Want proof? Here’s proof:

Basically, this was a bear-hugging contest. This was basically something you would be embarrassed to be a part of if you were looking back on it, talking to your grandkids about how hockey fights used to be. You could argue King landed more punches than Crombeen, including the kill shot, and you’d be correct, but this was a massive waste of time, really, and both men should’ve been given two-minute minors for Delay Of Game. I’ll give the edge to King, but only begrudgingly as it really should be a draw.

Ryan Reaves could’ve made this a better fight by just standing there. Roman Polak would’ve enjoyed this challenge. Crombeen just did not bring it in this fight, but then again, neither did his opponent, so it should be a wash.

More players my girlfriend likes . . . this time, we have former Fighting Sioux, Matt Greene. Image via Dinur/Flickr

It started with a bang for the San Jose Sharks, but thankfully for our St. Louis Blues, their effort ended with a loud thud. The boys in blue are through to the Western Conference Semifinals after five tooth-and-nail games, losing 3-2 in double overtime in Game 1, winning 3-0 in a violent Game 2, winning 4-3 in Game 3, winning 2-1 in Game 4 and clinching with a 3-1 Game 5 decision. Were there fights? Damn right there were fights . . . five, in fact . . . four in Game 2 alone and three of those after the final horn had sounded. The Blues went 4-0-1 in those five fights. The matchups were . . . Joe Pavelski against Kris Russell, Dominic Moore against Vladimir Sobotka, Justin Braun against Roman Polak (which was perhaps the most infamous fight of the series), Douglas Murray against Barret Jackman and Tommy Wingels against Chris Stewart. The fights were broken down thusly in Fight Card pieces. If we add the 4-0-1 record in these five fights to the regular season record, the Blues would now sport a 20-8-19 fight record overall in games that have counted this season, which is fantastic. But for now, I am only counting the 4-0-1 playoff record, which is even more impressive, actually.

Again, just a series preview . . . this time, for the Western Conference Semifinals and the eighth seed in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings. This team is the current toast of the league, having dispatched the President’s Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in quick fashion, behind strong goaltending play, great defense, timely goal-scoring and an aggressive forecheck. We covered the Kings four times in the regular season in this space (October 18th, November 22nd, February 3rd and March 22nd). The Blues went 1-2-1 in those four games, which raises concern about how this series will go. But this is a fight report, so for the time being, we’ll move on from that . . . the Kings finished the regular National Hockey League season with 33 fighting majors, good for 18th by themselves in that category. They were a measly 6-16-11 in those fights. They fought once in their series with Vancouver, earning a draw in that fracas.

In the regular season, the Kings were led in fights by Kyle Clifford (6’2”, 208lbs, 1-5-4 including a Loss to Stewart) with 10 fights. Following him was former Blackhawk Colin Fraser (6’1”, 191lbs, 1-5-1 including a draw with Scott Nichol that shouldn’t have even counted as a fight) with seven fights. Veteran brawler Kevin Westgarth (6’4”, 234lbs, 1-0-2, has been a lineup scratch every game since February 16th) and former Flyers Captain Mike Richards (5’11”, 199lbs, 1-0-2) each fought three times, and Jordan Nolan (6’3”, 227lbs, 2-0-0), Willie Mitchell (6’3”, 208lbs, 0-1-1) and Matt Greene (6’3”, 232lbs, 0-2-0) each fought twice. The Kings had four solo fighters, namely pancake-eating extraordinaire Dustin Penner (6’4”, 242lbs, Draw), team Captain Dustin Brown (6’0”, 204lbs, Loss), young Trevor Lewis (6’1”, 194lbs, Loss) and the well-paid Drew Doughty (6’0”, 212lbs, Loss). In the Vancouver series, superstar Anze Kopitar (6’3”, 225lbs, Draw) participated in the only Kings fight.

Again, I’m not even going to predict who will fight who because as we saw in the first round series with San Jose, a fight can come from the most meager and odd circumstances in the playoffs. But do expect some fisticuffs to happen in this series, much like there was in the first round.

Are you ready for Round Two? Well, you’d better be. I sure as hell am.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

So yeah, that was quite the Game 2 between the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks, wasn’t it? And to add to it, there were four fights, including three after the final horn had sounded.

So we have two video clips for you, starting with an after-the-whistle scrum that turned into a fight between Kris Russell and Joe Pavelski (who, mind you, I believe SHOULD be the Sharks’ Captain). As an added twist, I found video clips that included the voices of CSN California (Sharks local) play-by-play man Randy Hahn and color commentator Drew Remenda, who I find to be the finest local broadcast crew in the National Hockey League . . . yes, even surpassing our guys, and this is NOT a stab at John Kelly and Darren Pang. Take it away, gang:

It was a long build-up to a short fight, one that only a frustrated Pavelski would take and one that Russell came out ahead on. He was always in control of this bout, though he did let Pavelski into his grill with a couple shots. The clincher was a quick right jab, followed by a couple lefts and an attempted right cross that knocked both men to the ice.

And now, the triage that everyone was talking about after the game . . . three fights, all after time had expired and all with different beginnings and ends. All on one video clip, too! First, it was Vladimir Sobotka and Dominic Moore, followed by Roman Polak and Justin Braun, then bookended by Barret Jackman and Douglas Murray. Take ‘er away, Randy and Drew:

There’s little discussion about who won the Sobotka/Moore tilt. Sobotka broke Moore’s nose, and Moore had pretty much no chance in that bout. The biggest discussion about THAT tilt is a supposed “sucker punch” by Sobotka, as Sharks coach Todd McLellan has accused. Granted, the camera angle was late, but I was at the game and did not see what he was talking about on that. The Polak/Braun bout was pretty much no contest as well. Blues coach Ken Hitchcock even spoke of doors you don’t open following the game regarding what Polak did to Braun in that one. As for the Jackman/Murray bout, there was no clear winner to that one, so the draw that will be voted for that one will be well-deserved. Of note, Murray suffered a cut on his nose from that bout, which seems to have come from his visor hitting the bridge of his nose. He’s okay, but it would be funny if that’s the reason Jackman was pointing at Murray afterward . . . “HEY, WHAT’S WITH THAT STUPID VISOR? YOU’RE AN IDIOT.” *smirk*

Game 3 oughta be a real doozy, I’d say. Getcha popcorn ready.

It's playoff time, expect a scrum after almost every whistle.

After the Canucks and the Sharks had both won their respective games, the western conference was finally pegged down. The Canucks claimed the West and the President’s trophy. The Blues finished second, set to face off against the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Looking at the rosters of each club, you can judge who’d better for yourself.

Jaroslav Halak/Brian Elliott vs Antti Niemi/Thomas Griess

There should be no question whatsoever in this case. You have the best statistical goaltender in the NHL in Brian Elliott and while Niemi has a cup, most would prefer Jaroslav Halak in net over the Finnish Niemi.

Halak and Elliott will share the William Jennings trophy for fewest goals allowed in the NHL. San Jose finished eighth in goals against, letting in fifty more goals overall than the Blues.

Offense Isn’t Lacking On Defense

When looking on the defensive side of the puck, both teams aren’t lacking offensively.

Dan Boyle lead the San Jose Sharks offense from the defense this year, scoring nine goals, 39 assists for 48 points on the year. He’s followed by Brent Burns’ 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists). Burns, however, adds a solid defensive game and grit on the blueline as well.

The Blues counter offensively with Alex Pietrangelo’s 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) and Kevin Shattenkirk’s 43 points (9 goals, 34 assists). Pietrangelo, however, has been playing at a Norris caliber level all season long for the Blues, something the Sharks haven’t had.

Then you have the supporting cast behind the “big two” for each club.

For San Jose, it’s the likes of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, Justin Braun, Colin White, Jason Demers, and Jim Vandermeer.

While the Blues have guys like Barret Jackman, Roman Polak, Kent Huskins, Carlo Colaiacovo, Kris Russell, and Ian Cole.

Obviously, you have to give the experience to the Sharks group, but overall, it’s fairly close and hard to really pick one side. We’ll call it a wash as I honestly can’t make a decision.

Depth The Story Offensively

While the Sharks probably have more well known names in Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski, they cannot say they have the depth like the St. Louis Blues do. The Sharks bottom six guys compared to the Blues bottom six just don’t add up.

When you have guys like Alex Steen, Jason Arnott, and even the struggling Chris Stewart playing third line minutes compared to Michal Handzus, Dominic Moore, and Andrew Desjardins, you’re going to have an edge offensively.

After the top nine, the Blues hold depth over the Sharks with the fourth line along with their scratches as well. The Sharks have Dan Winnik’s 23 points as top among their fourth liners, while the Blues have a guy who notched 20 goals last season in Matt D’Agostini and Jamie Langenbrunner’s 24 points as well.

The Blues are also holding a top prospect ready to play in Jaden Schwartz as well, very much like the Sharks did a few seasons ago with Logan Couture.

In terms of toughness, Ryan Reaves is by far the toughest player on either club’s roster, and given his ability to play a effective checking line role, he’s a valuable asset to the Blues here.

Heated History

We must also remember that these two organizations aren’t the biggest fans of one another. From the most recent Joe Thornton incident of Joe Thonrton concussing David Perron with a blindside hit, to the upset in 2000, games between these two are usually up tempo, hard hitting, grinding games, which favors the Blues more defensive system than the Sharks more offensive system.

Fighting usually isn’t common in the post season. The big, hard hits, the board battles usually tell the stories in playoff hockey, and that should give the Blues the advantage, like it has in the season series against these clubs, in which the Blues went 4-0 against them this season.

Leading The Ship

Another advantage the Blues have over the Sharks is leadership where it matters, the coaches. While Todd McLellan is a very good coach, he doesn’t have the pedigree that Ken Hitchcok has, which includes a Stanley Cup. Hitchock knows what it takes to get his team wins. Leading a team that many have stated was ‘built for the playoffs’ will again, give the Blues an advantage over San Jose.

The Sharks only have two players who have won a Stanley Cup on their roster in Dan Boyle who won it with Tampa, and Colin White, who won it with New Jersey.

The Blues have four guys in Jason Arnott (NJD), Jamie Langenbrunner (NJD, DAL), Andy McDonald (ANA), and Kent Huskins (ANA) who’ve won Hockey’s Holy Grail. So though as a team the Blues don’t have a lot of experience, they have more guys who’ve been there and know what it takes to win it all.

Home Sweet Home

The biggest factor in this series likely wont be the players, or the coaches, or the history of these two teams, it will be the Blues having home ice advantage. The Sharks will go into a hostile territory in which the Blues have lost six, yes only six games on home ice all season long. It will easily give a boost to the Blues all series long.

If the Sharks can take a game in St. Louis, it could help them gain momentum, but that will be no easy feat. Expect the crowd’s energy to carry over into the players and it could end up giving the Sharks fits if they cannot find a way to put the puck in the net.

Overall, the advantage has to be in St. Louis’ favor in this series from goaltending to forward depth, coaching and style of play. This projects to be a very hard fought series and the winner will have to earn their victory. This is where it all matters, where players will disappoint and players will prove their worth. Who will shine? We’ll have to watch to find out!

Series Schedule

Game One – San Jose vs St. Louis -Thursday, April 12th, 6:30 pm

Game Two – San Jose vs St. Louis -Saturday, April 14th, 6:30 pm

Game Three – St. Louis vs San Jose-Monday, April 16th, 9:00 pm

Game Four – St. Louis vs San Jose- Thursday, April 19th, 9:00 pm

Game Five (if necessary) – San Jose vs St. Louis – Saturday, April 21st, 6:30

Game Six (if necessary) – St. Louis vs San Jose – Monday, April 23rd, TBD

Game Seven (if necessary) – San Jose vs St. Louis – Wednesday, April 25th, TBD

Jared Boll usually isn’t left licking wounds after fights. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Well, the division title is still in range for the St. Louis Blues, as they gained a point in a game they probably didn’t deserve to get one in after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a free-throw shooting contest. But while there were a few mild skirmishes, there were no fights to speak of in this game. So the Blues stay at 38 fights on the National Hockey League season, good for a tie with the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks and the Hawks on that ladder, and the team’s fight record sticks at a very good 16-5-17.

I could spend an hour talking about how horrible tonight’s opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, has been this season. But, it would do no good, really. This is the last meeting of the season between the Blues and Jackets, so we’ve covered them on five occasions on this report (November 27th, December 18th, February 14th, March 10th and March 11th), and there have been seven total fights between the two teams in those five games, with videos to each below. The Jackets are currently tied for fourth in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators with 52 fighting majors collected on the season, sporting a fight record that’s relatively average at 18-20-14.

The Jackets are led in fights by Jared Boll (6’2”, 219lbs, 5-6-5 including a Draw with Ryan Reaves and a Draw with Chris Stewart) and Derek Dorsett (6’0”, 192lbs, 5-8-3 including a Loss to BJ Crombeen), who each have fought 16 times this season and Cody Bass (6’0”, 205lbs, 2-3-1 including a Win over Reaves, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with six. Dane Byers (6’3”, 204lbs, 0-1-2 including a Draw with Roman Polak and a Loss to Crombeen) has fought three times this season, while Derek MacKenzie (5’11”, 180lbs, 1-0-1, out indefinitely with a concussion) and Derick Brassard (6’1”, 202lbs, 1-1-0) have each fought twice. Seven former and current Jackets have fought once each this season, and they are current Blue Kris Russell (5’10”, 172lbs, Win), James Wisniewski (6’0”, 208lbs, Win, Day-To-Day with a concussion), Fedor Tyutin (6’2”, 216lbs, Win, out with a broken hand), Jack Johnson (6’1”, 231lbs, Win, acquired in trade from the Kings), Colton Gillies (6’4”, 208lbs, Draw, claimed off waivers from the Wild), Darryl Boyce (6’0”, 200lbs, a Draw with Chris Porter, claimed off waivers from the Maple Leafs) and RJ Umberger (6’2”, 220lbs, Loss).

Even with the Blues now boasting a full roster and even with the fact that the “goons” will probably sit out, I still anticipate a fight or two in this contest. Look for Scott Nichol to get involved somehow. The best possible matchup size-wise might be Dorsett, but that may be a bad fight for Nichol to take.

Win the game. Win the division. Clinch at least a 2-seed in the West. Do it.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

This, an AHL uniform, is the only kind of hockey uniform Dane Byers would be wearing this year if the Blue Jackets were, y’know, good. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat. The Columbus Blue Jackets, no offense to them, are a team the St. Louis Blues are supposed to beat, and after a shaky beginning, that’s exactly what happened in a relatively dominant 4-1 win in the first leg of a home-and-home with our blue-coated division mates. We even got a couple scraps thrown in there . . . after a hard but clean hit by Chris Porter, former Leaf Darryl Boyce took exception, hitting Porter, causing both to drop the gloves in a fight Porter appeared to win (video here). Then, when the momentum had clearly switched to the Blues in the middle of the game, noted goon Dane Byers decided to have a go with BJ Crombeen, a fight Beej won handily (video here). A full Fight Card recap will be available at some point after tonight’s contest to capture the whole home-and-home. The Blues now stand in 10th by themselves in the National Hockey League with 34 fighting majors collected on the season. Adding the two wins, the Blues’ fight record now stands at a very robust 15-6-13. Wins in the standings, wins in the fight column . . . way to go, boys.

And now, the Columbus portion of the home-and-home with the Blue Jackets. I’ll cut the crap here, because we’ve covered them four times now this season (November 27th, December 18th, February 14th and last night). With the two fights from last night, the Jackets move into a third place tie with the Philadelphia Flyers with 49 fighting majors collected on the season, and with last night’s two losses, their fight record now dips to 17-21-11.

The Jackets are led in fights by Derek Dorsett (6’0”, 192lbs, 5-8-3 including a Loss to Crombeen) with 16, followed by Jared Boll (6’2”, 219lbs, 5-5-3 including a Draw with Ryan Reaves, on IR with a broken foot) with 13 and Cody Bass (6’0”, 205lbs, 2-3-1 including a Win over Reaves, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with six. Adding last night’s fight, Byers (6’3”, 204lbs, 0-1-2 including a Draw with Roman Polak and last night’s loss to Crombeen shown above) now has fought three times this season. Two Jackets have fought twice each, and they are Derek MacKenzie (5’11”, 180lbs, 1-0-1, out indefinitely with a concussion) and Derick Brassard (6’1”, 202lbs, 1-1-0). Seven former and current Jackets have fought once each this season, and they are current Blue Kris Russell (5’10”, 172lbs, Win, still out with a concussion), James Wisniewski (6’0”, 208lbs, Win), Fedor Tyutin (6’2”, 216lbs, Win, out with a broken hand), new Jacket Jack Johnson (6’1”, 231lbs, Win, acquired in trade from the Kings), Colton Gillies (6’4”, 208lbs, Draw, claimed off waivers from the Wild), RJ Umberger (6’2”, 220lbs, Loss) and Boyce (6’0”, 200lbs, the aforementioned Loss to Porter).

More fights? I do believe there will be, as there’s about an 18-hour turnaround from the end of last night’s game to tonight’s contest. It tends to bring out the best in the scrappy ones of the bunch. Look for not just one fight, but multiple fights. After Reaves’ misconduct from last night, I fully expect him to be involved in at least one fight, if not more.

All they do is win, or at least it seems like it. Keep up the good work, gang, and beat the teams you should beat.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Derek Dorsett gets rag-dolled quite a bit. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

First place overall in the entire National Hockey League? That’s totally awesome. The St. Louis Blues made that happen with help from a 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The downside? Well, partially because George Parros was in the press area for this game, there were no fighting majors handed out during the contest. I’ll take the win, thanks. The Blues remain at 32 fights on the season, now good for 13th in the NHL by themselves, and the team’s fight record stays at 13-6-13.

The first of a home-and-home with the Columbus Blue Jackets takes place in St. Louis tonight, and it’s been well-documented how lowly this team has been this season. That said, the Jackets are coming off four wins in a row heading into tonight’s action after trading off assets to receive useful bodies and draft picks in return. We’ve covered the Jackets on three occasions this season (November 27th, December 18th and February 14th). The Jackets, not surprisingly, are one of the most active fighting teams in the NHL, having fought 47 times thus far in the season, good for fourth in the league by themselves. Their fight record, though, is relatively average at 17-19-11.

The Jackets are led in fights by Derek Dorsett (6’0”, 192lbs, 5-8-3 including a Loss to BJ Crombeen) with 16, followed by Jared Boll (6’2”, 219lbs, 5-5-3 including a Draw with Ryan Reaves, on IR with a broken foot) with 13 and Cody Bass (6’0”, 205lbs, 2-3-1 including a Win over Reaves, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with six. Three Jackets have fought twice each, and they are Derek MacKenzie (5’11”, 180lbs, 1-0-1, out indefinitely with a concussion), Derick Brassard (6’1”, 202lbs, 1-1-0) and Dane Byers (6’3”, 204lbs, 0-0-2 including a Draw with Roman Polak, rumored to be recalled from Springfield this weekend). Six former and current Jackets have fought once each this season, and they are current Blue Kris Russell (5’10”, 172lbs, Win, still out with a concussion), James Wisniewski (6’0”, 208lbs, Win), Fedor Tyutin (6’2”, 216lbs, Win, out with a broken hand), new Jacket Jack Johnson (6’1”, 231lbs, Win, acquired in trade from the Kings), Colton Gillies (6’4”, 208lbs, Draw, claimed off waivers from the Wild) and RJ Umberger (6’2”, 220lbs, Loss).

Being that there will be two games in two days against each other, feistiness will likely be in order for one or both of these games. Expect there to be multiple fights in one or both of these games, and involve more than several fighters to be active this weekend.

Keep. Winning. Hockey. Games.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Mark Recchi wants Maxim Lapierre to bite his hand. Image via slidingsideways/Flickr

When the St. Louis Blues have all cylinders firing, they are a scary club to watch if you’re an opponent. We caught a glimpse of that kind of hockey club last night in seeing them dismantle the young Edmonton Oilers piece-by-piece last night in a 5-2 victory where the score really didn’t indicate how much of a dominating performance The Note put on. There were fighting majors issued in this one to Ryan Reaves and Darcy Hordichuk, though as you could tell from this Fight Card piece, you could argue that neither of them really deserved that much because Hordichuk slipped early. With that fight, though, the Blues are still 10th in the National Hockey League in fights with 31 on the season, but now tied with the Minnesota Wild in that category. With the draw, the Blues’ fight record moves to 13-6-12.

And westward we go to face the top team in the Western Conference, the Vancouver Canucks. Last year, when the Canucks were making their playoff run, people thought of this team as soft (though it wasn’t exactly founded on truth). Wary of this, the Canucks have added some tough guys to their bunch to give the team a bit of a rugged feel. You’ll see some of those newcomers below among the fighters, but really, they didn’t need to do much to their team to be near the top of the league. Nevertheless, they were active at the trade deadline and did pick up some useful pieces. We’ve covered the Canucks three times this season, all games in which the Blues picked up points against this squad (October 26th, November 4th and January 12th). The Canucks are seventh by themselves in the NHL with 34 fighting majors collected on the season, carrying a relatively mediocre 9-16-9 record.

The Canucks are led in fights by two bona-fide pests, Maxim Lapierre (6’2”, 207lbs, 2-4-1 including a Loss to Roman Polak) and Dale Weise (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-4-3 including a Draw with BJ Crombeen), with seven fights each. Next is a man that’s done for the season with injury, Aaron Volpatti (6’0”, 215lbs, 0-3-2, on IR after having season-ending shoulder surgery), with five fights and a man whose season MIGHT be over, Keith Ballard (5’11”, 208lbs, 3-1-0, on IR with headaches) with four fights. Kevin Bieksa (6’1”, 198lbs, 2-0-1) has fought three times, while Byron Bitz (6’5”, 215lbs, 2-0-0, currently with Chicago of the AHL) and Andrew Alberts (6’5”, 218lbs, 0-1-1) have fought twice each. There are four solo fighters, and they are Mike Duco (5’10”, 200lbs, Draw, currently with Chicago of the AHL), David Booth (6’0”, 212lbs, a Loss to Scott Nichol), Victor Oreskovich (6’3”, 215lbs, currently with Chicago of the AHL) and Aaron Rome (6’1”, 218lbs, Loss). Another man to look out for is the newly-acquired Zack Kassian (6’3”, 214lbs, 1-0-1 as a member of the Sabres).

Some intriguing rematch possibilities lie in this game, but I’m going for the big one here . . . namely, a fight between Kassian and Reaves. Kassian wants to endear himself to his new teammates, and Reaves matches up almost perfectly size-wise to the big man. It is certainly possible.

KEEP. WINNING.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Jared Boll, doing what he does best against Milan Lucic. Image via slidingsideways/Flickr

Why not the St. Louis Blues. This team is white hot of late, thanks to some luck and some spectacular defensive play. Their 3-0 shutout victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday was a prime example of the kind of play the Blues are showing that makes experts and fans alike wonder if this really is a Cup contender. I still think it’s way early to consider that, but . . . the seed is planted and properly watered, so to speak. The Blues and Sharks had some interesting scuffles in the usual “dirty areas” during a lot of Sunday’s contest, but nothing that warranted fighting majors being issued. So the Blues remain 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 sticks at 12-3-11.

And now, to visit the one team in the Central Division that, at least this season, has not inspired fear in opponents. Yes, it’s off to Ohio to face the Columbus Blue Jackets! It’s bad enough when a team grossly underperforms expectations, but it’s infinitely worse when your team is in the news for stuff other than on-the-ice related issues. In the Jackets’ case, it’s been a coach’s firing that probably should have happened sooner to save the coach from further embarrassment, a fresh acquisition (Jeff Carter) who has appeared unhappy to be there and who the team is willing to offload (at least according to reports), an agent (Allan Walsh, whose arrogance seems to be endless league-wide, mind you) telling the front office that they’re misusing one of his clients (Derick Brassard, who we’ll get to later but has not exactly lived up to his expectations in Columbus, save for part of a season) and a protest in front of Nationwide Arena by Jackets fans to protest the front office and their general lunacy, among other things. Add in that the team’s goaltending has been so (predictably) awful that their current “starter” is career backup Curtis Sanford (HEY, REMEMBER HIM?!), and you have a veritable train wreck of a season. I was talking to my girlfriend about it recently, and she put it best (I paraphrase, of course): “I feel SO BAD about this team . . . and yet, I don’t. They’re the Blue Jackets.” She’s a smart woman. Moving on . . . one thing the Jackets ARE good at this season is getting into fights. We’ve covered them on two occasions in this space (November 27th and December 18th, the latter being truncated). The Jackets have fought 38 times thus far on the season, good for fourth place by themselves in the NHL. Their record in those fights is relatively decent, actually, at 15-14-9.

26 of those 38 fights are split evenly among the top two Jackets fighters, and not only do they lead the team in fights together, but they both have the exact same fight record! I am, of course, talking about Derek Dorsett (6’0”, 192lbs, 5-5-3) and Jared Boll (6’2”, 219lbs, 5-5-3 including a Draw with Ryan Reaves, out indefinitely with a broken foot), each with 13 fights. Following them is Cody Bass (6’0”, 205lbs, 2-3-1 including a Win over Reaves, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with six fights, then Dane Byers (6’3”, 204lbs, 0-0-2 including a Draw with Roman Polak, currently with Springfield in the AHL) with two. The Jackets have four solo fighters, including our pal Kris Russell (5’10”, 172lbs, Win, traded to the Blues in November), James Wisniewski (6’0”, 208lbs, Win), Fedor Tyutin (6’2”, 216lbs, Win) and the aforementioned Brassard (6’1”, 202lbs, Loss).

I would find it extremely fitting and very amusing if Russell got into a fight with someone on his old team. So I’ll go ahead and say it’ll happen . . . Russell will fight Dorsett.

Keep winning. That is all.

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