This takes some concentration, actually. Cody McLeod, kids. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

Good teams find ways to win like the St. Louis Blues found a way to beat the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. And not only that, the deed was done in the dastardly SHOOTOUT portion of the contest! Yes, the Blues actually won a shootout! 4-3 was the official final score. Despite the fact that Cam Janssen was buzzing around the team he used to root for AND play for, there were no fights in the contest, which may be just as well, actually. The Blues now sit in an 11th place tie with the Buffalo Sabres with 26 fighting majors each on the National Hockey League season. The team’s fight record still holds at 12-3-11.

Home sweet home! The Blues now play host to one of the league’s weirdest teams to put a proper gauge on, the Colorado Avalanche. They’re young, sure, but they have enough skilled players in all three zones to be better than they actually are. Lately, save for one game back in January, the Avs have had the Blues’ number. This is the last of four meetings between the Blues and Avs this season (barring a playoff series, I suppose), so we have covered this team three previous times (December 2nd, December 21st and January 7th). The Avs are shockingly similar to the Blues fighting-wise, in that there is one main fighter and some secondary fighters mixed in there. The Avs are currently tied for 14th in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks with 24 fighting majors collected on the season. Their fight record is a bit on the downside, though, at 5-8-11.

The Avs are led in fights by Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 3-3-5) with 11 fights on the season, which is currently good for a top-ten place among the NHL’s individual fight leaders. Following him is former Predator and Canuck Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 2-0-1) with three fights. Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2), David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0) and Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-0-2) each have fought twice. Four Avs players have fought once each, they are former Blue and golf cart driving extraordinaire, Erik Johnson (6’4”, 232lbs, Draw), TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw), Chuck Kobasew (6’0”, 192lbs, Draw) and Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss).

I’ve always said McLeod is very similar in fighting style and playing style to BJ Crombeen, and for once I’d really like to see the two mix it up with each other, because I don’t recall the two ever fighting each other. It might be the most even fight in the history of ever.

Home action means home wins, right? Well, I hope so, anyway.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Ryan O’Byrne (3) is tall. Image via BridgetDS/Flickr

What a rally! The St. Louis Blues have proven to be a never-say-die team under Ken Hitchcock, and they proved it again by rallying from a 3-1 deficit after a HORRIBLE second period to win 4-3 over the Edmonton Oilers with a flurry of goals to begin the third period. The only bad part about all this was the lack of a fight. This was only a touch disheartening, considering how the action was going in this game and the fact that the game flow and action nearly dictated that a fight was to happen. Oh well, I guess I’ll survive . . . . Anyway, the Blues stick and stay at 15 fights on the season, which now gives the squad 18th spot all alone in the National Hockey League. And they remain at a nice 6-2-7 fight record. Hey, when your team plays well, your team generally does not have to fight as often. I get that. So I’m cool with it.

The last game of THIS home stand (but only the third home game of the month out of a total of nine) brings Denver’s hockey team to town . . . yes, the Colorado Avalanche. We’ve covered the Avs twice this season, both prior to road losses to that team (December 2nd and December 21st). The Avs are not allergic to fisticuffs, but they seem to do it just about as often as the Blues do this season, which is to say “not that much”. Also of note . . . the Avs are coming off a road game in Chicago, so it’s possible they may not be in the mood to fight anyone tonight. But I digress . . . the Avs are tied for 10th in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild with 18 fighting majors collected on the season. Their fight record is a very respectable 5-5-8 on the season.

The Avs are led in fights by a familiar face around these parts, fighter extraordinaire Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 3-2-2) with seven fights on the season. Following him is former Predator and Canuck Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 2-0-1) with three fights. Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2, on IR with a head injury) and David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, 0-2-0) each have fought twice. Three Avs players have fought once each, they are former Blue and golf cart driving extraordinaire, Erik Johnson (6’4”, 232lbs, Draw), fresh figher TJ Galiardi (6’2”, 190lbs, Draw), Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss) and Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Loss).

Since there were no fights in the first two contests between these two teams, plus this being the second of a back-to-back set for the Avs, I will not predict a fight, and it’s possible that there will be no fights tonight. But that’s not what I want! I want BLOOD! That said, in four games last year, the two teams fought somewhere around 10 times, and there was big trade between the two clubs less than a year ago. Anything is possible. For your best bet, go with McLeod and BJ Crombeen.

Let’s continue this winning streak, why don’t we?

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Cody McLeod is not afraid of Matt Bradley’s spit-take face. Image via clydeorama/Flickr

Ten goals, two fights and a victory are three good ways to shake out from a hard-battled, emotional road loss 24 hours previous. The St. Louis Blues also got some home-cooked enthusiasm in that 6-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday. As for the two fights, they were both draws, though for different reasons I figured an edge would be given either way in both fights. First, Roman Polak FINALLY got on the fight board, and while his fight with Dane Byers (By the way, what in the bloody hell is a Dane Byers?) was adjudged a draw, I thought Polak might have been given the edge in that one because of some post-fight punching by Byers (video here). In the second bout, Ryan Reaves expectedly went at it with Jared Boll, and while Reaves started out decently, I felt Boll might have had the edge because he landed a big shot at the end of the fight (video here). Alas, both fights were called draws, and I can live with that in both instances. Also of note – Polak’s fight with Byers marked the first time a Blues player had picked up a major fighting penalty in nearly three weeks (November 29th, to be exact, was the previous time). The Blues now move into a tie for 16th in the National Hockey League with the Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets, each team earning 13 fighting majors on the season thus far. Adding the two draws, the Blues now hold a fight record of 5-1-7.

And the boys go back to Denver. It’s a two-game Mountain Time Zone swing that the Blues go on, first visiting “The Land of Tebow” (Yes, I am a long-time Denver Broncos football fan, sorry) and squaring off with the Colorado Avalanche. We covered this team a few weeks back (December 2nd, to be exact), and all things considered, when you take away the record and the goaltending, this is pretty much the Blues – a few studs offensively, a couple blue-line standouts and a few brawlers. But that goaltending . . . well, we’ll just leave that alone, as it’s not my area of expertise. The Avalanche have fought 14 times now this season, all alone in 15th in the NHL in that category. The Avs are a mediocre 3-6-5 in those fights.

This is about the point in the season where I forget about telling you how these teams fared in fights last year, as every team is now at least 30 games deep into the season. So let’s recap how individual Avs have fared in fights during the 2011-2012 season, shall we?

The team is led, not surprisingly, by fighter extraordinaire Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 2-3-1) with six fights on the season. Following him are a trio of players with two fighting majors each – Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 1-0-1), Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 0-0-2, on IR with a head injury) and David Jones (6’2”, 210lbs, Day-To-Day with a groin injury). Two Avs players have fought once each, they are Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss) and Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Loss).

While McLeod may be a touch undersized for Reaves, the Manitoba native would likely not back down from a challenge by Reaves. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if McLeod challenged Reaves to a fight. But who knows what will happen, really? I’m just saying that McLeod and Reaves is the best bet.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

“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

I guess Shane O’Brien isn’t feeling too well here. Image via Zimbio

We’ll start with unfinished business from the previous issue regarding the fights between the Blues and the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night . . . Ryan Reaves was voted the victor over Cody McLeod and Cam Janssen was voted the overwhelming winner over David Koci (video of BOTH fights here).  In a non-surprise, Ryan Wilson scored a unanimous victory over TJ Oshie (video here).  And the “somewhat” fight between Kevin Porter and BJ Crombeen was adjudged a draw (video here, and HOORAY FOR BARRET JACKMAN!  SIR JAXX FOR THE WIN!)

So I didn’t see any of the Blues’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, but I DID see replay . . . after replay . . . after replay . . . of that “goal” by Marian Hossa.  I don’t care what Dan O’Halloran, the league office or the video judge(s) in Toronto have to say, that was not a goal.  Point blank, end of story.  I have not seen ONE Blackhawks fan attempt to defend that the damn thing WAS a goal, and I not only follow a bunch of Blackhawks fans on Twitter, but I grew up with a lot of Blackhawks fans and have them as friends on Facebook.  Not one peep.  Not even a “hardy har har look at you stupid Blues fans over there with your stupidness” or ANYTHING like that.  Even according to a conversation Lou Korac had with Eddie Olczyk after the game, Edzo (who, mind you, is on the Blackhawks’ payroll from what I understand) couldn’t even justify the goal standing.  Folks, this is MORE than enough evidence that SOMEONE (and in this case, I’ll say that “someone” is Dan O’Halloran, despite my reluctance to blame the Irish for anything) made a mistake.  And the fact that it was exacerbated to the point of embarrassing the league is . . . well, pretty much the Modus Operandi of the Gary Bettman Era of the National Hockey League.  Maybe Bettman is to blame, who knows?  I like blaming him for things anyway, because he pretty much puts it on himself.  Dear Gary: go ahead and fine me, jackass, and good luck collecting the fine from this perpetually-broke dude.

I’m off my soapbox now.  I think there’s a fight report here somewhere . . . oh yeah, there is.  As for Wednesday’s game, despite the bad blood between the two teams, there were no fights contested.  I guess the Blues had enough of them banked from their game with Colorado that they didn’t need to exert themselves further.  It’s a long season, y’know.  Anyway, the Blues stay in first place in the NHL with 78 fighting majors on the season.  Adding in the two wins, one loss and one draw from Tuesday, the team’s fight record moves to 33-23-22.

So the season concludes with THESE guys.  We have covered the Nashville Predators on five occasions this season (October 14th, October 28th, November 11th, November 24th and December 26th . . . yes, the Blues and Predators have NOT played each other since 2010, literally), and you may notice that these guys do NOT like to shed the gloves.  In fact, there’s only one team that has fought less than Nashville . . . the Detroit Red Wings.  This makes for an easy, yet not very fun, report to write.  But we march on here at the Throwdown Lowdown Desk.  Anyway, the Preds are, as loosely referred to earlier, 29th in the NHL with 17 fights on the season, a PATHETIC number going into the final game of the regular season.  Also not so hot: the Preds’ fight record, which is a somewhat average 7-6-5.  Only once in the previous five contests were there fighting majors given to both teams (see below).

Shane O’Brien (6’3”, 230lbs, 1-4-0 including a loss to Crombeen) leads the team with five fights.  One of my least favorite players in the league because I don’t feel he should have a job in the NHL, Jordin Tootoo (5’9”, 197lbs, 3-0-1) has fought four times.  Francis “The Cube” Bouillon (5’8”, 198lbs, 1-1-1) has fought three times.  Wade Belak (6’5”, 222lbs, 1-0-1, waived and currently with Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee) and Kevin Klein (6’1”, 201lbs, 0-1-1) have each fought twice.  And rookie Blake “Grandson Of Boom Boom” Geoffrion (6’1”, 194lbs, totally whipped someone’s tail last night) and Colin Wilson (6’1”, 219lbs, Draw) have each fought once.  A very light fight card is what this team possesses.

So the Predators are headed to the playoffs.  I would love it if the Blues could send them there with a few bruises.  How about a tussle between Janssen and Tootoo?  How about a rematch between O’Brien and Crombeen?  Or, perhaps, Reaves and O’Brien lock up in a size-even bout?  Chances are there will be no fighting in this game, but a man can dream.  I want this Blues team to make it happen.

I’d like to thank all of my loyal readers this year.  I seem to have gotten very few complaints this year, which either means I don’t have that many readers or, well, I may just be doing a good job.  As a special end-of-season treat, sometime in the next couple weeks I will be putting together a blog post with YouTube links to EVERY fight the Blues contested in this season, the contestants and the results of those fights.  You, dear reader, have earned it.

And perhaps as a special treat to us loyal fans who have stuck with this team all season, maybe the Blues can deliver a victory?  I will be in attendance, and I would very much appreciate that happening.  Get it done, boys.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

In which Dowell was introduced to “The Church of Engelland”. Image via Zimbio

Who said there was no animosity between the Blues and the Colorado Avalanche?  You can count out the two contestants.  FOUR fights and one “incident” made the Blues 3-1 win all that more sweet for this reporter to tell you about.  Unfortunately as of this writing, Fried Chicken had not uploaded the fights to his site, and due to my refusal to shill for anyone else’s services on such a matter, I will have these videos for you before Saturday’s game but not right now.  This is a pinky promise.  But to recap, there was a rare “Two for the price of one” fight, where Ryan Reaves appeared to defeat Cody McLeod at the exact time Cam Janssen and David Koci worked what I thought was a draw.  I have been waiting three years to see what TJ Oshie could do in a fight and . . . well, quite frankly, I wish he hadn’t taken THAT one.  He lost soundly to Ryan Wilson.  And in a fight I really didn’t catch so I will assume it was a draw until I review the clip from the late-game Barret Jackman-induced melee, Kevin Porter and BJ Crombeen went at it.  I will classify Ryan Stoa vs. Jackman an “incident” as the two DID go at it, but by the point it happened it was quite one-sided toward Jackman, and neither received a fighting major.  Wow, that was complicated but quite fun to type out . . . anyway, this brings the Blues to 78 fighting majors on the season, still leading the NHL by a good distance.  I will update the fight record as soon as film is available.

On five occasions have we covered our “lovely” rivals from the Windy City, the Chicago Blackhawks (October 18th, October 22nd, November 30th, December 28th and February 21st).  Full disclosure, if I haven’t done this before: I truly despise the Chicago Blackhawks, and have done so for A VERY LONG TIME.  This dates back to their Mike Keenan Era (especially the incident called the “St. Patrick’s Day Massacre” from 20 years ago, which explains every reason needed as to why I called Keenan a scumbag BEFORE his tenure with the Blues).  Sure, a lot of Blues fans have animosity toward Detroit, and I really can’t say as if I blame them (and trust me, I don’t like that team either).  But whereas Red Wings fans fail to reciprocate the Blues’ rivalry with them, Blackhawks fans seem not to mind allowing us being called their rivals.  I like that, actually.  And it’s funny . . . I have plenty more Blackhawks fan friends than Red Wings fan friends.  GO FIGURE!  All that said, the Blackhawks are one of the lower-tier fighting teams in the league with 28 fighting majors collected on the season.  Their fight record is not bad at 13-8-7, but if you take away eight wins from one fighter, it looks a LOT worse.  Also of note: out of those 28 fights, seven have been contested against the Blues.  It’s goin’ down, baby!

Jake Dowell (6’0”, 199lbs, 3-4-2 including a loss to Crombeen) leads the Blackhawks with nine fights.  Second behind him is the team’s best fighter, John Scott (6’8”, 258lbs, 8-0-0 including a win over Brad Winchester and two wins over Janssen) with eight.  Troy Brouwer (6’2”, 214lbs, 0-2-1, out with a shoulder injury) has fought three times on the season.  Two fights each have been contested by Bryan Bickell (6’4”, 223lbs, 1-0-1 including a draw with David Backes) and Nick Boynton (6’1”, 218lbs, 0-1-1 including once getting destroyed by Crombeen).  In the one-fight-each club, you have Brent Seabrook (6’3”, 218lbs, Win), Jack Skille (6’1”, 215lbs, Draw, traded to Florida in the Michael Frolik deal), Jeremy Morin (6’1”, 190lbs, Draw . . . with Chris Porter, currently with Rockford of the AHL) and Viktor Stalberg (6’3”, 210lbs, Loss).

With the Blackhawks fighting for their playoff lives, it would be hard to imagine the Blues NOT trying to get into the head of the Indian Heads this evening.  Maybe sending out Reaves to square off with someone like Scott (assuming Scott would suit up) would be a bit much, but how about a scrap between Janssen and Dowell?  Maybe Boynton wants a rematch with Crombeen?  The possibilities, as they say, are endless.  And after seeing SEVERAL interesting fight matchups last night . . . the possibilities get even more endless as the number of games count down to zero.

It’s a chance to play spoiler against a bitter rival . . . GET.  THIS.  DONE.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

- – -

Cody McLeod vs Ryan Reaves

Simultaneous Spontaneous Combustion! A double dose of swinging fist action happened late in the first period. Ryan Reaves and Cody McLeod were the “first” to go.

Vote here for a winner.

David Koci vs Cam Janssen

The “second” pair to square off were David Koci and Bam Bam Cam Janssen. Since they were determined to be the second fight, they were ejected from the game. Gotta love when these two go rounds. They’ve got a history.

Vote here for a winner.

Ryan Wilson vs T.J. Oshie

Late in the third TJ Oshie decides its a good time for his first NHL fight. Doesn’t win, but lands some good ones. He and Ryan Wilson have a history as well. Wilson laid him out with a big hit last season. Kudos to TJ for stcking up for himself. Looking at href="http://www.hockeyfights.com/players/1750/fightcard/reg2011">Wilson’s Card from this season, he really doesn’t fight guys “who fight” does he? Didn’t want BJ Crombeen…

Vote here for a winner.

Kevin Porter vs B.J. Crombeen / Ryan Stoa vs Barrett Jackman

Not long before Oshie and Wilson went rounds, the avs Porter (Kevin) wanted to go rounds with well known pugilist BJ Crombeen. It was all part of a melee after Ryan Stoa took Barret Jackman out. Call this a fight? Not really. But here is the video to see what happened.

Stoa got what was coming after taking out Jackman. Mess with a grizzled, tough old school guy like Sir Jaxx and he is going to come after you. Not a fan of punches once someone is on the ice, but maybe the guy will remember this lesson.

-

Please follow @BlueNoteZone on Twitter and the BlueNoteZone Facebook Fan Page for our BNZ Sub Team T-Shirt giveaway promotion benefitting the St. Louis Komen Race for a Cure.

Eeej still has the locks. Still losing fights, though. Image via Yahoo

What an IMPRESSIVE win by the Blues over the despised Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.  Yes, the season is over, but a 6-1 victory over a divisional opponent NEVER gets old to watch.  And there were two scraps!  First, Ryan Reaves and Derek Dorsett went at it in a fight that Reaves made close, but Dorsett clearly won (video here).  Then, of all people, Vladimir Sobotka had a go with Kris Russell and defeated him (video here).  The two fights move the Blues to 74 fighting majors on the season, still good for tops in the NHL.  Their fight record moves to 31-22-21.

This is the fourth and final meeting between the Blues and the Colorado Avalanche on the season.  In the previous three meetings (November 15th, January 24th and February 22nd, a make-up game from a February 1st “ice-out”), the Blues fought four times with the Avs.  All of those fights came in the first two match-ups . . . in other words, before the blockbuster trade that gave the Blues Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk and gave the Avs Erik Johnson and Jay McClement.  Coincidence?  Actually, I do think so.  The Avs have garnered 38 fighting majors on the season, and while that’s not nearly as many as the Blues, it’s not bad in today’s NHL.  In fact, they are good for 16th overall in the NHL with those 38 fights.  Their fight record, though, is not spectacular at 10-12-16.

Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 5-1-7 including a draw with Brad Winchester) leads the team with 10 fights.  Following him is former Blue David Koci (6’6”, 238lbs, 0-3-4, including a draw with Cam Janssen) with seven fights.  Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 2-1-1) follows with four fights.  Also included in this list are new Blue Stewart (6’2”, 228lbs, 1-0-1 with the Avs and 2-0-1 overall), Brandon Yip (6’1”, 195lbs, 1-0-1) and recent call-up Cameron Gaunce (6’1”, 203lbs, 0-2-0, Day-to-day with a hand injury) with two fights each.  The rest of the Avs fighters have fought once each as Avs, and they are David Liffiton (6’2”, 210lbs, Win, currently with Lake Erie of the AHL), veteran Adam Foote (6’2”, 220lbs, Draw), Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Draw), John-Michael Liles (5’10”, 185lbs, Loss), Phillipe Dupuis (6’0”, 196lbs, Loss), Matt Duchene (5’11”, 200lbs, Loss . . . to Sobotka), Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss . . . to BJ Crombeen) and former Blue Johnson (6’4”, 236lbs, Loss with the Avs and 1-1-0 overall).

Seriously, neither team has much to play for, so I will be clearly disappointed if there is not at least one fight in this game.  I would love to see McLeod square off with someone like Crombeen or Reaves.  That would make my night.

Second-to-last home game.  MAKE IT COUNT!

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Even I jump ahead sometimes. This is a photo rerun courtesy of the Washington Post

Two things were disappointing about the 5-3 Blues loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last night: 1) the Blues wasted a great first period effort and lost the game, and 2) there were no fights in the game.  Go figure – it’s the first time the Blues and Blackhawks did not contest a fight in a game against each other this season out of (now) five games.  The good news is that the Blues are not yet out of the playoff race despite yesterday’s loss (insert “Wild Wild West” joke here) AND they remained in second by themselves in fighting majors with 57.  And yes, their fight record stands at 23-17-17.

We have covered the Colorado Avalanche twice before in games that were played in Denver (November 15th and January 24th).  This Avs team, as we could tell from the trade that was made over the weekend, is slipping REALLY hard in the standings.  While a total of 27 fighting majors is nothing to scoff at, it is not a huge total compared to the rest of the league.  The good news here is that the Avs do seem to enjoy throwing fists at the Blues – four of their 27 fights have come against The Note.  Those 27 fights, by the way, gives the Avs 18th place by themselves in the NHL in fighting majors.  Their fight record is a somewhat-respectable 9-6-12, which isn’t bad for one of the middle-of-the-pack teams fighting wise in the NHL.

Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 4-2-4 including a draw with Brad Winchester) leads the team with 10 fights.  Following him is Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 2-0-1) and former Blue David Koci (6’6”, 238lbs, 0-1-2, including a draw with Cam Janssen) with three fights each.  Also included in this list are new Blue Chris Stewart (6’2”, 228lbs, 1-0-1) and Brandon Yip (6’1”, 195lbs, 1-0-1) with two fights each.  The rest of the Avs fighters have fought once each, and they are David Liffiton (6’2”, 210lbs, Win, currently with Lake Erie of the AHL), veteran Adam Foote (6’2”, 220lbs, Draw, out with a quad injury), Daniel Winnik (6’2”, 210lbs, Draw), John-Michael Liles (5’10”, 185lbs, Loss), Phillipe Dupuis (6’0”, 196lbs, Loss), Matt Duchene (5’11”, 200lbs, Loss . . . to Vladimir Sobotka, out with a hand injury) and Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss . . . to BJ Crombeen).

After yesterday’s game, it would be fair to assume the Blues would try to introduce fisticuffs to tonight’s action, and for the Avalanche to oblige in such fisticuffs considering their current standing.  Could we see a Janssen-McLeod bout?  It is possible, if both play.  What about Erik Johnson or Jay McClement trying to get back at their old team with some fist action?  It’s not probable, but anything is possible.

I hate losing streaks.  Maybe we won’t see one start tonight, but God, who knows.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights

Cody McLeod just LOOKS like a fighter. Image via the CBC

*****UPDATE: I guess you can disregard this info for now, as the game has been postponed.  No reschedule date has been announced.*****

So conventional wisdom would have foretold a fight in the Blues’ 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames, as both teams are quite violent.  It was not to be, however, as the Flames rejected all of the Blues’ overtures and vice-versa.  So The Note ended the first half of the regular season tied for first place in fighting majors with 49, the same total the Anaheim Ducks have on the season.  And therefore, the Blues stood at the end of the first half with a 19-17-2 fight record.

We have covered the Colorado Avalanche twice before in games that were played in Denver (November 15th and eight days ago, January 24th).  While a total of 20 fighting majors is nothing to scoff at, it is not a huge total compared to the rest of the league.  The good news here is that the Avs do seem to enjoy throwing fists at the Blues – four of their 20 fights have come against The Note.  Those 20 fights, by the way, ties the Avs for 22nd in the NHL with the Minnesota Wild, and the team’s fight record is 7-6-7, which isn’t bad for one of the lower-end teams fighting wise in the NHL.

Cody McLeod (6’2”, 210lbs, 4-2-1 including a draw with Brad Winchester) leads the team with seven fights.  Following him are Chris Stewart (6’2”, 228lbs, 1-0-1), Ryan Wilson (6’1”, 207lbs, 1-0-1) and former Blue David Koci (6’6”, 238lbs, 0-1-1, including a draw with Cam Janssen) with two fights each.  The rest of the fighters have fought once each, and they are David Liffiton (6’2”, 210lbs, Win, currently with Lake Erie of the AHL), veteran Adam Foote (6’2”, 220lbs, Draw), Brandon Yip (6’1”, 195lbs, Draw), John-Michael Liles (5’10”, 185lbs, Loss), Phillipe Dupuis (6’0”, 196lbs, Loss), Matt Duchene (5’11”, 200lbs, Loss . . . to Vladimir Sobotka) and Ryan O’Byrne (6’5”, 234lbs, Loss . . . to BJ Crombeen).

We were treated to a Janssen-Koci tilt in the last matchup.  I think Janssen goes at it with McLeod this time, though, and works a good fight out of the big man.  Though with one-fifth of the team’s fights against the Blues, anything is possible when the Avs come to town.

It’s a new half.  Hopefully it’s a new, recharged Blues team as well.

LET’S GO BLUES!!!!!

Information obtained via the incomparable Fried Chicken’s Hockey Fights