Oshie Sucks

Easy... We're talking about virtual T.J. here.

The P-D's Jeremy Rutherford (who should be referred to as PDJR from now on) has a funny bit on Oshie's lack of enthusiasm for his portrayal on "NHL '09."

Oshie says, “When I play NHL ‘09, I play as the Blues and my guy is just terrible. I feel embarrassed when he’s out there. He’s slow, every time he gets touched he falls down.”

Nice T.J., nice. I have a feeling this won't be a problem on "NHL '10."

Gamenight: Kings - Blues

It should be a battle of special teams tonight when the Blues face off against the Kings, as the NHL's top ranked power play unit will butt heads with a Los Angeles penalty kill unit that has yet to surrender a goal.

However, as tenacious as LA has looked defensively so far this season, their offense has been anything but clicking. Only Tampa Bay has managed to score less goals than the King's mark of 14 so far this season.

Meanwhile only two teams, Colorado (28 goals) and Buffalo (26), have scored more often than St. Louis (25). Both of those teams have played an extra game.

The one bright spot offensively for the Kings is former Blue Michal Handzus, who leads LA in both goals (2) and assists (3). Star in the making Anze Kopitar has not looked impressive yet scoring only once and getting two helpers.

Drew Doughty, the second pick overall in June, notched his first goal against Colorado on Monday. So far he's made an immediate impact to the team, averaging 21 minutes of ice time per game.

Tonight's game had the potential to show off some of the game's rising defensive stars, as these rosters feature four defensemen who have gone in the top-five of the last four drafts. However, only Doughty will play tonight.

LA's Jack Johnson (not the singer) is out with a shoulder injury. No truth to the rumor that it was from making banana pancakes. He'll be sitting, waiting, wishing along with Blues Alex Pietroangelo, still suffering from the effects of a hit by resident douchebag Ryan Hollweg, and Erik Johnson who should never step near a golf cart again for the rest of his life.



Most importantly tonight could be the NHL debut of St. Louisan Ben Bishop who is up with the big club while Chris Mason is recovering from an appendectomy.

Considering the Blues played Wednesday against Detroit and have back to back games tonight and tomorrow, it would make sense to see Manny get some rest either tonight or tomorrow against Florida. Unless, of course Skeletor thinks playing his starter against two crappy teams is a better idea than giving Big Ben a shot.

Update:
The P-D's Jeremy Rutherford has confirmed that Legace will be in net tonight.

Her?

So right now im pretty drunk so let any misspellings go unseen. But appently Im not as drunk as the P-D who has the Blues playing the Angels Sayruday night.

:ast time I checked the angles play baseball and the kings and ducks played hockey so good job!

The blues face off against the kings, friday night.

Woywitka, Porter to Peoria

After clearing waivers, Blues defenseman Jeff Woywitka was assigned to Peoria, Thursday. Forward Chris Porter was also sent down.

Woywitka, who was one of three defensemen acquired in the absolute robbery that was the Chris Pronger trade, seems to have peaked as a borderline NHLer. The fact that he was sent down in favor of rookie Jonas Junland confirms this.

The return of Lee Stempniak last night to the lineup made the forward situation in the STL a bit too crowded. Good news is that Yan Stastny will be staying with the big club for what looks to be a while.

Yan is definitely the lesser of the two Stastnys (Paul is an absolute star in the making), but dude looks to have all the tools and the heart to be a solid fourth liner for many years. The bad news is that the Blues had to send down another developing forward with a decent amount of potential in favor of a third enforcer.

Porter played on the same line as T.J. Oshie and Jonathan Toewes at UND, so yeah, I'd say he's got some ability. Thank God the Blues added a no talent puncher; I was worried how they'd replace the "void" left by the injured D.J. "Cowboy Dwayne" King.

Allen Signs, Blueline Moves

The Blues signed Jake Allen, their second round pick from this year's draft, to an entry-level pro contract today. The 18 year-old New Brunswick native is slaying so far for Montreal in the QMJHL. Dude's posted a 6-3 record with a .925 save percentage and a 2.67 GAA.

On a related note I think New Brunswick may be the home of bowling.

This is pretty bitching because it means we are one step closer to the Marek Schwarz era ending. I'm really glad he was the goaltender of the future that the previous administration promised us. The power of the Schwarz really failed this time.

It would seem as though a Big Ben Bishop - Jake Allen tandem could be ridiculous in a few years. Then again, they both could be busts like Marek Schwarz or Jason Bacashishua or Brent Johnson or really and goaltender between CuJo and Man-Leg. Personally, I'm just pumped to get STL native Bishop in net so everytime he makes a big save we can hear a *dong* sound effect ala Ben Wallace with the Pistons.

Also, the Blues put Jeff Woywitka on waivers so that they can assign him to Peoria. We'll find out today if he's been claimed.

Meanwhile, first-round pick Alex Pietroangelo was put on injured reserve by the club today, still feeling the ill effects of a vicious cowardly hit by Ryan Hollweg in Toronto last week.

These two moves mean that Jonas Junland must be healthy and will likely get quite a bit of PT, starting tomorrow night against LA.

Postgame: Wings 4 - Blues 3

It's always tough to put a positive spin on a loss, especially to a hated rival like Detroit, but there definitely were some positives coming out of last night's defeat.

First and foremost, except for the softy by Brad Boyes, Ty Conklin stood on his head. Weird to cite an opposing goaltender's stellar performance as a positive, but the Blues could have easily scored three or four more times tonight. Conklin's left pad save on Oshie as time ran out was the epitome of clutch.

Second, the power play and Keith Tkachuk are still clicking. Two more power play goals against one of the stingier PK's in the sport, and one more goal for Walt. If this power play works like this the whole year, this team won't just make the playoffs, they'll be starting at home.

Also amazing was just how fast this team looks. Nobody moves the puck like the Wings, but the Blues were faster than Detroit tonight. In fact they've looked faster against everyone they've played. These guys are Usain Bolt fast.

Most importantly, this team just doesn't die. They're like Will Ferrell in Austin Powers. Down 3-1 with 10 minutes left, the Blues rallied to score two late goals and almost added another on Oshie's chance as time expired. If David Backes's stick didn't just explode for no reason whatsoever in the defensive zone this game would have gone to OT.

The Blues have trailed in all but one game so far and have won 4 of their six. Getting off to a slow start is never a good thing, but developing a never-say-die character this early, with a team this young can only be a good thing.

So yeah it sucks to once again have to look up at Detroit in the standings; it was fun while it lasted. But, this team was never going to compete with a team like Detroit for the division. However, they showed tonight that they can more than compete with them on the ice.

We Get It, You're a Hockey Mom

The Post Dispatch dropped a story this afternoon saying that Alaska Gov. Tina Fey errrrr Sarah Palin will likely drop the puck Friday night before the Blues-Kings game.

They also posted this image of her doing the same at a Rangers-Flyers game:
Personally, I'd be more excited if Tina Fey dropped the puck, especially if that meant Tracy Morgan was walking around the Scott somewhere.



Anyways, it's all just a rumor at this point. She is making an appearance in Springfield (MO?) that morning so I guess it is a possibility. However, this same story said she'd be looking to drop the puck at Savvis Center, not Scottrade, so don't get too excited either way.



Early Morning Update:

It's confirmed, she'll be there.

King Out / Koci In

The Blues lost one of there 10 million enforcers today when they announced D.J. “Don’t call me Dwayne” King will have season ending shoulder surgery, after an injury he suffered in the Dallas game on October 16th.

You never want to see anyone get hurt, but this is the easiest possible injury for the Blues to overcome. They already have Cam Janssen, who’s a better hockey player and just as good a fighter, and Dan Hinote who’s a better overall pest (and can still drop the gloves, too). Dwayne Robertson would be a better fit on this team than Dwayne King.



So what will the Blues do now that they only have two enforcers????

Will they realize that it’s 2008, and that having guys that can put on the foil isn’t as necessary as it was in the pre-lockout days?

No.

They signed David Koci, instead. So you can add 6’6” and 240 lbs of Euro to the roster. Dude can hammer, sure.

Here’s some evidence:




The Blues are already looking down a log jam at forward when Lee Stempniak returns (tonight?), and I just don’t see how putting a third enforcer into the rotation helps a young team develop.

But if he smacks around a Wing or a Hawk, I guess all will be good.

The First Real Test

It seems pretty absurd to suggest that a game in mid October can be very monumental, but when the Blues hit the ice against the hated Red Wings tonight, they will be playing their most important game since the lockout.

After five games, the Blues have planted themselves into the upper echelon of the NHL by posting special teams numbers that are just downright nasty.

Skeletor errr Andy Murray’s decision to go sans defensemen (or sometimes one) on the power play has turned around a unit that last year trailed… everyone. This year so far? The PP is clicking to a tune of 40.9%, which means they are trailing… no one. In fact the next best power play unit is Edmonton who checks in having converted 29.4% of their chances.

Not to be overlooked is the team’s penalty kill unit which is currently sixth in the league, killing 90% of all chances. This unit also had possibly the best moment of this young season, when they killed off a double minor which quickly turned into a five on three against Toronto, the key sequence of a 5-4 Blues shootout win.

None of this matters, though, if you can’t beat teams in your own division. The power play nearly sent the Predators back to extinction on opening night, and two clutch goals in the third sent the Blackhawks crashing.

But those teams aren’t the Red Wings.

Those teams aren’t the best collection of skaters and passers since the Soviet Red Army squad.



For the Blues, this should be the last year of a playoff-less rebuilding squad, but early on it looks as though this team is a playoff team. This game is huge to see how the Blues, especially on the power play, respond to a good team, and also for the Blues to show that they will not be bullied around by this Red Wing squad again.

There isn’t much of a question as to how good the Wings are. As much as I hate to say it, last year’s team was the best hockey team I have ever seen. Detroit should run away with this division again, especially with the addition of Marion Hossa, and the continued development of Johan Franzen.

However, the Blues need to make a move in the standings this year; this team needs to at the very least be in serious contention for a playoff spot entering the last week of the season, both for development’s sake and to keep the fans in the Scott.

A winning record against Detroit would help this team accomplish both of those. A win tonight would legitimize the early season excitement surrounding the Blues, and establish them as a serious contender in the Central.