February 2012
2 posts
Lighting the Lamp
After ten long days without Blues hockey, local fans will see the new and improved Los Angeles Kings return tonight to try and grab two more points from the Note. Jaro Halak suffered both losses to the Kings earlier this season and will get a third chance tonight to avenge the Blues most embarrassing loss so far, a 5-0 shellacking in the City of Angels. The playoff-contending Kings reached the...
January 2012
17 posts
Lighting the Lamp
Led by snipers Evgeni Malkin and James Neal, the red-hot Penguins have won six games in a row. Both players scored their 26th goals of the season Sunday in a thrilling overtime victory over Washington. Pittsburgh’s offense, ranked sixth in the league, is still potent, despite the absence of Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal, both on IR with concussion and knee problems respectively. The Pens...
Lighting the Lamp
If the Blues organization is looking for a musical theme for this season, I would highly recommend Ringo Starr’s 1971 signature song “It Don’t Come Easy.” Watching the Blues offense and power play struggle recently against teams like Minnesota, Dallas and Edmonton has us all fully aware that we ”Got to pay your dues if you wanna (cheer for) the Blues.” Yes,...
Lighting the Lamp
Yes, your memory is good; the Edmonton Oilers were here just a scant two weeks ago. And here they are again to do battle with the Blues in yet another game that can see the Blues retake first place in the Western Conference and tie the Rangers for first in the entire league. After losing in Edmonton in October, the Blues fought back to overcome a two-goal deficit with three third period tallies,...
Lighting the Lamp
Just like the Minnesota Wild, a team the Blues struggled to defeat in overtime Saturday, the visiting Dallas Stars also employ a defensive trap system that makes it difficult for opponents to score against them. The Blues, directed by assistant coaches Scott Mellanby and Ray Bennett, broke through the Wild trap and managed a season-record 49 shots on goal. Only the spectacular play of goaltender...
Lighting the Lamp
Thursday’s heartbreaking overtime loss to the Canucks was a not-so-subtle reminder from the hockey gods that the Blues still have some problems to work on, and they are not new problems by any means. The inability to finish plays, especially during the second period, and score on four power plays continues to plague the Note and keep them from stepping up to the truly elite level of the NHL....
Lighting the Lamp
As we pass the half-way point of the season, Blues fans are on cloud nine with the realization that we have what is shaping up to be a pretty good hockey team. There are still some kinks to be worked out, yet overall the Note is starting to show dominance and mastery over all on-comers, be it at home or on the road. Despite an average of four players missing every game due to injuries, the Blues...
Lighting the Lamp
In more ways than one, tonight’s contest against the Colorado Avalanche is another watershed game that will define and determine how good the Blues really are this season. A year ago, the Note was basically at the same point it is now, with a winning record (8 games over .500) and in playoff contention. However, a disastrous January saw home losses to Dallas, the Rangers, Phoenix,...
Lighting the Lamp
The Blues long January home stand continues tonight with the second of eight games against teams lower in the standings. These are must-win games in which the Cock wants the Blues to get their ” ‘A’ game out there from a checking stand-point” and stay in the offensive zone with as little time as possible in the defensive zone. It means getting “ready to be played...
Lighting the Lamp
As the new year begins, Blues Nation is still reeling from a disastrous two-loss weekend which saw reality set in, reminding us that this team, even with the Cock, still has a lot of work ahead in order to become a serious contender for Lord Stanley’s Cup this spring. A glaring inability to score goals, especially on the power play, exposes the team’s fundamental weakness. The first...
December 2011
9 posts
Lighting the Lamp
The battered and bruised Blues return home to the Arch City with their minds bent on revenge in the Motor City tomorrow night after a devastating, bitter loss on Tuesday. However, first they must contend with the visiting Nashville Predators, who have won the first two games of the series this season defeating the Blues 4-2 on opening night and then 2-1 in a shoot out in Music City earlier this...
Lighting the Lamp
If there is one NHL team I just can’t get excited about or even want to see play, it’s the Dallas Stars. Not only do they play a low-scoring, trap-style defensive game, they have arguably the plainest, most boring jerseys in the league. Their best player (goaltender Kari Lehtonen) is on IR, their best defenseman (Sheldon Souray) is a reject from the defensively challenged Edmonton...
Lighting the Lamp
It’s really amazing how a couple of weeks of winning hockey has stimulated the media in St. Louis to actually acknowledge the Blues exist. Yesterday’s headline in the sports section of the Post-Dispatch was not about Albert Pujols for the first time in weeks, and even Bernie Miklasz has finally noticed the brilliance of GM Armstrong and Coach ‘Cock and written about the Blues....
Lighting the Lamp
The visiting New York Rangers are currently one of the best teams in the NHL. They are as good on the road as they are at home, bolstered by the excellent play of goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Marty Biron (who actually has better stats than “King Henrik”). Either one could be a major problem for the still somewhat offensively challenged Blues, ranked 25th in goal scoring and still...
Lighting the Lamp
When the NHL schedule was released, today’s date was circled by many Blues fans as a reminder to get must-have tickets. It isn’t just another ordinary hockey game in St. Louis. All eyes will be on the coaches’ line match-ups to see if the visitors’ number 19 is anywhere near the Blues number 57 on the ice. The game within a game will be just part of a hard-hitting,...
Lighting the Lamp
If it weren’t for Michael Eisner, Jon Avnet and Emilio Estevez, the visiting team tonight might be the Seattle Thunderbirds or the San Diego Gulls. However, due to the talents (and capital) of the head of the Walt Disney Company, the producer of a movie and a veteran movie star, the Anaheim Ducks come winging into St. Louis to do battle with the Blues in a not-so-premiere NHL matchup. The Ducks...
Lighting the Lamp
The Chicago Blackhawks return for a second bite at the Blues’ tonight and the stellar play of the Note under the big ‘Cock recently has fans drooling over the prospect that the Hawks will leave empty-mouthed and still hungry again. Less than a month ago, Jaro Halak and the Blues shut-out the Hawks 3-0 to start the 8-1-2 string under the new coach. In those games, the Blues have allowed an average...
November 2011
6 posts
Lighting the Lamp
Just like the Blues, the visiting Los Angeles Kings have not won a Stanley Cup during their 44 year history despite an assortment of star players and a rich hockey heritage. And also like the Blues, the Kings relatively poor performance in the last decade has afforded them a significant number of high amateur draft choices with which to bolster their roster. No less than 10 players on the current...
Lighting the Lamp
Another rare visit from an Eastern Conference team tonight sees the new-look Florida Panthers come to do battle with the Blues. The Note has had a great deal of success against the Panthers, earning 14 victories (and tying three) in 24 games overall. Of course, the Panthers have been one of the least successful teams in league history, holding the eighth worst record among active teams and only...
Lighting the Lamp
The Detroit Red Wings are on a wild roller-coaster ride, driving along like a drunk driver in a bait car. Their fans must be nauseated and dizzy from all the ups and downs! The Red Wings got off to a great start, winning their first five games, outscoring opponents 18-7. Then they promptly lost the next six in a row, outscored 6-22. And now the octopus-boys have won four in a row by scoring 18...
Lighting the Lamp
The Tampa Bay Lightning makes a rare appearance tonight in St. Louis, only their third visit since the NHL lockout. Although the Blues control the over-all series (16-10-3), they have only defeated the Bolt once since the lockout, and that took overtime in Florida. Otherwise, they have lost all four games played against the Lightning, outscored 20 – 14. The Blues will be hard pressed to stop the...
Lighting the Lamp
As Chicago hockey fans invade the Trade-stocks Center this evening, be prepared to endure a bevy of Blackhawks jerseys, the most appropriate tonight bearing the name and number 22 of Igor Korolev, who played 192 games for the ‘hawks around ten years ago. Of course, Korolev also played 147 games for the Blues, wearing number 38 over two seasons (1992-4). An illustrious assembly of Blues alumni...
Lighting the Lamp
Just like the Blues, the visiting Vancouver Canucks find themselves in somewhat of a quandary over their play during the first month of the season. Unlike the Blues, however, the Canucks are heavily favored to repeat a trip to the Stanley Cup finals this spring and their inconsistent play and middle-of-the-pack performance has disappointed their long-suffering fans who expect, no demand, a...
October 2011
3 posts
Poor start to road trip
What a shame…
The Blues squandered an opportunity to establish a good road game, coming out flat in the first period and allowing the Dallas Stars to score just enough to eke out a 3-2 victory.
The shots were a plenty in the first period. Kari Lehtonen stopped all 12 of the Blues shots with ease, while Jaro Halak allowed a 5-hole softy on the 12 shots from the star-less Stars. The Blues...
Lighting the Lamp
It only took one game for hope and optimism to turn to doubt and despair for Blues Nation as the Nashville Predators Rinne’d the Blues Saturday night and spoiled the home opener in front of a noisy, boisterous, capacity crowd. It’s a shame they didn’t have more to cheer about. Thankfully, one game does not a season make. Goaltender Pekka Rinne clearly outplayed his Blues counterpart (Halak allowed...
Lighting the Lamp
Finally, hockey is here. After what seemed like an interminably long summer, Blues fans eagerly await the drop of the puck tonight as the Blues usher in the new season by hosting divisional rival Nashville in the home opener. Although not all the questions concerning the ownership of the Blues have been answered, General Manager Doug Armstrong and his staff have resolved roster deficiencies that...
April 2011
6 posts
-30-
Another season that started off with a bang quickly turned into just another disappointment after all as the Blues fell apart in a game in Columbus last November and never recovered. The Note hosts the playoff-bound Nashville Predators tonight and is giving you, the fans, the sweaters off their backs as a small token of appreciation and gratitude for supporting them. Your odds of winning a...
Untamed Youth
So, even after five long years the hockey gods are still relentlessly displeased and wrathfully unhappy with the professional hockey club in our town. And apparently nothing we fans do has much impact on the gods’ desire to favor us with their largesse and our just rewards. No matter how many “sellouts” we help bring about, and no matter how many jerseys, pucks and autographed sticks we buy at...
Moving to Quebec
One of the many benefits of being one of the foremost St. Louis hockey insiders is knowing the most important people in the Blues organization who can accurately tell me what’s going on. And I also happen to know some important people in New York who have given me the scoop on what will transpire this summer after the NHL meeting in late June. Brace yourselves.
It’s pretty much a done deal...
March 2011
10 posts
High Anxiety
We have all experienced anxiety, that upsetting mental state usually caused by an impending or expected misfortune. In its extreme form, anxiety can cause physical symptoms, such as sweating, headache and an increased pulse, and severe emotional distress—is this threat real, and how can I possible handle this stress? Do these symptoms sound familiar? They should.
Blues Nation is suffering...
FOR SALE by OWNER
Wow! It’s like déjà vu all over again. The Blues are “FOR SALE by OWNER.” Perhaps now you can understand why I call myself a time and space traveler since I was at this point with the Blues almost exactly five years ago to the day. It took five years to travel back five years in time just to be in the same space. The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?
What’s really a...
Detroit Metal City
There was a time last November when those of us looking ahead on the schedule thought the game tonight against the hated Red Wings would have special meaning. Especially considering the great start the Blues got off to—setting a franchise record for most points at the beginning of the season—we were drooling about the importance of tonight’s game. It looked like it might be a significant factor in...
