Game Time - SB Nation
Transcription
Game Time - SB Nation
Game Time St Louis Four Dollars Of Newfound Optimism The Game Day Guide To St. Louis Blues Hockey Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Established in 2005 Headline healed enough to play tonight. By Brad Lee Backes started the game, but couldn’t finish. That was more than TJ Oshie could accomplish. He was nursing his own lower body malady. Against Columbus, Oshie wasn’t terribly missed as Brad Boyes and Jay McClement each scored two goals. A few observations before I totally change the subject. The Oilers are in town, the Blues are red hot and two of their best players missed time during their last win Tuesday night in Columbus due to injury. It looks like I picked the wrong hockey season to give up sniffing glue. A 4-2 win at Columbus gave the Blues their fourth win in six games. Since we turned the calendar in January, the Blues are 7-4-2. It’s not quite the miracle turnaround that will get the Blues back in playoff contention, but it’s certainly not playing like complete shit! Here’s an interesting fact you can impress your friends with. The Blues have lost six games in regulation since losing 4-1 to Detroit on Dec. 23. That was the last time the Blues lost by more than two goals. And while a two-goal game doesn’t necessarily mean both teams were in contention of winning the game, it goes to show that the team has played with some consistency for several weeks now. Hopefully the players’ wives and girlfriends are celebrating with several BJ Crombeens if you know what I mean. Going into the game against the Blue Jackets, Columbus was gunning for David Backes saying he had played too physical against them or some shit. This isn’t ice dancing, so I’m not sure what the problem was. But Backes definitely had a target on his back. And Jan Hejda found him with an awkward hip check that sent Backs flying during the second period. He didn’t return with his lower body broken. Miraculously his lower body might be I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Boyes misses the net (especially in instances where the goaltender is out of position and he has a lot to shoot at) more than any 40-goal scorer in league history. I don’t know if he’s trying to rush it and is off or is over thinking it and overcompensates or what. It’s undeniable. That may be a part of his streaky nature. Or it may just be the fact that there are times when Boyes gets the puck and you expect him to score more often than say…McClement. Speaking of McClement, it was nice to see him step up when the team needed him. When he’s been thrown into situations where they’ve needed his offense, say centering Backes and Dutchie Stempniak or playing with Keith TM Tkachuk when the injuries began mounting in November, he’s struggled. McClement appears strong on the puck and is a talented skater. He’s fast enough, agile enough and has the right body type to be a dangerous offensive player. He’s simply just not good enough as a playmaker or finisher to do either. During the course of a season, any team needs the role players to step up and score. McClement’s turn was Tuesday. (Continued on page 26) Today’s Records, Injuries & News Today’s Team Records: Blues: Oilers: 21-24-5 (47 points) 25-22-3 (53 points) 5th in Central 4th in Northwest 15th in Western 9th in Western Last Ten Games: Blues: 5-3-2 Oilers: 6-4-0 Season Series: 0-2-0 All-Time Series: 45-43-14-0 Today’s Injuries: Today’s News & Notes: Blues: C Andy McDonald (fractured ankle), LW Paul Kariya (hip), LW Yan Stastny (thumb), D Roman Polak (foot) and D Eric Brewer (back surgery) are out. F TJ Oshie (ankle) and RW David Backes (lower body) are ‘hopeful.’ • Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan named rookie Oilers: F Fernando Pisani (broken ankle) is out indefinitely. of the month for January with 11 goals and 5 assists. Ryan edged others including TJ Oshie and his 9 points in 11 games. • NHLPA recommends players keep their helmets on during fights. • Game Time staff pretty sure the NHLPA is out of their minds. CAUTION: St. Louis Game Time contains extreme sarcasm and less-than-gentle language. But it is a hockey paper, so you should fucking just get over it. From The Editor I’m not overly superstitious. I’m not the guy who wears shorts to a game in December because the Blues won when I wore shorts to the last game. I’m not the guy who freaks out when he can’t find his lucky hat before going to play a rec league game. I’m not the guy who has to have a giant beer every period to ensure that the Blues have a good 20 minutes. I drink the beer to ensure that I have a good 20 minutes. But I do indulge in the odd moments of magical thinking. The fifteen of you who were reading this paper back in 2005 have heard this before, but magical thinking is a phrase I picked up from my wife, who uses it to describe people who engage in certain activities even though they know that some sort of weird correlation does not indicate any causation. And while that last phrase pulled a muscle in my brain just writing it, I think I know what she means. Before one of my rec league games, after I’m done making fun of the goalie and the Asian guy (he started it) and before I snap on the helmet and commence trying to fuck up the captain’s pre-game speech with smartassy comments, I always try to take a minute or two to focus on the game we’re about to play. I’ll stare at nothing particular and try to visualize how I’m going to make an impact on the game. I know that doing that won’t actually make me do those things and I know that my new-agey focus minute isn’t making me have a good game, but I also know that on games when I forget to do it, I tend to play worse. It’s not a superstition like if I put my right sock on before my left sock then I’ll have a good game, but I’ll grant that it’s close. Likewise, it’s not too lightly that I take the position each year that the Blues are out of the playoff race. For us as a paper, a chance to do playoff issues would be really exciting. Due to our incredible business acumen, we started the paper just in time for the Blues to miss the playoffs for the first time in 25 years. We have never done a playoff issue. Writing off the possibility is really hard for me to do. So when I wrote in our last issue that the dream was dead for the year, I did it knowing that really, truly, the team was out of it. Depending on which stats you decide to trust, the Blues need to go somewhere between 23-9-0 and 19-12-1 and get a shitload of help from collapsing teams to make the playoffs. That’s a pretty tough task for a team that, while tough to play most nights, might have a hard time going 16-16 the rest of the way. But, after I wrote that they’d have no chance at the playoffs and should start looking at which players will get traded at the deadline in one month’s time, the Blues have beaten the Flyers and Blue Jackets and taken a point from Detroit in a game they should have won. Tonight they go against the Oilers, a paper tiger of a team that has issues with their coach. Saturday brings us the fading Avalanche. Next week the Blues play Vancouver and their new anchor Mats Sundin, the beatable Nashville Predators and the hated Blackhawks. The rest of the month features seven contests that the Blues have a legitimate chance of winning each night. Do I think they’ll win ‘em all? Of course not. But…. The team has an advantage in that virtually every media report you read about them calls them the ‘lowly’ or ‘basement dwelling’ or ‘hapless’ Blues. I’m sure the opposing teams’ coaches try to downplay that, but they do still tend to start their backup goalies against St. Louis. They are all susceptible to being beaten by a team that plays hard every night and seldom gets blown out. If a couple guys like Backes and Oshie can stay in the lineup and a couple guys like McDonald and Brewer can re-join the team, there will be more opportunities. Throw in a goalie who shall go unnamed who may or may not be on a bit of a hot streak and maybe something surprising can happen. But me, I won’t be talking about that. I’m not superstitious, you see, but I might subscribe to the theory of magical thinking. And just on the offhand chance that my thinking can magically affect events that are beyond my actual control, well, then there’s just no way the Blues can make the playoffs at this point. Absolutely no way. Sean “it’s not magic if it works” Gallagher Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 St. Louis Game Time Established: November 6, 2005 St Louis, Missouri Phone: 402-2266 www.StLouisGameTime.com Godfather Jeffio Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Sean Gallagher gallagher@StLouisGameTime.com Advertising gallagher@StLouisGameTime.com gift@StLouisGameTime.com Distribution John Nicolay Amy Benoist, Becky Benoist, Billy Cash, Clarence Walker Columnists Chris Gift, Duke, Brad Lee, Answer Man & Brian Weidler Contributors Jeffio, Jeff Browning, LosBri, Childhood Trauma, Dan Doke, Jeff Fahrenkrog, Jeremy Pratte & Chris Reed Photographer Andrew D’Angelo Mission: Game Time will provide prospect information, up-to-date statistics, articles that spark discussion and humor that points out the best and worst about our favorite team and sport. We are all fans of the Blues and our opinions will reflect those of subjective fans. The paper is published for every home game, excluding the pre-season, which we all know sucks. Rights & Permissions: All material printed herein is copyrighted and protected. Do not reprint in any format without expressed, written permission from Game Time LLC. Logos & Photos Team logos and pictures used herein are the property of the individual teams and/or the NHL and are used solely for identification and editorial purposes. Today’s Reminder: You’re like the only person who reads this blurb. G AME T IME Page 3 Top 11 More Signs You’re Tonight’s Trivia Drunk At A Hockey Game By Childhood Trauma First Period (true or false): 11. 1. The Oilers’Andrew Cogliano won the NHL’s fastest skater competition this year. 10. 2. Dwayne Roloson has over four times as many NHL playoff victories as Manny Legace. 9. First Intermission (T/F): 8. 3. A Baywatch babe married one of the current Oilers. Second Period (multiple choice): 7. 4. Earlier this season Craig MacTavish benched a player for a second straight game saying, “I can’t watch it, certainly not for another 2½ years.” Who was he talking about: Dustin Penner, Robert Nilsson, Dwayne Roloson, or Jason Strudwick? 6. 5. Which ex-Blue owns the Oiler’s record for most career power play goals: Doug Weight, Wayne Gretzky, Glenn Anderson or Shane Corson. Second Intermission: 6. On the big screen Marlo Brando, Charles Laughton, and Burt Lancaster all portrayed which of the following: King Lear, Dr. Moreau, a Stanley Cup goaltender, or the father of a superhero? Third Period: 7. Who is the only person to play in every NHL outdoor game? 8. Curtis Joseph record the most victories for which team? 9. Of the current Blues’ defensemen, which, if any, have played in the NHL all-star game during their career and for which teams? Overtime! 10. Which current Oiler defensemen have played in the all-star game and which teams did they represent? 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. You love Louie the blue bear…and then try to make out with him. You paid for a $9 beer with a $20 bill…and said “give me one back.” You thank the cops for doing such a wonderful job…carrying you by your hair through the concourse. You buy a shirt at the Bluenote Authentics store…with Legace on the back. You love Bob Plager…and then you try to make out with him. You buy a copy of Game Time every game…and read the cartoon first. You love Towel Boy…and you have made out with him. You try starting a chant…and it’s “Bring Back Dan-Ton!” You forgot to zip up after using the restroom…as well as to wear your underwear. You sell Game Time. You are wearing a Red Wings jersey…when Edmonton is in town. From the Empty Beer Cup of Brad Lee Do Not Fuck With Us. www.stlouisgametime.com Corrections & Clarifications • Game Time would like to apologize for nothing. It is what it is. That’s it. Go pout like Manny. • [This apology was just signed to a try-out contract with another team.] • Game Time printed the wrong picture of Manny Legace after the Detroit game in the last issue. The correct picture is shown here. 1. True. His 14.31 beat Jeff Carter by about a tenth of a second. 2. True. Manny is 4-10 in three playoff seasons with the Wings. Dwayne won 18 playoff with three teams. 3. True. Angelica Bridges (Lt. Taylor Walsh) married Sheldon Souray. 4. Dustin Penner, who actually has 3 ½ years left on his contract. 5. Glenn Anderson holds the team record for power play goals at 126. 6. They all portrayed screen versions of the titular character from H. G. Wells’ “Island of Dr. Moreau.” 7. Ty Conklin lost during the “Heritage Classic” as an Oiler and won for the Penguins and the Red Wings in the two Winter Classics. 8. Cujo had 137 for the Blues; four more than he had for the Leafs. 9. Eric Brewer played in the 2002 all-star game as an Oiler. 10. Sheldon Souray (MTL) and Lubomir Visnovsky (LA) both played in 2007. Page 4 Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 5 G AME T IME The Five Hole With Chris Gift I remember last season about this time, the Blues were making a run. for losing in overtime will make the Blues uphill climb a tad easier. I reverted to some good old fashioned grade school humor and brought up the books we always used to say we were reading… Look at it as a golf tournament and the Blues are trying to make the cut. If the Blues keep eagling holes while other teams par them, fine. But if the Blues’ eagles are being countered with a few teams’ birdies, than the Blues won’t make the cut. And yes, if you’re the parents of one of the kids I went to grade school with that I know read the paper, Matt did these too. Matter of fact he taught them to me…yep, that’s it, he taught them to me. Rusty Bed Springs, by I.P. Nightly Spots on the Wall, by Who Flung Poo But the one I concentrated on, or that I at least put a Blues spin on, was the classic Five Miles to the Bathroom, which was written by Willie Makit, and illustrated by Betty Wont. So as we sit here 28 days from the trade deadline, seven spots from the playoffs, and realistically, optimistically and theoretically (damn, I sound like Don King all of the sudden) the Blues can do it, right? We’ve seen stranger things happen. But what will it take? No, not “whatever it takes,” but what will it take to make the playoffs? In five words: A whole lot of luck. In more than five words: As much as it pains me to say it, teams that we don’t like have to keep winning. Detroit, Chicago, Calgary and San Jose are out of reach for the Blues. Next Friday night isn’t a “four point game” when the Blackhawks visit. Beating a team that is that far ahead in the standings is nice, beating Chicago is always nice, but it isn’t going to do a damn thing at the end of the year for the Blues any more than last Saturday’s win over Philadelphia did. Not only do these teams have to win, but winning in regulation helps tremendously. Tuesday night, Chicago did the Blues a huge favor by winning in Edmonton 3-1. Edmonton is only six points ahead of the Blues, tied for eighth place. A win tonight puts the Blues within four of Edmonton. With regulation help from Washington (at LA) and Anaheim (at Nashville) and Dallas (at Colorado) tonight, it could be even tighter by the time we all go to sleep. But that is assuming a win. We all assumed a win last week against Ottawa, and we all saw what happened there. That might have even saved Craig Hartsburg his job…oh… never mind. Like any competition with lots of entrants, it isn’t all about how far back an entrant is, but it is also about how many others are in the way. Teams not getting extra points Not that it has been a long season, but it is 22 degrees outside and I just used a golf analogy. We’ve been bitching about injuries since August, and hopefully TJ Oshie is in the lineup tonight. I don’t know about you, but dressing seven defensemen doesn’t give me a shitload of confidence on a night by night basis. The good news is that Steve Wagner was returned to Peoria, but the bad news keeps trickling in. Although it seems minor, we’re not sure exactly what is wrong with David Backes. Andy McDonald still isn’t back. Lee Stempniak has still played more games as a Blue this year than Paul Kariya (13 to 11). Somebody was either wearing Manny Legace’s uniform last season and played out of his ass, or somebody is wearing Manny Legace’s uniform this year and is playing like ass. It looks like Chris Mason is the number one goaltender now. The same Chris Mason who took until January 31 to win his first game at home, and the same Chris Mason who looks (Continued on page 22) The Jeffio Joke of the Day Bob Plager went to his doctor’s office. The receptionist asked, “What is your problem, sir?” Plager looked around the crowded waiting room and responded, “Well, it’s a bit embarrassing. I’d rather not talk about it here.” The receptionist said quietly, “Whatever it is, just refer to it as your ‘ear.’ That way, no one will know what you’re talking about.” Then she asked again, “What is your problem, sir?” Plager answered, “It’s my ear.” “And what is wrong with your ear?” the nurse asked. Plager replied, “It hurts like hell when I piss out of it.” Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 6 St. Louis Blues Statistics Skater Statistics PLAYER Brad Boyes, RW Keith Tkachuk, C Patrik Berglund, C David Perron, LW David Backes, RW Andy McDonald, C Carlo Colaiacovo, D * Jay McClement, C Paul Kariya, LW Barret Jackman, D T.J. Oshie, C Alexander Steen, LW * Jeff Woywitka, D Brad Winchester, LW Roman Polak, D B.J. Crombeen, RW * Yan Stastny, C Eric Brewer, D Mike Weaver, D Cam Janssen, RW Tyson Strachan, D Dan Hinote, RW Jay McKee, D Jonas Junland, D Goalie Statistics PLAYER Manny Legace Chris Mason GP 50 48 45 49 50 16 31 50 11 50 25 30 34 32 44 34 34 28 31 40 20 31 39 1 G 22 15 16 5 17 6 2 7 2 3 6 4 1 8 1 8 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 A PTS +/- PIM ATOI PPG PPA SHG SHA SOG SPCT 22 44 -22 18 19:24 12 11 0 0 133 16.5 17 32 -11 37 17:42 10 3 0 0 117 12.8 16 32 14 14 16:01 6 9 0 0 91 17.6 27 32 3 30 15:48 1 10 0 0 111 4.5 11 28 -7 127 17:23 4 2 1 0 119 14.3 12 18 -12 12 19:55 2 9 1 0 46 13 15 17 1 17 17:59 0 12 0 0 37 5.4 9 16 -8 25 16:24 0 0 1 0 79 8.9 13 15 1 2 18:06 0 9 0 0 31 6.5 12 15 -12 58 22:58 1 1 0 1 58 5.2 9 15 6 6 16:03 4 2 0 1 45 13.3 10 14 -1 16 17:47 2 6 0 0 57 7 11 12 -5 40 18:23 1 6 0 0 36 2.8 3 11 -5 53 12:47 4 2 0 0 47 17 10 11 -5 29 21:30 0 4 0 0 49 2 3 11 -3 78 13:06 0 2 1 0 62 12.9 4 7 -14 20 12:45 0 0 0 1 30 10 5 6 -14 24 25:07 1 2 0 0 49 2 4 4 -4 6 16:00 0 0 0 1 18 0 3 4 -5 97 5:29 0 0 0 0 16 6.3 3 3 5 28 13:12 0 0 0 0 14 0 1 2 -5 40 11:01 0 0 0 0 14 7.1 1 2 -1 23 16:55 0 0 0 0 21 4.8 0 0 E 2 12:28 0 0 0 0 0 0 GP W L GAA 29 13 9 3.18 25 7 14 2.69 SV SV% SHO TGA TSA PIM ENG 592 88.5% 0 77 669 0 1 628 91.4% 3 59 687 0 6 *Statistics reflect time with St. Louis only. For full season totals, see Pg 14. Blues Leaders Goals Brad Boyes Assists David Perron Points Brad Boyes Plus/Minus Patrik Berglund PP Goals Brad Boyes Wins Manny Legace GAA Chris Mason Save PCT Chris Mason 22 27 44 14 12 13 2.69 91.4% Blues All-Time Games Played Goals Points PIM Goalie GP Wins GAA Shutouts Leaders Bernie Federko Brett Hull Bernie Federko Brian Sutter Mike Liut Mike Liut Jacques Plante Glenn Hall 927 527 1,073 1,873 347 151 2.07 16 Stats May Lie, But It Takes Words To Say The Lie. St. Louis Game Time G AME T IME Page 7 Edmonton Oilers Stats Skater Statistics PLAYER Ales Hemsky, RW Shawn Horcoff, C Sheldon Souray, D Lubomir Visnovsky, D Andrew Cogliano, C Tom Gilbert, D Denis Grebeshkov, D Dustin Penner, LW Erik Cole, RW Ethan Moreau, LW Robert Nilsson, LW Sam Gagner, C Marc-Antoine Pouliot, C Kyle Brodziak, C Steve Staios, D Fernando Pisani, RW Jason Strudwick, D Liam Reddox, LW Ladislav Smid, D Zack Stortini, RW Steve MacIntyre, LW Goalie Statistics PLAYER Dwayne Roloson Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers GP 40 50 49 50 50 50 47 48 50 49 40 44 48 48 48 16 40 26 35 30 16 G 16 11 12 8 12 3 4 11 12 12 7 4 6 7 2 2 1 3 0 1 1 A PTS +/- PIM ATOI PPG PPA SHG SHA SOG SPCT 27 43 5 8 18:44 2 18 0 0 118 13.6 22 33 7 27 21:37 5 9 0 0 117 9.4 20 32 -3 62 24:23 7 9 1 0 159 7.5 23 31 6 30 23:01 5 12 0 0 86 9.3 15 27 -4 12 15:30 3 4 0 0 77 15.6 23 26 E 14 21:08 2 8 0 0 63 4.8 19 23 6 22 20:05 1 5 0 0 35 11.4 12 23 3 31 16:15 3 1 0 0 85 12.9 10 22 -4 47 17:01 4 2 0 0 121 9.9 8 20 -1 74 15:42 0 0 1 0 113 10.6 10 17 -5 14 15:02 4 5 0 0 51 13.7 13 17 E 32 16:37 2 2 0 0 83 4.8 8 14 E 17 11:32 0 2 0 0 70 8.6 5 12 -4 19 12:54 1 0 0 1 63 11.1 5 7 -5 49 18:13 0 0 0 0 39 5.1 4 6 -2 4 14:56 0 0 0 1 26 7.7 4 5 -3 35 11:12 0 0 0 0 16 6.3 2 5 -4 10 10:36 0 0 0 0 24 12.5 4 4 -2 37 14:34 0 0 0 0 16 0 2 3 -5 116 6:38 0 0 0 0 10 10 0 1 -2 31 3:27 0 0 0 0 1 100 GP W L GAA 33 16 12 2.75 7 3 2 3.48 Oilers Leaders Goals Ales Hemsky Assists Ales Hemsky Points Ales Hemsky Plus/Minus Shawn Horcoff PP Goals Sheldon Souray Wins Dwayne Roloson GAA Dwayne Roloson Save PCT Dwayne Roloson 16 27 43 7 7 16 2.75 91.3% SV SV% SHO TGA TSA PIM ENG 874 91.3% 1 83 957 2 3 184 89.3% 0 22 206 0 0 Oilers All-Time Games Played Goals Points PIM Goalie GP Wins GAA Shutouts Leaders Kevin Lowe 1,037 Wayne Gretzky 583 Wayne Gretzky 1,669 Kelly Buchberger 1,747 Bill Ranford 449 Grant Fuhr 226 Tommy Salo 2.44 Tommy Salo 23 Join Project Mayhem. www.StLouisGameTime.com Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 8 Like The Photos in GT? The Big Johnson Joke of the Day Now available for purchase from our photographer Hey there, Edmontonians, you wanna know how big my Johnson is? My Johnson is so big, it forced Pronger to request a trade. My Johnson is so big, there’s a statue of it outside the rink. My Johnson is so big, I have to call it Mr. Johnson in front of company. My Johnson is so big, it has it’s own telethon. The Roman Polak Joke of the Day Great Rates! Perfect for autographs! Great gifts for your favorite fan! View the shots online. Contact: Andrew D’Angelo mesmereyezme2@yahoo.com After the game one night, Roman Polak saw his buddy Keith Tkachuk walking to his car with a case of beer under his arm. “Hey Walt, whatcha got that case of beer for?” “Well, I got it for my wife,” said Tkachuk. “Wow,” exclaimed “Great trade!” Polak, (314) 546-0369 The BJ Crombeen Joke of the Day Wanna Be Semi-Famous (Regionally)? Do you have a different perspective? Passion? Knowledge? Desire? Work well under deadlines? Ever pay kick-backs to an editor to get better space? We’re looking for writers, graphic artists, statisticians and comedy writers. Contact: gallagher@stlouisgametime.com Little David was in his 5th grade class when the teacher asked the kids what their fathers did for a living. All the typical answers came up; fireman, policeman, salesman and the like. David was being uncharacteristically quiet and so the teacher asked him about his father. “My father’s an exotic dancer in a gay bar and takes off all his clothes in front of other men. Sometimes, if the offer is good, he’ll go out to the alley with some guy and give him a BJ.” The teacher, obviously shaken by this statement, hurriedly set the other kids to work on some coloring, and took little David aside to ask him, “Is that really true about your father?” “No,” said David, “He plays for the Edmonton Oilers but I was too embarrassed to say that in front of the other kids.” Not Lying. Just Taking The Liberty of Bullshitting You. St. Louis Game Time G AME T IME Page 9 The List The all-encompassing list of every person who has earned the honor of wearing the ‘Note Affleck, Robert * Anderson, Glenn * Anderson, Perry * Anderson, Ron * Angotti, Lou * Arbour, Al*Arbour, John * Atcheynum, Blair * Attwell, Ron * Awrey, Don * Babin, Mitch * Babych, Wayne * Bacashihua, Jason * Backes, David * Backman, Christian * Bailey, Garnet * Baker, William * Baron, Murray * Baron, Normand * Barr, David * Barrasso, Tom * Bartecko, Lubos * Bassen, Bob * Batters, Jeff * Beaudin, Norm * Beckford-Tseu, Chris * Beers, Ed * Bekar, Derek * Belanger, Yves * Bell, Bruce * Bennett, Curt * Bennett, Harvey * Benning, Brian * Berenson, Red * Bergevin, Marc * Berglund, Patrik * Bishop, Ben * Boguniecki, Eric * Bordeleau, Christian * Borotsik, Jack * Bothwell, Tim * Boudrias, Andre * Boulerice, Jesse * Bourbonnais, Rick * Bourgeois, Charles * Bowness, Richard * Boyes, Brad * Bozek, Steven * Bozon, Philippe * Brackenbury, John * Brathwaite, Fred * Brewer, Carl * Brewer, Eric * Brimanis, Aris * Brind’Amour, Rod * Brooks, Gordon * Broten, Paul * Brown, Jeff * Brownschidle, John * Bruce, David * Buchanan, Ron * Bullard, Michael * Bure, Valeri * Butcher, Garth * Butler, Jerome * Buynak, Gordon * Cajanek, Petr * Caley, Don * Cameron, Craig * Campbell, Jim * Campbell, Scott * Carbonneau, Guy * Cardin, Claude * Carey, Jim * Carlson, Jack * Carlson, Kent * Caron, Jacques * Carr, Gene * Casey, Jonathan * Cavallini, Gino * Cavallini, Paul * Chapman, Blair * Chase, Kelly * Chasse, Denis * Chebaturkin, Vladimir * Chouinard, Guy * Christian, Dave * Clarke, Dale * Collins, Bill * Collyard, Bob * Connelly, Wayne * Conroy, Craig * Corso, Daniel * Corson, Shayne * Courtnall, Geoff * Cowick, Bruce * Coxe, Craig * Crawford, Robert * Creighton, Adam * Crisp, Terry * Crombeen, Michael * Crossman, Doug * Currie, Tony * Curtis, Paul * Cyr, Dennis * Daigneault, Jean-Jacques * Dallman, Kevin * Danton, Michael * Dark, Michael * Davidson, John * DeMarco, Ab * Delorme, Gilbert * Demitra, Pavol * Dennis, Norm * Dirk, Robert * Disalvatore, Jon * Divis, Reinhard * Donato, Ted * Dore, Andre * Downey, Aaron * Drake, Dallas * Dubinsky, Steve * Duchesne, Steve * Dufour, Luc * Dufresne, Donald * Dunlop, Blake * Dupere, Denis * Dupont, Andre * Dupont, Micki * Durbano, Steve * Dvorak, Radek * Eakins, Dallas * Eastwood, Michael * Ecclestone, Tim * Edestrand, Darryl * Edwards, Gary * Egers, Jack * Elik, Todd * Ellett, David * Eloranta, Kari * Emerson, Nelson * Evans, Christopher * Evans, Douglas * Evans, Shawn * Ewen, Todd * Fairbairn, Bill * Featherstone, Glenn * Federko, Bernie * Felsner, Denny * Ferraro, Ray * Finley, Jeff * Fitzpatrick, Rory * Flockhart, Ron * Forey, Connie * Fortin, Ray * Frig, Leonard * Fuhr, Grant * Gamache, Simon * Ganchar, Perry * Gardner, David * Gassoff, Bob * Gibbs, Barry * Gilbert, Greg * Gilbertson, Stan * Giles, Curtis * Gill, Todd * Gilmour, Douglas * Gingras, Gaston * Giroux, Larry * Glumac, Mike * Goyette, Phil * Grant, Douglas * Gratton, Gilles * Gray, Terry * Gretzky, Wayne * Guerin, Bill * Gusarov, Alexei * Hall, Glenn * Hamel, Jean * Hamilton, Chuck * Hammarstrom, Hans * Hampson, Edward * Handy, Ronald * Handzus, Michal * Hanlon, Glen * Hansen, Richard * Harbaruk, Nick * Harlow, Scott * Harper, Terrance * Harris, Ted * Hart, Gerald * Harvey, Doug * Hawerchuk, Dale * Hebert, Guy * Hecht, Jochen * Hedican, Bret * Heerema, Jeff * Heinz, Rick * Helmer, Bryan * Hemingway, Colin * Henry, Camile * Hess, Robert * Hickey, Patrick * Hill, Sean * Hinote, Dan * Hoggan, Jeff * Hollinger, Terry * Holt, Gary * Hoover, Ron * Hornung, Larry * Houlder, Bill * Housley, Philip * Hrechkosy, Dave * Hrivnak, Jim * Hrkac, Anthony * Huck, Fran * Hucul, Fred * Huddy, Charles * Hudson, Mike * Hughes, Brent * Hughes, Patrick * Hull, Brett * Hunter, Mark * Irons, Robbie * Irvine, Ted * Jablonski, Pat * Jackman, Barret * Janney, Craig * Janssen, Cam * Jirik, Jaroslav * Johnson, Bob * Johnson, Brent * Johnson, Craig * Johnson, Erik * Johnson, Mark * Johnson, Mike * Johnson, Ryan * Johnson, Terry * Johnston, Eddie * Joseph, Curtis * Kannegiesser, Gord * Karamnov, Vitali * Kariya, Paul * Kasatonov, Alexi * Kea, Adrian * Keane, Mike * Keenan, Larry * Kekalainen, Jarmo * Kelly, John * Kenady, Christopher * Khavanov, Alexander * Khmylev, Yuri * Kimble, Darin * King, D.J. * King, Derek * Klassen, Ralph * Knipscheer, Fred * Koci, David * Koivisto, Tom * Komadoski, Neil * Korolev, Igor * Kravchuck, Igor * Kuntz, Murray * Labatte, Neil * Lafayette, Nathan * Laflamme, Christian * Lafreniere, Roger * Lalime, Patrick * Lalor, Michael * Lamby, Richard * Lampman, Mike * Laperriere, Ian * Lapointe, Guy * Lapointe, Richard * M Larocque, Michel * Larose, Claude * Laurence, Donald * Lavallee, Kevin * Lavender, Brian * Lavoie, Dominic * Leach, Stephen * Leeman, Gary * Lefley, Charles * Legacy, Manny * Lemiuex, Jocelyn * Levie, Craig * Lidster, Douglas * Liut, Michael * Lorentz, Jim * Low, Reed * Lowry, Dave * Lukowich, Bernie * MacInnis, Allan * MacLean, Paul * MacMillan, Robert * MacNeil, Bernie * MacTavish, Craig * MacEachern, Shane * Mackey, David * Madigan, Connie * Maki, Wayne * Markell, John * Marois, Mario * Marotte, Gilles * Marshall, Jason * Martin, Seth * Martins, Steve * Mason, Chris * Masters, James * Matteau, Stephane * Maxwell, Bryan * May, Darrell * Mayers, Jamal * McAlpine, Chris * Mcammond, Dean * McClement, Jay * McCord, Bob * McCreary, Bill * McCrimmon, Jim * McDonald, Ab * McDonald, Andy * McDuffe, Peter * McKee, Jay * McKegney, Anthony * McKenney, Don * McLaren, Steve * McLennan, Jamie * McLeod, Jim * McRae, Basil * Mctavish, Gord * Meagher, Richard * Mellanby, Scott * Melnyk, Gerry * Merrick, Wayne * Metropolit, Glen * Micheletti, Joseph * Miehm, Kevin * Millen, Gregory * Miller, Kevin * Moizis, Tomas * Momesso, Sergio * Monahan, Hartland * Mongeau, Michel * Montgomery, Jim * Moore, Dickie * Morrison, George * Mullen, Joseph * Murdoch, Robert * Murphy, Joe * Murphy, Michael * Myre, Louis * Nagy, Ladislav * Nash, Tyson * Nattress, Eric * Nedomansky, Vaclav * Nedved, Petr * Nickulas, Eric * Nieminen, Ville * Nill, James * Noonan, Brian * Nordmark, Robert * Noris, Joe * Norton, Jeffrey * Norwich, Craig * Norwood, Lee * O’Shea, Danny * O’Shea, Kevin * Oates, Adam * Obsut, Jaroslav * Odrowski, Gerry * Ogilvie, Brian * Olsson, Christer * Orszagh, Vladimir * Osbourne, Keith * Osgood, Chris * Oshie, T.J. * Ouimet, Ted * Paddock, Cam * Palazarri, Douglas * Papineau, Justin * Parent, Rich * Paizeau, Michel * Paslawski, Gregory * Patey, Larry * Patrick, Craig * Patrick, Glenn * Pavese, James * Pearson, Robert * Pellerin, Scott * Peluso, Mike * Perrault, Joe * Perron, David * Persson, Ricard * Petrovicky, Robert * Pettersson, Jorgen * Picard, Michel * Picard, Noel * Picard, Roger * Pichette, Dave * Pietrangelo, Alex * Pilon, Richard * Plager, Barclay * Plager, Bill * Plager, Bob * Plante, Jaques * Plante, Pierre * Plasse, Michel * Plavsic, Adrian * Poapst, Steve * Podein, Shion * Poeschek, Rudolph * Pohl, John * Polak, Roman * Polis, Gregory * Pollock, Jame * Porter, Chris * Posavad, Mike * Prokhorov, Vitali * Pronger, Chris * Quinn, Dan * Quintal, Stephane * Racine, Bruce * Raglan, Herb * Ramage, George * Reasoner, Marty * Redmond, Richard * Reeds, Mark * Reirden, Todd * Rheaume, Pascal * Richardson, Kenneth * Richardson, Terrance * Richer, Stephane * Richter, Dave * Riendeau, Vincent * Rivers, Jamie * Rivers, Wayne * Roach, Andy * Roberto, Phil * Roberts, David * Roberts, Gordon * Roberts, Jimmy * Robinson, Robert * Roloson, Dwayne * Ronning, Clifford * Root, William * Rucinsky, Martin * Rudkowsky, Cody * Ruff, Jason * Rycroft, Mark * Sabourin, Gary * Sacharuk, Lawrence * Salvadore, Bryce * Sanderson, Derek * Sanford, Curtis * Sarjeant, Geoff * Sather, Glen * Savage, Brian * Sawyer, Kevin * Schock, Ron * Schofield, Dwight * Schwarz, Marek* Seiling, Rod * Sejna, Peter * Selby, Brit * Shafranov, Konstantin * Shanahan, Brendan * Shaw, Brad * Shinske, Richard * Shires, Jim * Shishkanov, Timofei * Sillinger, Michael * Simpson, Reid * Simpson, Robert * Skarda, Randy * Skidmore, Paul * Smith, Richard * Smrek, Peter * Smrke, John * Snepsts, Harold * Spring, Frank * St. Marseille, Frank * Staniowski, Edward * Stankiewicz, Myron * Stastny, Peter * Stastny, Yan * Stempniak, Lee * Stephenson, Frederick * Stevens, Scott * Stewart, Robert * Stewart, Ron * Stewart, William * Stillman, Cory * Stuart, Mike * Stumpf, Bob * Sutherland, Bill * Sutter, Brian * Sutter, Richard * Sutter, Ronald * Sutton, Kenneth * Talbot, Jean-guy * Tardif, Patrice * Thomlinson, Dave * Thomson, Floyd * Tikkanen, Esa * Tilley, Tom * Tkachuk, Keith * Toivonen, Hannu * Trader, Larry * Trebil, Daniel * Tudor, Robert * Turcotte, Darren * Turek, Roman * Turgeon, Pierre * Turnbull, Perry * Tuttle, Steve * Twist, Anthony * Unger, Garry * Van Ryn, Mike * Varlamov, Sergei * Vasilevskii, Alexander * Veneruzzo, Gary * Vesey, Jim * Vigneault, Alain * Vopat, Roman * Wagner, Steve * Wakely, Ernest * Walker, Matt * Wall, Bob * Walton, Mike * Wamsley, Richard * Watson, Bryan * Watt, Jim * Weaver, Mike * Weight, Doug * Weinrich, Eric * Wells, Gordon * Wensink, John * Wheldon, Don * Whistle, Robert * Whitfield, Trent * Wickenheiser, Douglas * Wideman, Dennis * Williams, Butch * Wilson, Bertwin * Wilson, Richard (G)* Wilson, Richard (D) * Wilson, Ronald * Woywitka, Jeff * Wozniewski, Andy * Wright, John * Yablonski, Jeremy * Yake, Terry * Yawney, Trent * York, Harry * Young, Scott * Zabransky, Libor * Zanussi, Joe * Zezel, Peter * Zigomanis, Michael * Zombo, Richard * Zuke, Mike Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 10 The Ghost of the Blues With Jeff Browning I can honestly say now that one of our best players is from the Edmonton Oilers. That is something that the team hoped people would be saying for many years now. It seems like just yesterday the media was assuring us the team was a Cup contender after acquiring Doug Weight. Then remember how we were told that Eric Brewer could pick up where Chris Pronger left off? Who even was our last good Oiler player? Grant Fuhr? Well we finally found a great player who the Oilers gave up on too soon. His name is Brad Winchester. Winchester was drafted 35th overall in 2000. During the lockout, he was tied for the lead in goals on the AHL Roadrunners, a team that had many of the Oilers current stars on it. He saw his first NHL action, albeit limited, in 2005-06 where he registered only one assist. But as an emergency call up, he got the game winner in his first ever playoff game. He’d play with Edmonton again the next year, then Dallas the year after, and now he is with St. Louis. He has doubled his career goals with Edmonton in his short time here. And octupled his marks in Dallas. Speaking of ‘W’s, Jeff Woywitka has also shown some prominence as a Blue. Not once, not twice, but three times he has stepped up from Peoria and has been in the top six defensemen for the remainder of the season. He was also drafted by Edmonton and involved in the Pronger trade. At least we got something good out of it. Eric Brewer. The Oilers don’t have too many former Blues, but they have a lot of former Worcester IceCats. That was the St. Louis farm team before they figured that maybe calling up players from a different time zone wasn’t too smart. So they moved to Peoria (and Alaska became our secondary farm team). Steve Staios was drafted by St. Louis 27th overall in 1991 and spent a season with the IceCats. His teammate then and his teammate now is Jason Strudwick. They have combined for 1,330 NHL games since then. Goalie Dwayne Roloson was the AHL MVP with the IceCats in 2000, but he wasn’t technically ours. Jesse Boulerice, who played fewer games as a Blue than he gets suspended for on a regular basis, is also in their organization. Craig MacTavish is still coaching the Oilers. The longtime player who finished his career in St. Louis as the last player ever to not wear a helmet has done the impossible. He has been on the chopping block with the axe in mid-swing longer than any other coach in any other sport ever. A loss to the worst team in the West might be just enough to put him back on the market. And if not that, then him attacking our mascot Louie probably will. Blues Record When… Playing at ItsOverUnlessWeWinToniteCentre Playing on the road Can't wait to play the Blue Jackets again They score first The other team scores first They score 4 or more goals They score on the PP The other team scores on the PP They score shorthanded The other team scores shorthanded A Blues players has multiple goals An opposing player has multiple goals They take 30 or more shots They allow 30 or more shots Playing on Sunday Playing on Monday Playing on Tuesday Playing on Wednesday Playing on Thursday Playing on Friday Playing on Saturday Playing in October Playing in November Playing in December Playing in January Playing in February 12-10-3 9-14-2 21-24-5 12-4-3 9-19-2 15-1-1 16-10-5 8-17-3 2-1-0 1-3-0 7-2-1 3-12-2 7-10-1 8-12-2 1-3-1 3-0-1 2-4-0 1-6-0 2-4-1 4-2-1 8-6-1 5-4-0 5-6-2 4-10-1 6-4-1 1-0-1 With LosBri Hey Osh! Drink some damn milk, son They played the day before The other team played the day before Leading after the 1st Tied after the 1st Trailing after the 1st Hinotes' wife's measurements are Leading after the 2nd Tied after the 2nd Trailing after the 2nd Fight! Fight! Fight! They are called for 7 or more penalties Other team called for 7 or more penalties Emmanual "Loco" Legace starts Chris Mason starts Ben Bishop Starts Game is on FSN Playing the Eastern Conference Playing the Atlantic Division Playing the Northeast Division Playing the Southeast Division Playing the Western Conference Playing the Central Division Playing the Northwest Division Playing the Pacific Division Starting to save money for Sweden 21-24-5 5-5-1 5-4-2 9-3-3 7-8-1 4-13-1 34D-24-34 13-1-1 4-7-2 3-16-2 10-11-2 8-9-2 6-10-3 12-11-3 7-12-1 1-1-1 9-17-4 5-9-1 1-3-0 2-3-1 2-3-0 16-15-4 8-2-2 4-6-1 4-7-1 1-0-0 Page 11 Franchise Foundations Edmonton Oilers St. Louis Blues Year Player 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 Barret Jackman ~ Drafted 1st rd (17 overall) by STL Jay McClement ~ Drafted 2nd round, 57 overall by STL D.J. King ~ Drafted in 6th rd (190 overall) by STL David Backes ~ Drafted in 2nd rd (62 overall) by STL Roman Polak ~ Drafted in 6th rd (180 overall) by STL T.J. Oshie ~ Drafted in 1st rd (24 overall) by STL Eric Brewer ~ Acquired from EDM with Jeff Woywitka and Doug Lynch for Chris Pronger Jeff Woywitka ~ Acquired from EDM with Eric Brewer and Doug Lynch for Chris Pronger Erik Johnson ~ Drafted in 1st rd (1 overall) by STL Patrik Berglund ~ Drafted in 1st rd (25 overall) by STL Jay McKee ~ Signed as Free Agent (BUF) Dan Hinote ~ Signed as Free Agent (COL) Manny Legace ~ Signed as Free Agent (DET) Yan Stastny ~ Acquired from BOS for 5th rd pick in 2007 Brad Boyes ~ Acquired from BOS for Dennis Wideman David Perron ~ Drafted in 1st rd (26 overall) by STL Keith Tkachuk ~ Signed as Free Agent. Originally acquired from PHX in 2001 for a 1st rd pick in 2002, Ladislav Nagy, Michal Handzus and Jeff Taffe Paul Kariya ~ Signed as Free Agent (NAS) Andy McDonald ~ Acquired from ANA for Doug Weight, Michal Birner and a 7th rd pick in 2008 Tyson Strachan ~ Signed as Free Agent (CAR) Cam Janssen ~ Acquired from NJ for Bryce Salvador Mike Weaver ~ Signed as Free Agent (VAN) Chris Mason ~ Acquired from NAS for a 4th rd pick in 2008 Brad Winchester ~ Signed as Free Agent (DAL) B.J. Crombeen ~ Claimed off waivers (DAL) Alexander Steen ~ Acquired with Carlo Colaiacovo from TOR for Lee 'Dutchie' Stempniak Carlo Colaiacovo ~ Acquired with Alexander Steen from TOR for Lee 'Dutchie' Stempniak 2005 2006 2007 2008 Year 1996 1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Player Fernando Pisani ~Drafted in 8th round, 195 overall by EDM Shawn Horcoff ~ Drafted in 4th round, 99 overall by EDM Ethan Moreau ~ Acquired with Chad Kilger, Daniel Cleary and Christian Laflamme from CHI for Boris Mironov, Jonas Elofsson and Dean McAmmond Ales Hemsky ~ Drafted in 1st round, 13 overall by EDM Steve Staios ~ Signed as Free Agent (ATL) Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers ~ Drafted in 2nd rd (31 overall) by EDM Marc Pouliot ~ Drafted in 1st rd (22 overall) by EDM Zach Stortini ~ Drafted in 3rd rd (94 overall) by EDM Kyle Brodziak ~ Drafted in 7th rd (214 overall) by EDM Liam Reddox ~ Drafted in 4th rd (112 overall) by EDM Tom Gilbert ~ Acquired from COL for Tommy Salo and a 6th rd pick in 2004 Andrew Cogliano ~ Drafted in 1st rd (25 overall) by EDM Dwayne Roloson ~ Acquired from MIN for EDM 1st rd pick and conditional 3rd rd pick in 2006 Ladislav Smid ~ Acquired with Joffrey Lupul, a 1st rd pick in 2007, a conditional 1st rd pick in 2008 and a 2nd rd pick in 2008 from ANA for Chris Pronger Robert Nilsson ~ Acquired with Ryan O'Marra and a 1st round pick in 2007 from NYI for Ryan Smyth Denis Grebeshkov ~ Acquired from NYI for Marc-Andre Bergeron and a 3rd round pick Sam Gagner ~ Drafted in 1st rd (6 overall) by EDM Sheldon Souray ~ Signed as Free Agent (MTL) Dustin Penner ~ Signed as Restricted Free Agent (ANA) Lubomir Visnovsky ~ Acquired from LA for Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene 2008 Erik Cole ~ Acquired from CAR for Joni Pitkanen Jason Strudwick ~ Signed as Free Agent (NYR) Steve MacIntyre ~ Claimed off waivers from FLA What’d McGrath Trade For These Guys? St. Louis Game Time Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 12 NHL Leaders NHL Leaders Points 1. Evgeni Malkin, PIT 2. Sidney Crosby, PIT 3. Alex Ovechkin, WAS 4. Marc Savard, BOS 5. Pavel Datsyuk, DET 33. Brad Boy es, STL 79 69 67 61 61 44 Goals Against Average 1. Manny Fernandez, BOS 2. Tim Thomas, BOS 3. Steve Mason, CLB 4. Jonas Hiller, ANH 5. Niklas Backstrom, MIN 24. Chris Mason, STL 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.17 2.20 2.69 Goals 1. Alex Ovechkin, WAS 2. Jeff Carter, PHI 3. Thomas Vanek, BUF 4. Zach Parise, NJ 5. Marian Hossa, DET 12. Brad Boy es, STL 36 32 32 29 28 22 Save Percentage 1. Tim Thomas, BOS 2. Craig Anderson, FLA 3. Manny Fernandez, BOS 4. Niklas Backstrom, MIN 5. Nikolai Khabibulin, CHI 17. Chris Mason, STL 93.4% 92.9% 92.8% 92.7% 92.5% 91.4% Plus/Minus 1. Dennis Wideman, BOS 2. Blake Wheeler, BOS 3. David Krejci, BOS 4. Marc Savard, BOS 5. Travis Zajac, NJ 35. Patrik Berglund, STL 32 31 29 27 26 14 Wins 1. Miikka Kiprusoff, CGY 2. Evgeni Nabokov, SJ 3. Ryan Miller, BUF 4. Niklas Backstrom, MIN 5. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR 26. Manny Legace, STL 30 27 25 25 24 13 Shootout Goals 1. Wojtek Wolski, COL 2. Brad Boy es, STL 3. Ales Kotalik, BUF 4. Mike Ribeiro, DAL 5. Nikolai Zherdev, NYR 6 5 5 5 5 Rookie Points 1. Kris Versteeg, CHI 4. Bobby Ryan, ANA 3. Patrik Berglund, STL 4. Blake Wheeler, BOS 5. Mikhail Grabovski, TOR 38 34 32 31 26 Defensemen Points 1. Mike Green, WAS 2. Andrei Markov, MTL 3. Mark Streit, NYI 4. Dan Boyle, SJ 5. Dennis Wideman, BOS 54. Carlo Colaiacov o, STL 42 40 38 38 37 18 Around The No. 88 Leaves The NHLPA — One-time NHL star Eric Lindros resigned as ombudsman of the NHL players’ union. The NHL Players Association confirmed the move Tuesday but did not say why he left. Lindros took the job in November 2007, three days after he retired from hockey. The position was created after the union remade itself following the firing of former executive director Ted Saskin. Typically, an ombudsman tries to resolve any complaints by members or staff of the union and reports directly to the executive board. It’s intended to be a fail-safe to protect the members’ best interests. Another St. Louisan Makes The NHL — Mike McKenna, yet another goalie from St. Louis, made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning last night. He lost in overtime to a motivated Penguins team that erased a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime. Mckenna didn’t exactly take the easiest road to the NHL after being drafted in the 6th round of the 2002 entry draft by Nashville. He was not offered a contract by the Predators and wound up trying out with the Blues in the summer of 2007 after finishing his college career with St. Lawrence University. He was not signed by St. Louis, and wound up playing in the AHL. He was actually on the Lightning’s AHL affiliate but not under contract to the pro team when they lost both backup Olaf Kolzig and starter Mike Smith to injury. McKenna was signed to a two-year deal just two days ago, worked the bench in his first NHL game against the Islanders on Tuesday before getting the start in Pittsburgh last night. We have no idea what’s in the water here in St. Louis that is breeding crazy goalies, but we’ll be rooting for the kid, even if he isn’t wearing the Bluenote. This Is Why We Hate Hollywood — In an effort to continue to wreck all of the great movies from the 1970’s, Hollywood is going to re-make the seminal hockey classic, “Slap Shot” sometime in the near future. Universal Studios confirmed that they have hired director Dean Parisot (“Fun With Dick and Jane”) and that Peter Steinfeld (“21”) will write the script. The sequels to the original have been horrible flops, but Hollywood, embiggened by the commercial, if not critical, success of re-makes like “Bad News Bears” and “The Longest Yard” means that the movie will likely get made. If a paper could cry, this one would be quietly weeping in your hands. No. 9 In The Rafters — The New York Rangers retired Adam Graves’ No. 9 on Tuesday night, putting his number next to teammates Mark Messier’s No. 11, Mike Ricter’s No. 31, and Brian Leetch’s No. 2. In 772 games as a Ranger, Graves tallied 280 goals (good for third on the team’s all-time list), and 507 points (10th all-time for the team). He was a key member of the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup team, a run that helped cement him as a fan-favorite in New York. Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 13 Fried Chicken’s www.hockey www.hockey--fights.com Tonight’s Matchup: The Blues have played the Oilers twice this year, and one of those games featured two fights. These two teams met up four times last year, and one of those games erupted with three fights. Let’s hope they have one of their feisty matchups tonight. Both teams have fought frequently this season, as the Blues have had 46 fights and the Oilers have had 42. St. Louis Blues Probable Fighters Edmonton Oilers Probable Fighters •Cam Janssen – “Bam Bam” has done an admirable job •Zach Stortini –Stortini has good size at 6’4 and 220 filling in for DJ King as the Blues top enforcer this season. He is 6 feet tall and weighs 210 pounds, so he often times gives up height, reach, and weight to his opponents…but he still hangs in there. Cam has 13 fights so far. pounds, but he doesn’t seem to like going toe to toe. Most of his fights are boring hug-fests. With 14 fights on the season, he is far and away the Oilers most active fighter. •BJ Crombeen – Crombeen is 6’2, 212 pounds, and he has had 12 fights thus far. He’s a physical player who will drop the gloves frequently, even if he loses a lot of his battles. He seems to always get turned around trying to avoid his opponent’s fists, and they are then free to pound away. This is what happened in his last fight against the Wild’s Jared Boll. •Dan Hinote – Hinote is not a big guy. He weighs 187 pounds, stands 6 feet tall, and he is hurt all the time. This doesn’t stop him from fighting frequently and playing with a lot of energy whenever he is healthy enough to be in the lineup, however. Hinote has played in 31 games, and he has been involved in four fights. •Steve MacIntyre – MacIntyre is a mountain of a man, standing at 6’6 tall and weighing in at a whopping 265 pounds. His pugilistic skill doesn’t always match up to his brawn, however, and MacIntyre finds himself scratched from the lineup a lot. He has played in 16 games this season, and he has racked up five fighting majors. •Jason Strudwick – Strudwick has been involved in five fights so far. He has good size at 6’3 and 225 pounds. He will occasionally take on some of the top enforcers in the NHL, so he’s not a spot picker. Best bet of the night: Janssen hasn’t fought an Oiler player yet this year, so he’s due. I’ll pick Janssen vs Stortini for the main event. Backes doesn’t seem to fight often, but he has a couple fights versus Oilers the last two seasons, so I’ll pick Backes vs Staios for the undercard. — Jason Travers (www.hockey-fights.com) Date Combatants Description Decision 11/29/2008 David Backes vs Shawn Horcoff Backes was on the offensive after a small scrum in the crease. Horcoff only managed a few very weak lefts while trying to survive as Backes pounded away at him. Win: Backes 11/29/2008 Jeff Woywitka vs Steve Staios Staios was really the only active participant here. He peppered Woywitka with rights, though none of them seemed to do any damage. Woywitka could never get going. Win: Staios 1/2/2008 David Backes vs Ladislav Smid Smid elbowed Backes in the head behind the Oilers net, and Backes didn't like it. He challenged Smid, and then they both took of their visored helmets. They proceeded to have a good, spirited fight, with each fighter landing a few. Draw Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 14 # 4 5 7 9 10 13 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 28 29 42 43 46 55 57 62 74 77 # 34 50 Player Pos Eric Brewer D Barret Jackman D Keith Tkachuk C Paul Kariya L Andy McDonald C Dan Hinote R Brad Winchester L Jay McClement C D.J. King L Alexander Steen C Patrik Berglund C Brad Boyes R Yan Stastny C B.J. Crombeen R Carlo Colaiacovo D Jeff Woywitka D David Backes R Mike Weaver D Roman Polak D Cam Janssen R David Perron L Tyson Strachan D T.J. Oshie C Jay McKee D TOTALS Player Manny Legace Chris Mason TOTALS S/P Ctry Ht Wt C Rk GP ON CAN 70 200 L 29 AB CAN 72 195 L 25 City S/P Ctry Ht Wt S Rk GP Vernon BC CAN 75 222 L 28 Trail BC CAN 72 203 L 50 Melrose MA USA 74 232 L 48 Vancouver BC CAN 70 180 L 11 Strathroy ON CAN 71 183 L 16 Leesburg FL USA 72 187 R 31 Madison WI USA 77 228 L 32 Kingston ON CAN 73 201 L 50 Meadow Lake SK CAN 74 228 L 1 Winnipeg MB CAN 73 205 L 50 Vesteras SWE 76 187 L Y 45 Mississauga ON CAN 72 195 R 50 Quebec City QC CAN 70 191 L 34 Denver CO USA 74 212 R Y 49 Toronto ON CAN 73 200 L 41 Vermilion AB CAN 74 217 L 34 Minneapolis MN USA 75 216 R 50 Bramalea ON CAN 69 182 R 31 Ostrava CZE 73 227 R 44 St. Louis MO USA 72 210 R 40 Sherbrooke QC CAN 72 180 R 49 Melfort SK CAN 75 205 R Y 20 Mt. Vernon WA USA 71 170 R Y 25 Kingston ON CAN 76 203 L 39 General Manager: Ray Bennett Andy Murray Larry Pleau Rick Wamsley Brad Shaw Head Coach: Asst / Goalie Coach: Asst Coaches: St. Louis Blues Rosters and Statistics DOB Apr 17 '79 Mar 05 '81 Mar 28 '72 Oct 16 '74 Aug 25 '77 Jan 30 '77 Mar 01 '81 Mar 02 '83 Jun 27 '84 Mar 01 '84 Jun 02 '88 Apr 17 '82 Sep 30 '82 Jul 10 '85 Jan 27 '83 Sep 01 '83 May 01 '84 May 02 '78 Apr 28 '86 Apr 15 '84 May 28 '88 Oct 30 '84 Dec 23 '86 Sep 08 '77 DOB City Feb 04 '73 Toronto Apr 20 '76 Red Deer G A Pts +/- PIM TOI/G Salary 1 5 6 -14 24 25:07 $4,500,000 3 12 15 -12 58 22:58 $2,500,000 15 17 32 -11 37 17:42 $4,500,000 2 13 15 1 2 18:06 $6,000,000 6 12 18 -12 12 19:55 $3,333,333 1 1 2 -5 40 11:00 $1,000,000 8 3 11 -5 53 12:47 $600,000 7 9 16 -8 25 16:23 $950,000 0 1 1 0 0 8:20 $550,000 6 12 18 -5 22 16:55 $1,700,000 16 16 32 14 14 16:00 $850,000 22 22 44 -22 18 19:24 $2,500,000 3 4 7 -14 20 12:44 $500,000 9 7 16 -4 104 11:50 $550,000 2 16 18 -1 23 17:42 $1,400,000 1 11 12 -5 40 18:22 $725,000 17 11 28 -7 127 17:23 $2,500,000 0 4 4 -4 6 15:58 $700,000 1 10 11 -5 29 21:30 $475,000 1 3 4 -5 97 5:29 $550,000 5 27 32 3 30 15:48 $875,000 0 3 3 5 28 13:11 $575,000 6 9 15 6 6 16:03 $850,000 1 1 2 -1 23 16:53 $4,000,000 133 229 362 -111 838 $42,683,333 W L OT SO GAA Sv% Salary 13 9 2 0 3.18 88.5% $2,500,000 7 14 2 3 2.69 91.4% $3,000,000 20 23 4 3 $5,500,000 $48,183,333 City Frydlant Trail Calgary Toronto Huntsville Hamilton Oswego Winkler Brock Edmonton Yaroslavl Edmonton Elk Point Elliot Lake St. Paul Topolcany Minneapolis Quebec Pardubice Whitby London S/P BC AB ON ON ON NY MB SK AB AB AB ON AB MN QC ON ON Ctry CZE CAN CAN CAN CAN CAN USA CAN CAN CAN RUS CAN CAN CAN CAN SVK USA CAN CZE CAN CAN Ht 75 73 71 70 74 73 74 76 77 73 72 76 76 75 74 70 75 73 72 70 71 Wt 226 208 185 184 220 200 205 245 250 205 209 225 233 228 209 188 206 195 192 180 191 Head Coach: General Manager: Craig MacTavish Steve Tambellini Pete Peeters Assistant Coaches: S Rk GP L 35 L 50 L 40 L 50 L 49 R 48 L 50 L 48 L 16 L 16 L 47 L 40 L 49 R 30 R 48 L 50 R 50 R 48 R 40 L Y 26 R 44 G A Pts +/- PIM TOI/G 0 4 4 -2 37 14:34 11 22 33 7 27 21:36 7 10 17 -5 14 15:01 12 15 27 -4 12 15:30 12 8 20 -1 74 15:41 2 5 7 -5 49 18:13 12 10 22 -4 47 17:00 11 12 23 3 31 16:15 1 0 1 -2 31 3:27 2 4 6 -2 4 14:56 4 19 23 6 22 20:05 1 4 5 -3 35 11:11 12 20 32 -3 62 24:23 1 2 3 -5 116 6:38 7 5 12 -4 19 12:53 8 23 31 6 30 23:00 3 23 26 0 14 21:07 6 8 14 0 17 11:31 16 27 43 5 8 18:44 3 2 5 -4 10 10:35 4 13 17 0 32 16:37 135 236 371 -17 691 W L OT SO GAA Sv% 16 12 3 1 2.75 91.3% 3 2 0 0 3.47 89.3% 19 14 3 1 Goaltending Coach: Charlie Huddy / Bill Moores / Kelly Buchberger Edmonton Oilers Rosters and Statistics DOB Feb 01 '86 Sep 17 '78 Jan 10 '85 Jun 14 '87 Sep 22 '75 Jul 28 '73 Nov 06 '78 Sep 28 '82 Aug 08 '80 Dec 27 '76 Oct 11 '83 Jul 17 '75 Jul 13 '76 Sep 11 '85 May 25 '84 Aug 11 '76 Jan 10 '83 May 22 '85 Aug 13 '83 Jan 27 '86 Aug 10 '89 DOB City S/P Ctry Ht Wt C Rk GP Oct 12 '69 Simcoe ON CAN 73 180 L 33 May 15 '84 St-Jean-Richelieu QC CAN 76 200 R Y 7 Salary $952,381 $3,600,000 $1,500,000 $850,000 $1,750,000 $2,900,000 $4,000,000 $4,250,000 $525,000 $2,500,000 $1,500,000 $650,000 $6,250,000 $600,000 $500,000 $7,000,000 $3,500,000 $725,000 $3,600,000 $515,000 $875,000 $48,542,381 Salary $3,000,000 $550,000 $3,550,000 $52,092,381 Legend: S:Shoots; C: Catches; Rk: Rookie (any player who has played fewer than 25 games in the previous season or fewer than 26 in the previous two years and has not reached age 26); GP: Games Played; G: Goals; A: Assists; Pts: Points; PIM: Penalties in Minutes; TOI/Game: average Time On Ice per Game. # Player Pos 5 Ladislav Smid D 10 Shawn Horcoff C 12 Robert Nilsson C 13 Andrew Cogliano C 18 Ethan Moreau L 24 Steve Staios D 26 Erik Cole L 27 Dustin Penner R 33 Steve MacIntyre L 34 Fernando Pisani R 37 Denis Grebeshkov D 43 Jason Strudwick D 44 Sheldon Souray D 46 Zachery Stortini R 51 Kyle Brodziak C 71 Lubomir Visnovsky D 77 Tom Gilbert D 78 Marc-Antoine Pouliot C 83 Ales Hemsky R 85 Liam Reddox L 89 Sam Gagner C TOTALS # Player 35 Dwayne Roloson 38 Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers TOTALS Page 15 Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 16 NHL Referee Statistics 2008-2009 Since 2007 1st O Blues Blues Blues No. Official Born Blues Blues Blues Game W L T Games PP PK Games PP PK L Sarnia, ON 1980 2 5 12 1 1 0 7 26 31 2 Fraser, Kerry North Bay, ON 1997 7 35 23 3 2 2 14 69 54 3 Leggo, Mike Georgetown, ON 2003 2 4 7 0 2 0 5 14 18 4 McCauley, Wes Boston, MA 2000 4 13 17 1 3 0 11 48 58 5 Rooney, Chris Edmonton, AB 1984 2 9 9 0 2 0 4 15 17 6 Marouelli, Dan Guelph, ON 1984 3 16 11 1 2 0 5 26 20 7 McCreary, Bill Montreal, PQ 1990 2 4 7 0 2 0 7 23 30 8 Jackson, Dave Guelph, ON 1989 3 13 15 1 1 1 5 24 24 10 Devorski, Paul Richmond, BC 2000 4 19 16 1 3 0 8 30 28 11 Sutherland, Kelly Dartmouth, NS 1981 4 18 15 1 2 1 6 30 21 12 Koharski, Don Essex, ON 1995 3 21 23 1 1 1 9 42 56 13 O'Halloran, Dan Savannah, GA 1991 4 14 16 2 2 0 10 39 42 14 LaRue, Dennis Montreal, PQ 2000 3 20 15 2 1 0 9 54 58 15 Auger, Stephane Port Alberni, BC 1986 5 22 23 4 1 0 11 40 48 16 Shick, Rob Toronto, ON 1996 2 8 10 0 1 1 9 32 37 18 Kimmerly, Greg Halifax, NS 2003 2 11 6 1 1 0 7 33 26 19 Dwyer, Gord Toronto, ON 1999 6 23 26 2 4 0 12 50 45 20 Peel, Tim 1993 3 17 15 1 2 0 10 44 47 21 VanMassenhoven, Don Parkhill, ON Regina, Sas 1996 5 29 32 2 2 1 10 48 56 23 Watson, Brad Verdun, PQ 1999 4 18 22 1 2 1 6 25 30 25 Joannette, Marc Winnipeg, MB 1996 5 21 22 2 2 1 14 61 69 26 Martell, Rob Trois-Rivieres, PQ 2001 3 15 12 1 2 0 6 29 28 27 Furlatt, Eric St John, NB 2001 3 16 18 0 2 1 7 31 36 28 Lee, Chris Philadelphia, PA 2000 4 16 18 0 4 0 7 25 31 29 Walsh, Ian Regina, SK 2000 1 3 4 1 0 0 4 12 14 30 Hasenfratz, Mike Vernon, BC 2000 2 5 8 1 1 0 8 35 37 32 Kowal, Tom Kincardine, ON 2000 2 5 6 1 1 0 7 27 30 33 Pollock, Kevin Dayton, OH 1999 1 4 2 1 0 0 8 34 30 34 Meier, Brad Toronto, ON 1999 6 34 25 35 Warren, Dean Peterborough, ON 2000 2 9 7 2 0 0 3 16 13 36 Morton, Dean Stettler, AB 2008 1 5 5 1 0 0 1 5 5 37 Rehman, Kyle Greenfield Park, PQ 2006 2 9 10 2 0 0 5 19 22 38 St Laurent, Francois Penticton, BC 2006 1 8 11 1 0 0 7 38 37 40 Kozari, Steve Calgary, AB 1999 2 11 7 42 O'Rourke, Dan Detroit, MI 2006 3 12 13 2 1 0 6 26 33 43 Pochmara, Brian Dolbeau, PQ 2003 5 23 22 45 St. Pierre, Justin TOTALS 50 224 228 20 25 5 569 593 W L 3 6 1 3 0 2 4 2 1 2 5 3 6 4 3 3 4 6 4 1 9 3 2 1 2 2 3 4 1 3 1 2 4 0 2 3 53 4 6 3 6 4 3 3 2 6 3 3 4 2 6 5 4 6 3 3 4 4 2 3 6 1 4 4 3 3 0 0 2 3 1 4 1 61 NHL Linesmen # 17 47 54 56 57 59 60 Name Heyer, Shane Schachte, Dan Devorski, Greg Wheler, Mark Sharrers, Jay Barton, Steve Dapuzzo, Pat # 61 65 66 67 68 70 71 Name Seitz, Lyle Racicot, Pierre Gibbs, Darren Champoux, Pierre Driscoll, Scott Nansen, Derek Kovachik, Brad # 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 Name Rody, Vaughan Cameron, Lonnie Amell, Derek Cormier, Michel Nowak, Tim Mach, Brian Pare, Mark # 80 82 84 86 88 89 90 Name Nelson, Thor Galloway, Ryan Sericolo, Tony Lazarowich, Brad Cvik, Mike Miller, Steve McElman, Andy # 91 92 93 95 96 97 Name Henderson, Don Shewchyk, Mark Murphy, Brian Murray, Jonny Brisebois, David Morin, Jean O T L 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 1 0 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 17 G AME T IME Page 17 St. Louis Game Time Scorecard St. Louis Blues vs. Edmonton Oilers; Thursday, February 5, 2009 Referee: ________________________ Referee: ________________________ Linesman: ______________________ Linesman: ______________________ Shots Team 1st 2d 3rd OT Score SO F Team 1st Oilers Oilers Blues Blues Blues Starting Lineup C: 2d 3rd OT 1st Assist LW: RW: D: D: G: Oilers Starting Lineup C: LW: RW: Penalties Called Per. D: G: Three Stars of the Game 1st Star: 2nd Star: 3rd Star: Other Stars of the Game GWG: GW Goalie: Hard Hat: Game Notes: F Goal Scoring Per. Tim e Team Goalscorer D: SO Time Team Penalized Player Penalty 2nd Assist Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 18 Ask Game Time’s Answer Man Dear Answer Man, What the hell is going on with fighting in hockey? All of a sudden people are anti-fighting and saying things need to be looked at. Will the NHL ever be fight free? -Tom (St. Louis-MO) Oh please, you can’t be serious. Can you? Are you? Fight free? I will say on record that the NHL will never be fight free. I subscribe to that rag known as The Hockey News. Actually, I cancelled my subscription and they keep coming back. Just like herpes. The issue for the week of Jan. 26 addressed fighting in hockey. Not just in the NHL but all of hockey. The reason is some poor Canadian Senior A player died after a fight. Not because of getting his face pummeled but because he fell after the fight and banged his head on the ice. I don’t want to make light of this poor guy but I do want to address something about this fight. He knowingly went into it. He voluntarily fought the other guy. It was his choice. It wasn’t a dirty hit, it wasn’t a cheap shot. It was a tragedy no question but he made the choice. There was also a survey conducted in Canada after the guy passed away. To no one’s surprise most of Canada agreed that fighting is a part of the game and should continue. Another result of the survey was that the majority of people surveyed in Quebec said that fighting should be eliminated from hockey. Now who says the French are pussies? Oh wait, they do apparently (as do I and the rest of the strictly heterosexual population of Answer Nation and majority of North County). It is no secret that Answer Man loves to fight in his Sr. Rec. League. I love to watch hockey fights on TV. Have I ever pleasured myself to a televised or pre-recorded fight? Maybe. Maybe. Why do ask? Is that something you do to or you’s want to maybe….wait, what? Fighting has certainly evolved. Gone are the days of the Plagers going up into the stands in Philadelphia to fight the fans. That was when majority of the guys on a team would fight. There were certainly guys in the league that were the heavyweights but most of the guys would throw the knuckle bags if asked. Then fighting evolved in the early eighties into protection and strictly that. Sergio Momesso skated with Hull and Oates to protect them. Dave Semenko rarely fought because he had a solid rep of being a complete bad ass. Semenko was there to protect Gretzky. This was the beginning of the truly specialized player. This is where the roles on a team were drawn up and you needed to know your role, jabroni. There were epic fights in this time. You had Marty McSorley vs. Probert. Domi vs. Grimson and Tony Twist just destroying guys. People still talk about these fights 15 years later. This stuff gets people going. Now you have guys who need to be able to keep up with the speed of the game but they play three minutes a night and you know why they are there. That reason is to purely beat ass. Check out Derek Boogaard. That freak is 6 foot 7. He broke Todd Fedoruk’s orbital bone and he now has plates in his face. The league heavyweights are huge and super strong. The offseason training includes boxing and even mixed martial arts. They are trained fighters compared to farm guys who were flat out tough and strong. There is a ton of technique now. The technique is to hold on to the other guy and throw when you can pick your spot. Is it less entertaining than 20 or 30 years ago? Maybe to some but not Answer Man, it still gets my blood pressure up. We don’t have those incredible bouts before, but there is still a need for this in the game. Fighting is what separates hockey from every other “major” sport. It gives the players the accountability factor. Not only that, if you don’t step up when someone hands you a dance card your teammates will not come to your defense. The NHL would be foolish to ban fighting. Why in the world would the league get rid of the most notable piece of the game that wins over new fans? That is like getting a hooker only for the small talk. It is a ridiculous idea. Trust me, hookers are not good talkers. Hell, they usually aren’t even good at showering, brushing their teeth or reading. Keep fighting, it is awesome. Yes, people will get hurt and I bet more people will die from it. I don’t want them to but they probably will. If you don’t want to fight, then don’t take the challenge. Go Blues! Send your questions on hockey (NHL or rec league), Busch beer or any other thing that keeps you awake at night to: answer-man@stlouisgametime.com and have them answered here. Just Like A Team, GT’s Got Your Back. St. Louis Game Time G AME T IME Page 19 The Fantasy Files By Duke This is one of those nights where I’m not going to be able to make it down to DrinkScotch in order to watch the game. Unlike the towel boy, however, I’m not playing hooky in order to watch American Idol or wax my bikini area: I’ve got tickets to see a Beatles knockoff band a few blocks away. If you’re one of the half-dozen empty souls living in the free world who fails to at least appreciate how important the Beatles are, then just skip this page and go straight to the cartoon. For the rest of you, here is – in no particular order - my top-5 desert island Beatles tunes with a little bit of fantasy hockey mixed in. did a stealth job worthy of Solid Snake to hijack the job from Emmanuel Legace. Mason has been a top-10 fantasy backstop over the past month with three wins, two of those on shutouts, and all while stopping 94.4% of shots faced. The funny thing is that nobody seems to care about him in St. Louis after two seasons of Manny love, and the fantasy community has been giving him the cold shoulder as well. Following Monday night’s debacle in Detroit, however, Mason’s stronghold on the No. 1 spot for the Blues has never been so concrete. Happiness is a Warm Gun – Bang bang, shoot shoot. The Blues have a smoking gun of their Read on... own in David Backes, but he’s likely going to be on the shelf for awhile following a nasty hit the other night in Columbus. Let’s take this (hopefully) brief pause in Backes’ season to appreciate exactly how much this guy kicks ass. With 17 goals, 11 helpers, and 127 penalty minutes, he’s a statistical force to be reckoned with among right wingers. His time in the box is good for the fifth-most in the NHL, yet he has more goals than the rest of the top-10 in that category… combined… and his 119 shots on goal this season to go with six points on the man-advantage has made the 2008-2009 season his official breakout party in the fantasy world. He’s pretty good in real life, too. Here’s hoping for a quick return. Come Together – This is another Lennon song that doesn’t make a fucking bit of sense, but somehow it starts to make its own sense with enough replays and some substance abuse. The fact that a guy named Robert Lang hails from… Teplice, Czechoslovakia makes even less sense to me, and the fact that he’s likely out for the rest of the season with a tendon injury is certainly going to be looked at as a senseless loss by both the Montreal Canadiens and his fantasy owners. The center position is deep, though, so look to Dallas’ Steve Ott or Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan if you need a high-output stopgap for the homestretch. How is David Backes like The Beatles? It’s more like how is he not like The Beatles. Eleanor Rigby – Christopher Mason, died in a church and was buried along with his name, nobody came. I was a heavy advocate of Mason back in November on this page, and even went so far as to finally write him off as a lost cause before he Hey Jude – Speaking of goaltending, if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, here’s your daily reminder that Martin Brodeur will be back soon, that you should do everything in your power to acquire him from a frustrated owner, and he’ll lift your squad’s goaltending every bit as much as this song will lift your spirits about Erik Johnson missing the season because he lost a battle with a golf cart. Naaaaah, na, na, nanana, naaah. Here Comes the Sun – Easily my favorite song authored by George, it represents a “calm before the storm” type of feeling for me. With that having been said, the fantasy hockey season is winding to a close. Be honest about the needs of your team to gain ground in rotisserie or points formats, or to realistically compete in the playoffs for you head-to-head players, and make the necessary moves to bring home some virtual gold. Koo-koo, ca-choo – go Blues! You Wanna Know How I Know… ...Manny Legace Is Done In St. Louis? • Pulled in Detroit; spent next two periods playing on his PSP. • Instead of ordering chicken soup for lunch, players now ask for chicken legace. • Management sent a bunch of realtors over to his house. • He just traded himself off his NHL09 team. • • He just started a new website www.iamsooutofstlouisitssilly.net. Just got his brochure from Sanford-Brown College. • • Already cleaned out his locker. Being forced to carry Chris Mason’s gear on road trips. over at Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 20 Tomorrow’s Blues By Brian Weidler A Few Minutes With James Livingston when you heard that you’d been drafted by the Blues. Recently, your Game Time Prospect Department had the opportunity to spend a few minutes talking with the Blues’ 2008 third-round selection (70th overall) James Livingston. A right wing who checks in at a solid 6’2 and 213 pounds, the Halifax-born Livingston is currently in his third season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario League. A power forward in the making, Livingston has the upperbody strength and strength on his skates to plant himself in front of the goalie and bury rebounds, something he’s done with regularity in the OHL. He also has a big shot that he can get off in a hurry when coming down the wing, and his skills have garnered him 37 goals and 78 points in 179 career OHL games. JL: Well, I was extremely excited. I’d been waiting that day, hoping for my name to be called, and when the Blues picked me, I was thrilled. I know that they’re a long-standing franchise, and it’s just awesome to be a part of that. GT: Did you have much contact with the Blues before the draft? Were you aware that they had been scouting you? JL: I had spoken with their scouts at the NHL Combine prior to the draft; I actually talked to a couple of teams there. So that’s pretty much all I knew, was that those teams had interest, and luckily for me, the Blues picked me. GT: Will you be coming to the Development Camp again next summer? Livingston’s stat line so far this season reads 14 goals, 27 points, 57 PIM in 51 games, which represents a slight drop from the 21-23-44 and 135 PIM he posted in 68 games last season, but he’s making up for that by working diligently to improve his footspeed and overall skating. Here’s what Livingston had to say about his game, about The Soo, and about the Blues’ Development Camp last summer Game Time: Tell us a little about yourself, your likes and dislikes, and what makes James Livingston tick. James Livingston: Well, I like music. Growing up, I played a lot of instruments; guitar, drums, piano. I took French in school, so I’m bilingual. And every now and then, I like to sing. GT: Anything in particular? Were you in a choir growing up? JL: I hope so; absolutely, if I’m invited. GT: Tell us a little about the Development Camp experience this year. What are your impressions of the Blues organization, and of the fan base, that you got from the camp, and how does this camp compare to any other summer camps or training camps that you’ve attended? JL: It was awesome; it was great to meet the coaching staff, and the facilities in the arena are awesome. The Scottrade Center is extremely impressive, and the fans there were really behind the Blue and Gold (Future Stars) Game, which was a lot of fun. It was a lot like The Soo; it was really welcoming, and the people there seem to really like their hockey. It was (Photo by James Egan Photography, courtesy of the Soo really exciting for someone like me, coming in there. Greyhounds) JL: No, I just sing along when I’m playing the instruments. GT: How is the atmosphere there different from training camp with the Greyhounds? GT: Your hometown is listed as Newmarket, Ontario, one of the northern suburbs of Toronto. Were you born there? JL: Well, I guess I felt kind of like a little fish in a big pond going through a training camp like that (in St. Louis). There were a lot of awesome, talented hockey players out there. I know my role as one of the younger guys is to go in there and just work really hard, and try to learn from the older guys who had been there before. JL: No, I was born in Halifax, and now I live in Newmarket. GT: Where you are now, in Sault Ste. Marie, is quite a distance from the Toronto suburbs. How was that adjustment for you, going from Halifax to Toronto, and then from Toronto/Newmarket out to The Soo? JL: Well, I moved to Halifax to Newmarket when I was pretty young. Going from Newmarket to Sault Ste. Marie, well, it’s a little colder up here and it’s far from my parents, but the town is really welcoming. And it’s all about hockey here. So the transition was pretty smooth. GT: At the Development Camp, were there one or two players that maybe you enjoyed competing against just a little more, some of the guys that you’d competed against in the Ontario League? And were there maybe one or two of the guys there that you started to develop a little on-ice chemistry with? GT: Tell us, if you would, what was your initial reaction (Continued on page 21) G AME T IME Page 21 with 31 of those tallies coming on the power play. He turned pro in 2006-07 with the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, and had a rocky debut with only eight goals and 26 points in 70 games played. Reddox had a one-game cup of coffee with the Oil in 2007-08, but spent the bulk of the season with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, where he put up 16 goals and 44 points in 65 games, with a solid plus-10 mark and 48 minutes in penalty time. By Brian Weidler Liam Reddox Shoots: Not the biggest player on the ice by any means, his lack of size and strength will hold Reddox back from becoming the same kind of scorer in the pro game that he was in junior. He also needs to develop more game-to-game consistency, but he has in his favor a solid two-way game, good puck skills, and a great attitude. Left Height: 5’ 10 Weight: 177 Birthdate: January 27, 1986 Birthplace: East York, Ontario Drafted in the fourth round (112th overall) by Edmonton in 2004, Liam Reddox joined the Oilers’ organization with a reputation as a scorer, and the junior stats to back up that reputation. In three seasons with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, Reddox racked up 86 goals and 210 points in 208 games, Since the first of the year, Reddox is 1-1-2 with a minus-3 and 2 PIM in ten games for the Oil, and has managed 2-3-5 with a minus-4 and 10 PIM in 26 total NHL games this season. With Springfield (AHL), Reddox has 5 goals and 9 points in 14 games, with a minus-3 mark and two minutes in the sin bin. Tomorrow’s Blues (continued) (Continued from page 20) faster. JL: At the Development Camp, it was really all about seeing everything. There were a couple of guys at the Traverse City (Prospect Tournament) camp that maybe I had some chemistry with; well, maybe not real chemistry, but everyone was working so hard together, and things were clicking. GT: Do you find, since you’ve been drafted, that other teams are maybe paying a little more attention to you on the ice, or is it about the same as last year? I got to play a little bit with Anthony Nigro, who the Blues also picked last year; we play against each other here in the Ontario League, and we also played together a little bit growing up in minor hockey. We've known each other before, and I got to play with him in the Development Camp, and that was a lot of fun. And Mark Cundari; I was playing against him a little bit, and that was a lot of fun. Seeing all of those guys was awesome. GT: Tell us a little bit about your game, and your style of play. What would you say are the strengths if your game? JL: Well, I’m a big, strong guy who likes to go up and down the wing. I can bring some physical play; I think I'm very strong defensively, and can also help out offensively. GT: Any areas that you’d like to improve? JL: Well, I want to work on getting faster. I think that’s the biggest thing I’m going to need to do before I make the jump to the next level. So I’m constantly working on getting my footspeed up, and just getting quicker and getting on the puck JL: You definitely get a little more respect, just having that (status) of having been drafted, but other than that, it hasn’t really changed much. GT: Are there any of the Blues’ players that were favorites of yours growing up? JL: I didn't get to see that many of the Western Conference games growing up, living in the East all my life, but I do remember seeing Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky there, so those guys definitely stick out in my memory. GT: Anything else you’d like to say to the folks here. JL: Yes; I’m really excited to be a part of the Blues’ organization, and hopefully I’ll be playing down there soon. Our promised feature on 2008 first-round selection Alex Pietrangelo will appear in this space on Saturday. Be here for the scoop on the Blues’ next franchise defenseman, and until then, remember... “if we do not prepare for ourselves the role of the hammer, there will be nothing left but that of the anvil.” Auf wiedersehen. Page 22 The Five Hole (continued) (Continued from page 5) like the mutated genetic off spring of Anthrax’s Scott Ian, Jason “Wee-Man” Acuna, and Game Time groupie Dooks. So back to the grade school books, is the author, Makit going to be the one better known than the illustrator, Wont, for this season’s version of the Blues? I don’t think so. A year ago in this column, using these dumb book titles, I said they’d make it. Before the season, after EJ’s golf injury, before (add injury after injury after Vice Presidential Nominee induced injury here), before all of that, I thought they would ease into the playoffs this season. But not this year. I was wrong last year, and I hope I’m wrong again. Contact: gift@stlouisgametime.com Spending Way Too Much Time On Minutiae. St. Louis Game Time Remember Me? By Brad Lee & Chris Gift Jocelyn Lemieux one pick before Lemieux to the Rangers. If only…if only… DOB: November 18, 1967 in Mont-Laurier, Que. Lemieux’s rookie season of 1986-1987 was respectable enough. Ten goals in 53 games, including one on the power play went along with 94 penalty minutes. He broke his leg early in the ‘87-’88 season and played only 23 regular season games with one goal. Position: Right Wing Played for the Blues: 76 games from 1986-1988 One constant about the Blues from the team’s inception in 1967 until today is the family atmosphere that the team stresses. There have been three Sutters, two Cavallinis, and three Plagers who were teammates while with the Blues. Last season, Steve Kariya was given a shot to make the team in training camp to join his brother Paul. Hell, there are even two guys outside section 305 that wear Berenson jerseys with different numbers on them, but we digress. After giving Mario Lemieux’s older brother Alain 81 games over four seasons, the Blues drafted Claude Lemieux’s younger brother Jocelyn tenth overall in 1986 with the team’s first first round draft pick since 1981. Not as tough as his brother Claude, and not as offensively gifted as unrelated Mario, Jocelyn Lemieux was drafted by the Blues ahead of Scott Young (11th to Hartford), Craig Janney (13th to Boston), Tom Fitzgerald (17th to the Islanders) and Adam Graves (22nd to Detroit). Brian Leetch went During the summer of 1988, Lemieux was sent to Montreal along with goaltender Darrell May and a second round draft pick (which ended up being the very serviceable Patrice Brisbois) in exchange for Sergio Momesso and Vincent Riendeau. Lemieux’s Blues claim to fame is that he was the second-to-last player to wear No. 16. He had two stints with the Canadiens, along with two stints with Chicago, plus stops in Hartford, Calgary, New Jersey and Phoenix before calling it a career after 17 games with the IHL’s Long Beach Ice Dogs in the ’98-’99 season. In a nearly 600 game NHL career, Little Claude tallied 164 points with 80 goals and 740 minutes in penalties. Other than an extremely disturbing Facebook page for “Jocelyn Lemieux, Toronto ON” there is nothing on the current whereabouts of the younger of the hockey playing Lemieux Brothers from Mont-Laurier, Quebec. G AME T IME Page 23 009 2 8 0 The 20 e Shuffle at k S y k Lu c er Track Finishing Point Times Occurred This Year / Percentage Puck finishes in same skate as starting point. 18 / 72.0% Puck finishes in skate one place lower than start point. 7 / 28.0% Puck finishes in skate one place higher than start point. Top 11 Things That Will Happen At DrinkScotch This Month 11. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 0 / 0.0% 1. Mass confusion in the stands when a player wearing No. 10 takes to the ice. Game Time wins a pseudo-award for some pseudo-journalism. Giant scandal involving Bluieeee and Angelllla. Dancing kid finally comes up with new moves. Yet another chance to interact in a civil fashion and discuss the finer points of the great athletic contest before you with Blackhawk fans. And then dumping beer on them. Get to enjoy all the newbies walk in and out of the upper deck seats during power plays. Another freak injury takes out a (McKee) player. Building starts stockpiling uneaten hot dogs and chicken strips for the free food game in March. Angelllla finally sues Game Time. Game Time staff finally sees a game unhazed by beer. Or not. Emmanual Legace cries openly. Inspired by the motherboard of Dan Doke Advanced Hockey Statistics Rk 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Player Keith Tkachuk David Backes Carlo Colaiacovo David Perron Paul Kariya Alex Steen Brad Boyes Tyson Strachan TJ Oshie Patrik Berglund BJ Crombeen Barret Jackman Roman Polak Eric Brewer Jeff Woywitka Mike Weaver Andy McDonald Brad Winchester Jay McClement Dan Hinote Can Janssen Jay McKee Yan Stastny Pos Corsi Rating +/- vs Team LW 7.7 -7 RW 5.3 -5 D 2.6 -2 LW 2.6 6 LW 2.5 2 C 2.4 -4 RW 1.4 -21 D 1.2 2 C 1 6 C 0 16 RW -0.1 -6 D -1.2 -13 D -2.3 2 D -2.7 -8 D -3.1 -3 D -3.3 -7 C -3.4 -10 RW -7.9 -5 C -8.3 -9 RW -16.5 -5 RW -17 -5 D -18.4 -5 C -25.4 -11 This table shows the Blues roster’s Corsi Rating. The Corsi Rating was initially developed by Jim Corsi, the goaltending coach for the Buffalo Sabres. The Corsi Rating measures a player by tallying the number of shots for his team during his shift minus the number of shots taken against his team during his shift. Shots that miss the net and/or goaltender are not counted, just like any shots that are blocked. This gives us a new way to look at the overall effectiveness of a player, whether playing forward or defense for the team. Additionally, we have included a statistic labeled as +/- vs Team. This stat shows each players’ plus/minus rating relative to the team’s overall rating. This +/- vs Team gives us a picture of which players are above the average and which are below the average for the Blues. Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 24 NHL Standings—Momentum Time Eastern Conference 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Boston Washington New Jersey Montreal NY Rangers Philadelphia Buffalo Florida GP 52 52 51 51 52 50 52 50 W 38 33 32 29 29 26 27 24 L OTL PTS 8 6 82 15 4 70 16 3 67 16 6 64 18 5 63 15 9 61 20 5 59 18 8 56 GF 181 171 159 158 133 160 156 142 GA 114 149 130 145 136 148 143 141 PP% PK% 24.0 83.1 23.5 78.7 19.1 81.4 16.5 82.1 14.7 87.9 24.2 83.1 20.4 85.4 16.9 82.3 Carolina Pittsburgh Toronto Tampa Bay Ottawa Atlanta NY Islanders 52 53 52 52 49 52 50 25 25 19 17 17 18 16 22 23 24 24 25 29 29 131 163 152 133 116 150 126 151 164 191 164 143 182 170 15.7 16.5 20.4 16.6 17.5 19.3 17.6 Western Conference 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 5 5 9 11 7 5 5 55 55 47 45 41 41 37 HOME 19-3-3 21-3-1 15-9-1 17-5-4 16-8-3 15-6-3 14-9-2 12-6-5 AWAY 19-5-3 12-12-3 17-7-2 12-11-2 13-10-2 11-9-6 13-11-3 12-12-3 L10 7-1-2 6-3-1 8-2-0 4-6-0 5-3-2 5-5-0 6-4-0 6-2-2 78.9 14-10-1 11-12-4 80.0 13-11-2 12-12-3 73.3 9-10-6 10-14-3 80.4 8-9-7 9-15-4 83.3 11-9-4 6-16-3 75.6 9-14-2 9-15-3 81.8 10-12-3 6-17-2 4-6-0 5-4-1 3-4-3 4-5-1 4-5-1 4-6-0 4-5-1 San Jose Detroit Calgary Chicago Anaheim Dallas Minnesota Vancouver GP 48 51 50 49 54 49 50 51 W 36 33 30 28 26 24 26 23 L OTL PTS 7 5 77 11 7 73 16 4 64 13 8 64 23 5 57 18 7 55 21 3 55 20 8 54 GF 167 188 158 164 152 146 131 147 GA 112 151 148 124 151 158 114 149 PP% PK% HOME AWAY 23.5 85.0 23-2-2 13-5-3 27.0 77.6 18-4-2 15-7-5 19.6 85.1 19-5-3 11-11-1 22.1 82.0 14-4-5 14-9-3 23.0 80.9 14-11-3 12-12-2 16.4 77.7 13-6-4 11-12-3 21.5 86.3 15-9-3 11-12-0 17.7 79.1 12-11-4 11-9-4 L10 7-3-0 4-4-2 6-4-0 6-3-1 4-6-0 7-1-2 6-4-0 2-5-3 Edmonton Columbus Phoenix Los Angeles Nashville Colorado St.Louis 50 51 53 49 50 51 50 25 24 24 21 23 24 21 22 22 24 21 24 26 24 139 138 134 126 121 142 145 154 146 157 137 142 157 158 17.3 11.8 13.1 18.7 14.0 17.5 22.3 6-4-0 5-4-1 3-7-0 5-4-1 5-5-0 3-7-0 5-3-2 3 5 5 7 3 1 5 53 53 53 49 49 49 47 75.7 81.0 80.9 82.3 84.3 77.3 81.6 12-11-3 15-9-1 16-8-2 13-11-6 13-9-1 15-13-0 12-10-3 13-11-0 9-13-4 8-16-3 8-10-1 10-15-2 9-13-1 9-14-2 Wish You Had Game Time When You Watch The Blues At Home? Subscribe! gallagher@stlouisgametime.com G AME T IME Page 25 St. Louis Blues Schedule and Results October January (continued) DATE Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct 10 11 13 16 18 22 24 25 30 Fri Sat Mon Thu Sat Wed Fri Sat Thu WINNING/LOSING OPPONENT SCORE RECORD GOALIE Predators 5-2 1-0-0 Legace/Ellis @Islanders 2-5 1-1-0 MacDonald/Mason @Maple Leafs 5-4 SO 2-1-0 Legace/Toskala Stars 6-1 3-1-0 Legace/Turco Blackhaw ks 4-3 SO 4-1-0 Legace/Khabibulin Red Wings 3-4 4-2-0 Conklin/Legace Kings 0-4 4-3-0 LaBarbera/Legace Panthers 4-0 5-3-0 Bishop/Anderson Hurricanes 0-1 5-4-0 Ward/Mason Novem ber Decem ber Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec Dec 3 5 6 8 10 11 13 16 18 20 21 23 27 28 30 Wed Fri Sat Mon Wed Thu Sat Tue Thu Sat Sun Tue Sat Sun Tue Mon Tue Thu Sat Tue Thu Fri Mon Wed Thu Sat Tue Thu Sat WINNING/LOSING GOALIE @Red Wings 3-4 SO 20-24-5 Osgood/Mason @Blue Jackets 4-2 21-24-5 C.Mason/S.Mason Oilers Avalanche Canucks @Predators Blackhaw ks Rangers @Blue Jackets @Predators Predators Coyotes @Stars @Coyotes SCORE RECORD OPPONENT SCORE RECORD @Wild Flames Coyotes Predators @Ducks @Kings @Sharks Flames @Capitals Wild Bruins @Red Wings Sharks Ducks Devils 0-4 3-4 OT 4-3 6-3 2-4 2-6 4-5 3-6 2-4 4-2 3-6 1-4 3-2 SO 3-4 3-4 10-11-2 10-11-3 11-11-3 12-11-3 12-12-3 12-13-3 12-14-3 12-15-3 12-16-3 13-16-3 13-17-3 13-18-3 14-18-3 14-19-3 14-20-3 DATE Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb Feb 2 3 5 7 10 12 13 16 18 19 21 24 26 28 Tue Fri Sat Tue Thu Sat Sun Tue Thu Fri Tue Thu Sat Sun OPPONENT SCORE RECORD OPPONENT SCORE RECORD WINNING/LOSING GOALIE SCORE RECORD WINNING/LOSING GOALIE Red Wings @Lightning @Panthers Stars Sharks Red Wings Wild @Oilers @Canucks @Flames Kings Canucks Blue Jackets @Blue Jackets April DATE 2 3 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 24 25 29 31 March WINNING/LOSING DATE GOALIE Backstrom/Legace Mar 3 Kipprusoff/Mason Mar 6 Legace/Bryzgalov Mar 7 Legace/Rinne Mar 10 Giguere/Mason Mar 12 Ersberg/Mason Mar 14 Nabokov/Mason Mar 15 Kipprusoff/Mason Mar 17 Varlamov/Bishop Mar 19 Legace/Backstrom Mar 20 Fernandez/Legace Mar 24 Conklin/Legace Mar 26 Legace/Nabokov Mar 28 Hiller/Mason Mar 29 Clemmensen/Legace January Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan OPPONENT February WINNING/LOSING DATE OPPONENT SCORE RECORD GOALIE Nov 1 Sat Penguins 3-6 5-5-0 Fleury/Mason Nov 5 Wed @Ducks 2-5 5-6-0 Giguere/Mason Nov 6 Thu @Sharks 4-5 SO 5-6-1 Nabokov/Bishop Nov 8 Sat @Kings 3-5 5-7-1 Ersberg/Legace Nov 12 Wed @Sabres 3-4 5-8-1 Miller/Mason Nov 14 Fri @Blackhaw ks 4-3 OT 6-8-1 Legace/Khabibulin Nov 16 Sun Canadiens 2-3 SO 6-8-2 Price/Legace Nov 21 Fri Ducks 3-2 OT 7-8-2 Legace/Giguere Nov 22 Sat @Wild 2-1 8-8-2 Mason/Backstrom Nov 25 Tue @Predators 1-0 SO 9-8-2 Mason/Ellis Nov 26 Wed @Avalanche 1-3 9-9-2 Budaj/Legace Nov 29 Sat Oilers 2-4 9-10-2 Roloson/Legace Nov 30 Sun @Thrashers 4-2 10-10-2 Mason/Pavelec DATE Sat Mon Wed Sat Sun Thu Sat WINNING/LOSING GOALIE Blackhaw ks 1-2 OT 17-23-4 Huet/Legace @Bruins 5-4 SO 18-23-4 Mason/Thomas @Blackhaw ks 2-0 19-23-4 Mason/Huet All-Star Skills/Young Stars Game All-Star Game Senators 1-3 19-24-4 Elliott/Mason Flyers 4-0 20-24-4 Mason/Niittymaki DATE OPPONENT Fri Sat Fri Sun Tue Thu @Hurricanes Blue Jackets @Canucks @Oilers @Flames Avalanche SCORE RECORD 2-3 5-2 6-4 1-2 1-3 5-2 14-21-3 15-21-3 16-21-3 16-22-3 16-23-3 17-23-3 WINNING/LOSING GOALIE Ward/Mason Legace/Mason Legace/Labarbara Roloson/Legace Kipprusoff/Mason Legace/Budaj DATE Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr Apr OPPONENT 1 2 4 7 10 12 Wed Thu Sat Tue Fri Sun @Blackhaw ks @Red Wings @Stars @Coyotes Blue Jackets @Avalanche Volume 4, Issue 26 February 5, 2009 Page 26 Not That Slick (continued) (Continued from page 1) Former McClement linemate Backes continues to leave an impression on fans, much like a mushroom stamp. They more they get of Backes, the more they want. He now has 17 goals on the season and continues to lead the team in penalty minutes with 127 PIM. That number of trips to the box shows the intensity Backes has been playing with this season. The possible future captain of the team leads the Blues in the nebulous stat “hits” with 126 on the season. Injured Roman Polak is second on the team with 70. Backes finished among the league leaders a year go, but is now 60 hits off the pace behind Cal Clutterbuck (more like Clusterfuck if you ask me). Backes is one of a small group of players to dress for every game this season joining Boyes, McClement and Barret Jackman in the 50 games played club. that he’s ruined for the rest of the season. Goalies are crazy, and part of the job is believing that the puck won’t get behind him no matter what. Hannu Toivonen didn’t believe that last season. Legace obviously doesn’t believe that this season. Who knows if he’ll regain it in the near future. With the Blues playing so well, it’s nice to see the Edmonton Oilers come to town. The Blues have lost five straight to this dysfunctional organization. Craig MacTavish has avoided getting the pink slip with a solid January where the Oilers posted an 8-4-0 record. But now he’s started February 0-2-0 with a 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks and a 2-1 defeat to Nashville. They play Detroit on Saturday during this mini tour of the Central Division. So, where is this team headed? I have no idea. There’s more cohesiveness on the ice as all the fucking new guys learn to play together. Some of the younger guys are more comfortable with their role on the team and with the speed of play in the NHL. Chris Mason is emerging as the starter in goal and the viable option for the team next season. Ales Hemsky is one of seven Oilers to have more than 10 goals. He leads the team, but with the modest total of 16. Combined with his 27 assists, he leads Edmonton in points with 43 on the season with 40 games played. The 25-year-old Czech native missed 10 games with a concussion. In his first two games back last month, he had four goals. In the six games he’s played since the injury, Hemsky has six goals and two assists. Color Andy McDonald jealous. There’s no doubt Emmanuel Legace cost the Blues the win Monday night in Detroit. He allowed three goals and none of them were considered very strong. After he was yanked and the Blues lost in the shootout, Legace called himself one of the worst players in the league. While I admire a guy for standing up and admitting he let the team down, Legace’s mood is like the pirate boat ride at Six Flags – it swings wildly from one extreme to the other in no time. If that’s what it takes to motivate him, fine. But I think that kind of attitude combined with the knowledge that he’s quickly losing any shot of regaining the starting job could pound him into a deep enough funk Sheldon Souray is a good offensive defensemen in the NHL, but not a great one. His 12 goals are fourth in the league among blueliners. His 20 assists are 25th and his 32 points are 10th. That’s a good season, no doubt. But considering he was signed to a fiveyear, $27 million contract after scoring 26 goals and 38 assists, he probably should be better. Hopefully his wife/exwife follows him on the road. Souray has been married to former Baywatch actress Angelica Bridges. Souray and the lovely red head are either still married or divorced depending on which website you believe. But according to questions posed to Souray on the Edmonton site, his most famous friend is Cuba Gooding Jr., his favorite super hero is the Incredible Hulk and his middle name is Sherrick. Must be a family name. Souray is third on the team in scoring. Fellow defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky is fourth. That can’t be a good sign for the Oilers. The former King Visnovsky has two goals and two assists in his last five games. His name also lacks the appropriate number of vowels. Nineteen year old Sam Gagner continues to be a big disappointment in his second NHL season. He only has one goal and two assists in his last 10 games. On the season he has scored just four goals and 13 assists in 44 games played. It’s very doubtful he’ll approach his 49 points scored during his rookie season last year. Of course the Oilers aren’t paying him a butt load of money to suck like Dustin Penner, but he’s still been arguably the team’s biggest disappointment. Dwayne Roloson is 39 years old. I had no idea. He’s playing pretty well, but hasn’t been rewarded with a nice won-lost record. His 2.75 goals-against average and 91.3 save percentage would suggest his record might be a little better than 16-12-3. It all goes back to Edmonton’s offense not being very reliable. Of course Roloson has a chance to get a win tonight. In 14 games played over his career against St. Louis, he’s posted a 1.89 GAA and stopped 94.1 percent of the shots he’s faced. Very impressive. I have no idea why the Blues are suddenly competitive. I have no idea why Legace sucks. I don’t know when McDonald will come back from injury or who the next player to get hurt will be. I do know the Oilers are the kind of team the Blues should beat, but it doesn’t mean they will. Let’s Go Blues! G AME T IME Page 27 Game Time Bingo! Bluie’s costume could use a trip to the dry cleaner. Bobby Plager is on the jumbotron. Someone takes out an official. Poutine Perron makes you say ‘wow.’ Spot the first fan Colaiacovo jersey. OSHIE! Tkachuk goes offsides again. Cam Janssen defends the pride of Eureka. A goal is scored in the first two minutes of any period. Hear people in the wrong jersey getting booed on the concourses. Mite game ends in a tie. Barret Jackman gives someone the ‘you’re an idiot’ look. You love Boyes so much that you should be in NAMBLA. “How much time is left!?” Mrs. Red Berenson Cowboy wearing a Rivers jersey. Andy Murray calls a time out in the first period. “Thank you!” Dancing Kid’s Sec. 307 really Angelllla draped all Q-Rating is wants to see over a former Blue. definitely dropping Towel Boy jump. in here. Patrik Berglund gets another point. Fight! Fight! Fight! PING! Someone hits the post. Time to get Strachan a big boy uniform number. Another $200 stick breaks at the worst possible time. Spot someone else filling out the GT Bingo card. Get five in a row in any direction and you win! Tales From The Least By Sean Gallagher Hey! NHL09 just gave me an idea for a cartoon! y You should totall ! up draw it Blah. Fuck it. Like A Swift Kick To The Nuts. St. Louis Game Time www.stlouisgametime.com