s personality.”

“I think Army is a great addition and brings a lot of energy and so on, but Derek Armstrong is not going to ride in here on a white horse tomorrow and save the group. It’s up to the group itself.”

Important words from Coach Murray. With Paul Kariya on IR with a upper body (likely head) injury and McClement being banged up by a Shea Weber shot the Blues saw a need to recall Armstrong under Emergency Conditions. It is very likely that McClement could play so the interesting part is who sits out when Armstrong arrives? He isn’t be brought up to sit in the box (or work out w/ Nelson Ayotte). So who is out.

My hope is Berglund. Why?

This presents the Blues with a chance to dress a real, big, physical 4th line in Winchester-Armstrong-Janssen. A line that can go out for about eight minutes and just pound the other team. David Perron can go back on a line with McClement and Crombeen, a line he has had success with.

We shall see how this plays out for the Blues tomorrow night. However, this is a good move for the Blues today to help them win now. He is a player that fits in to Murray’s preferred style of play and inserts energy in to the team to light up the home crowd.

]]> http://bluenotezone.com/2009/12/30/blues-recall-derek-armstrong/feed/ 2 http://bluenotezone.com/2009/11/13/eller-returned-to-peoria/ http://bluenotezone.com/2009/11/13/eller-returned-to-peoria/#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:46:05 +0000 admin http://bluenotezone.com/?p=653

Lars Eller

The Blues rturned rookie Lars Eller to the Peoria Rivermen today after a four game stint with the Blues.  After an impressive first two games in which Eller scored a goal, his play slipped a little.

Eller’s future is quite bright but the 20 year old can still benefit from seasoning in the AHL.  This will allow recent healthy scratch Brad Winchster to return to the lineup.  It also takes the Blues roster down to 22 players so a move will likely not have to be made in a few weeks when Alex Steen is ready to return to the lineup from his broken wrist. 

As I wrote yesterday, Winchester needs to make the most of his return to the lineup as he might just eventually find himself as the odd man out if he continues with lackluster play. 

Odds are good that we see Eller in a Blues uniform again later on this season.

Strachan

The St. Louis Blues have assigned forward Yan Stastny and defensemen Tyson Strachan to the Peoria Rivermen.

Strachan, 25, played in six games with the St. Louis Blues this season, recording two assists and registering five shots in those six games. Strachan, a fifth round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes, was signed as a free agent on October 9th, 2008.

Stastny

Stastny, a St. Louis native, played only three games with St. Louis this year, registering a goal. Stastny, was was sent through recall waivers, and cleared, will not have to go through waivers, as the Blues only had 12 forwards available, it was an emergency recall and will NOT have to pass through waivers to be sent back to Peoria.

The Blues are in a slump, as they have not scored a goal in the last two games and are off until Thursday until they play the Calgary Flames at home. They will be looking to rebound and put the puck in the back of the net for the first time since the 28th of October.

The Peoria Rivermen

The Blues organization are feeling it in their locker rooms.

The Peoria Rivermen had to fly in defensemen T.J. Fast and tough guy Anthony Peluso from the Alaska Aces and sign goaltender Andrew Martin from the IHL, Bloomington Thunder, to replace the sick players on their roster.

Though names of the sick players have not been released, Hannu Toivonen is expected to be one of the sick as recently signed Martin will back up Ben Bishop in tonight’s games against the Rockford IceHogs.

Peoria is off to a 3-2-1 start and will look to add an extra win to that record tonight.

T.J. Oshie

The recovery stage for Oshie could take anywhere from two weeks, to upwards of a month.

Chris Mason, Blues goaltender had emergency appendectomy surgery last season as well and missed two weeks. No time table is set for his return just yet.

D.J. King will be in the line up tonight as the Blues have not recalled anyone from the Rivermen.

Eric Brewer

Team captain Eric Brewer is easing his way closer to a return to the line up as he is practicing full time with the club and he isn’t shying away from battles. Now he is not giving a percentage of his health, or how close he might be to returning, but he is practicing at a high level and a return could be closer than most think.