Summer Happenings1

What a summer it has been for us Blues fans. There has been a lot going on in the NHL and in St.Louis. Where should we begin?......

-How about that steal we got in the draft there. Dougie Armstrong just being him self and grabbing a first round talent in the second round in Vince Dunn. Kids an offensive dynamo from the back end. 56 pts in 68 games from the blue line. From what I remember he put up 4 bingos in 1 playoff game this year to. It will take him a bit to crack the Blues line up, like most young d men he needs to develop his own end and gain some strength to battle against men.

- Vladis Back BABY!!!!! 8 more years of watching this guy make goalies cringe.
60 Million well worth it. ------------------------->


- Sad day it was when Oshie left to Washington, especially when all we got was Troy Brouwer, Phoenix Coppley and a 3rd round pick. Oshie is worth more then that. I am hoping Dougie has something for us up his sleeve before next season. All the best Osh, once a Blue always a Blue.


What I feel we need heading into the next season would be a bonified 1st line center. Dont get me wrong Backes is a great player my favourite Blue. He is a 2nd line center though. Finding a 1st line player will be difficult but it is not out of the picture. Blues have pieces and prospects teams want. If we could just shift Backes down to the 2 spot it woudl be a phenomenal addition. In Dougies defence he did sign Stastny last year but he has been sitting in the 3 spot for 7 million. Someone who is available at the moment is Eric Staal, perfect St louis Blues player. imagine playing against Eric Staal first then bang David Backes comes at you. With those kinds of centers and Paul Stastny comes at you third I feel the Blues would be in the hunt for a deeper playoff run if Dougie could pull something off to aquire Staal if he is available. The guy has a cup ring and would look nice between Tarasenko and Schwartz.


Should be a very fun next couple of weeks here.

Go Blues

Tyler

Glendale Disaster

Wow, If anyone has been watching the news with hockey the past 48 hours and I am not talking about the Stanley Cup Finals here folks (although we should be ). I am talking about the absolute Debacle down in Arizona.


If you have not heard the news here it is. The Mayor of Glendale, Arizona has decided to end the lease agreement with the Arizona Coyotes and wants to re negotiate the contract. Now we all know hockey in the desert was a bad idea in the first place, the amount of ups and downs( mainly downs) has been plenty over the many years the 'yotes have been there. Just been one problem after another since the move from Winnipeg to Phoenix/Glendale. Now here are my thoughts on the disaster of a situation.

- Look they have No one there EVER, Dumb by the NHL to have them there in the first place Bettman should have picked a better pet project. The people who are there have no emotion anyway half them are just people from Canada flying down and watching cheap hockey. Move the team back to downtown Phoenix more fans will show from what i have heard and read myself. Glendale is a battle for people to get to.

1. Why would the City of Glendale sign a deal where they pay 15million a year to a team that they already built a $220+million Arena for they were just begging to get screwed in the first place. I do not blame the Coyotes for getting as much as they can they lost so much money as it is.

2. The Coyotes should just leave that disaster of a city and maybe go play in the Downtown arena with the Suns, think about it. - easier for people to commute to and from, and your dealing with a bigger city who would love to fill their arena schedule  41 more times a year. Plus you can laugh at Glendale for have a 220+ million dollar building sitting there empty.

- Check out the passion from this fan, the Coyotes should give her season tix for life based on this speech alone.

3. Let's go over potential landing spots for the Yotes. As far as I can tell Quebec and Vegas are out of the question. Bettman and the rest of the NHL owners arent willing to give up $500million each in expansion fees. So that leaves places with ready NHL arenas.

Seattle- They have been working on plans to build an arena for both an NHL and NBA team.
If Seattle had to house the team for now.... BIG IF. They could at the KEY arena, not an ideal arena since it is very old but it could be done. http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25177534/seattle-mayor-developer-open-to-nhl-first-plan-for-new-arena  Good link that talks about how Seattle is in the final process of starting to build an arena.

Portland- Has had signs of hockey success with the WinterHawks in the WHL who do sell out their playoff games and are high on the regular season tickets sold. They have a ready arena for Hockey with the Moda Centre ( home of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA). Can hold up to 19 500 people or so, already has the ability to play hockey ( Winterhawks are a tenant). Be a viable solution for the NHL.

In my mind these are the only two viable locations if the team decides to relocate, Kansas City has popped up in the Relocation talk but to me that makes ZERO sense. They have really never had much for hockey there and I don't think in a short term move it would really do well. Portland and Seattle have WHL hockey there and the cities know hockey very well.


All in All this is a disaster that is happening in the midst of a BRILLIANT Stanley Cup Final.

I have the Lightning in 7 because why are the Blackhawks allowed to win the cup every 2nd year Kane and Toews win enough already.Would love to see Stamkos get a cup especially after Marty St.Louis left for Greener grass and a eastern conference exit.......


P.S for Fun lets name the new Franchises.

Seattle would probably go back the the Metropolitans, or a fresh start With Earthquakes or Orcas/ Blackfish. Some Good choices.

Portland now this would be a tricky one to name. I have seen Mountaineers pop up which I bleieve is the front runner because they have NBA Trail Blazers and the MLS Timbers. Porland Lunberjax anyone??

Tyler

Off Season

Hello everyone,


Sorry been gone so long, I have been getting settled and had absolutely no idea what to write about after that debacle the Blues pulled against the Wild. I did not want to write a pissed off blog.



First off it was an awful series and myself and every other fan expected a bit more. After thinking long and hard about what happened, I picked out three reasons why we got knocked out.

1. Devan Dubnyk: kid got hot at the right time and it helped the Wild immensely.

2. Goaltending: Jake Allen is still young and will be a great goalie, but its so hard for a young goalie to start in the playoffs for a team who had cup expectations.

3. Scorers didn't score: Can't rely on Tarasenko and Shattenkirk to carry the team in the Playoffs.

So that is all I will write about the Playoffs because honestly I would like to forget about it like all of you guys. 

If anyone was paying attention today the Blues made the first big move of the offseason by Resigning my boy Ken Hitchcock, That is big a quick one year extension i find it short but as I have said in many of my Blogs I trust Doug Armstrong and he knows what he is doing. 

Up next for the Blues would be the Scouting Combine, Who should we draft? That is a god question.

We picked up Mr. Robby Fabbri last draft who absolutely killed it this year. Kid almost posted a goal a game in the OHL for the Guelph Storm( 30gp-25G-51pts) expect him to get his feet wet in a Blues uniform this season. If not he should be a force in the World Juniors next year and OHL. NOTE- Posted 4 pts in 3 games for Chicago Wolves ( Blues Farm AHL).

One more prospect I would like to talk about is Colton Parayko, Blues fans if you havent heard of him look him up. Kids a monster, 6'5 214ibs, junior Captain of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Signed with Blues and finished the Chicago Wolves season with them. Over his 3 seasons in Alaska kid posted 66 pitties in 104 games as a D man and then posts 7 pitties in 14 games with the Wolves. and got into 5 playoff games this kid is a Natural in a Blue Note, might take another season or 2 in the AHL but he will slot into the big lineup and wont look back just needs his shot.

Kids worn Blue and Gold his whole life from St.Albert to Fort Mcmurray and Alaska. Destined for the Note.

Now Who should we Draft?

No first round and a first round knock out. Dammit.

well Blues fans we have to wait for number 56 till we know who we got so for the hell of it I am going to guess who we might get. 3 chances obviously because chances are I will be dead wrong.

With the 56th overall selection the St.Louis Blues select......

Graham Knott, Niagara Ice Dogs, LW, 6'3, 190. Big kid just getting bigger to, watched this kid play this year a couple times. Fun to watch could potentially be a power forward. He was stuck behind Josh Ho Sang and Brendan Perlini but still managed to doubled his point total in 5 less games. I watched him 4 times this year and he was better every time. Could be a good pick but I could seeing him getting snagged a bit early he has a silky set of mitts and big.

Travis Dermott, Erie, Defense, 5'11, 197, Kid QB'd the deadly Otter power play unit with the deadly snipers you all know. ( Mcdavid, Strome, Debrincat) He has gotten better all year and that is a huge plus to a team who is deep right now. If he keeps growing at the rate he is this would make him deadly when his time would come to wear the note.- Mcdavid says he is amazing. 

Jeremy Bracco, U-18 NTDP, RW, 5'9, 176 Small size has plummeted as of late in the draft rankings.

Could be his size but he has an incredible skill set on him. He can put up points (94 this season), he also has 4 years to develop and put on weight at Boston College. Blues will let him develop, we have a lot of size up front and the ability to get a smaller stature kid who would be very good. Play making specialist would love to see him setting up the boys in the future.

All these players are ver talented and chances are none of them will be available when pick 56 comes around. Who ever we grab at 56 could turn into something special. Grab a strong player to develop for the future.

 Free Agency Blog will come soon going to do some research here and hopefully find some diamonds in the rough.

McDavid Going to Edmonton

As you all know The Edmonton Oilers have a Horse shoe right up their A**. Like 4 1st overall picks in 6 years this has to be some kind of joke. But it happened and now they are looking at adding Connor McDavid to their already young roster. Like this is unbelievable I am still quite stunned they pulled it off. Saying that I think McDavid will fit in very well in that team, especially if MacT starts making moves. If you have not seen the video of the Oil taking the Lottery here it is.

Now I know some people are pissed off that he is going there but I mean its a good spot for him ( especially because its not the Central). Here is the Reason why.

 Hall - Mcdavid - Eberle --------> Nasty in the future. OR  Hall-Mcdavid-Yakupov

The Oilers because of this whole situation are going to be gross in the future.
Now the reason I was writing this is to breakdown what Mactavish might want to do this summer to ensure the Oilers actually take a step forward into the future.


UFA Goalies

Honestly the only somewhat good goalie available is Antti Niemi (31yrs).
He is a Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks in 2010.


Other Goalie Options

RFA Jonathan Bernier: He has stole games for the Leafs in the past and if Mactavish is looking to upgrade the D to I believe Bernier could be the answer in net.  ( Only 26 yrs old ). They could even trade for his rights if they feel necessary. Bernier could grow with the other young talent here.


Defense

Everyone and their dog knows how atrocious the Oilers back end was like my God half the time it was like watching an AHL team play out there.

2 players I think they should keep is Justin Schultz and Oscar Klefbom ( decent 3rd pairing pushing 2nd) Schultz is a great Power Play defenceman but he is still young and could use the Opportunity to play with a couple older guys. Ference could stay in the 2 hole because he has won a Stanley Cup.

Darnell Nurse is going to need a year of seasoning in the AHL prior to coming up.

A player the Oilers could target in Free Agency is a guy like Christian Ehrhoff to come in and help but I do not believe he would come to Edmonton at his age(32) but Cody Franson(27) is also available by the looks of it and the Oilers do have MR. Mcdavid now.


Trades

The Oilers with the addition of McDavid now have some available ASSETS. Here are a couple names they could float around teams.

1. Leon Draisatl : Played pretty decent in his first taste of the NHL this year and he is not a future third line center. Now where to?
- Toronto Maple Leafs. This would go good with my Bernier Idea to bolster the goaltending. Now the Oilers and Leafs could create a Block buster here with Draisaitl+ 2016 pick for Bernier and Jake Gardiner. The leafs are looking to rebuild slow why not give up Gardiner to?

-The other option is turn this big body into a winger and develop him through the minors and he could be part of the change. Problem, the oilers need Defence and Goaltending more than anything.

2. Justin Schultz: They could easily sign and dish Justin Schultz he has not been as succesful to start his NHL career but I think that he could turn it around there. Hard to get rid of a power play quarterback.

3. Jordan Eberle: His name has floated in different places around the NHL throughout the season leading up to the deadline he didn't end up getting traded and played pretty well down the stretch.

First things First


Your going to need a coach to coach these guys, there is a few names out there and one whos contract is up but would be hard to swindle would be Mike Babcock. Do not think he is leaving Detroit, but let the Oilers fans dream. Todd Mclellan has just left the Sharks and could be a decent guy up in Edmonton.

2015 Draft

The Oilers also have a second first round draft pick which could be in the 15-18 range depending on how the penguins do in the playoffs. Couple names there could be.

Thomas Chabot- Saint John Sea Dogs, D, 66gp 12g 29a 41pts ---> solid d man smart player

Travis Konecny- Ottawa 67's, RW,  60gp 29g 39a 68pts ---> Hard to pass up if there great player.

Brendan Carlo, Tri City Americans, D 6"5---> Huge defenceman could be a nice fit. "Minute Muncher" 60gp 4g 21a 25pts

Honestly everything will be up to Craig Mactavish and it will be a fun summer to watch, the Oilers have by Hockeybuzz.com numbers about 18mil to spend and they should try and send some money around to bring in some help in the net and on the Blueline the front end is starting to come together for them and it will be scary being in the west.

Blues and Wild Game 2

So today is a pretty crazy day we have game2 coming up in a couple hours


Will Start with game two, it looks like hitch has changed the lines up a bit maybe spark something.

Here they are for you courtesy of Dailyfaceoff.com ( great site to mess around on )

Steen - Lehtera - Tarasenko

Jaskin - Backes - Oshie

Schwartz - Stastny - Berglund

Ott - Goc - Reaves

Gunnarson - Pietrangelo

Bouwmeester - Michalek

Jackman - Shattenkirk

Looks like Jake Allen will be in net again tonight. 

What we need to see tonight. 

What we need to see tonight is just building off the third period from last game that right there was playoff hockey. Our first two periods were played like a regular season game, in order to get the home game and tie the series we need to play playoff hockey. Hard Grindy playoff hockey.

-Block Shots

- Make Checks

- Hard crisp tape to tape passes 

- Shots with traffic and win battles for the rebound

- Win every puck battle and one on one battles

- Win races

More of this.    ->

Game Day Baby!!!!!! Game 1 Blog

Here it is, what the Blues have been working for all year!!! Playoffs has come and Game 1 is set to be great.

With what happened last night its set to be a battle from start to finish and nothing excites me more.

Will Start with a quick recap of last evenings games.


Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.4-3 win for Montreal.

Dont even have to talk about last nights win for Montreal its all about that Lumberjack Slash By Mr P.K Subban on Marc Stone. Postgame comments and lineup change has blood bath written all over the rest of the series. If you have not seen the video first off where have you been? second here is the video.

Speaking about line up changes looks like Chris Neil is in the line up because of the Injury to stone so heads up Subban.


Calgary Flames Vs Vancouver Canucks 2-1 win for Flames.

What a game this one was last night start to finish back and forth action. If you did not watch this game I would suggest tuning in on friday this series is alot of fun to watch. Sam Bennett was crazy good for the Flames buzzing every where all night and put up and assist on the GWG for Bob Hartley to have that kind of trust in a 19 yr old kid in his second ever NHL game means Bennett could be something. He was out there in the last minute of a tied hockey game. Here is the goal for all you guys that don't watch highlights.

Washington Capitals VS New York Islanders. NYI wins 4-1

NYI had their way last night in Washington, hopefully Ovechkin has a talk with his teammates to fire them up because that was not playoff hockey there in Washington and my expectations are a little higher in them. I have the Islanders winning this series but not this handidly. Holtby did his best but with no help its hard especially with that potent offense on the island. I enjoyed that shot by Brock Nelson there so I am going to post it because I can.

Now to the Main Attraction the St Louis Blues game.

Game 1, The boys earned the home ice advantage by taking the Central and the city is on fire showing there Blue for their Blues. #LGB

Jake Allen is getting the start and I am loving it he won a lot of key games to earn the Home ice advantage. I like Hitch playing the hot hand going into the Playoffs.

Keys to this series: Puck management, by this I mean good passes, good chips, and winning puck battles. Another huge key is good shots with bodies at the net Devan Dubnyk has been hot this season and we need bodies there to get greasy goals. Good thing we have David Backes the king of tipping. Lastly our fourth line is going to be key to give the Blues that spark they need,

Game 1. Just Grind, hit Ryan Suter and Zach Parise every time they touch the puck. The Blues need to just worry about each shift one at a time one battle at a time one faceoff at a time. It is going to be a long series so they need to just take it in stride. Don't get to horny in game 1 it takes 4 wins to win a series.


To get everyone jumpy here is Tarasenko's nasty goal against New York just for fun.

Big things baby Big things.





Projected Lines :

Jaden Schwartz-Paul Stastny- Tj Oshie

     

Alex Steen- Jori Lehtera- Vladimir Tarasenko

Dmitri Jaskin- David Backes- Patrik Berglund

Steve Ott - Marcel Goc - Ryan Reaves

Carl Gunnarsson - Alex Pietrangelo

Jay Bouwmeester - Zbynek Michalek

Barret Jackman - Kevin Shattenkirk

Jake Allen

                          * daily faceoff

http://www2.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/lines/38/st-louis-blues

Game 1 is going to the Blues 3-1 thanks to the backing of the Home Town crowd. 

Playoff Predictions and Post-Season Notes

This Stanley Cup playoff opening round is gonna be a good'n. A total of 5 Canadian teams will be competing, the playoffs haven't had this much beaver since 02.

Montreal and Ottawa are squaring off, and that series is completely up in the air. Barring any more injuries, I think the Habs take this one in 7. Both teams are red hot, but you can never bet against Carey Price.

I hope Tampa destroys Detroit, but it is Detroit so you know that won't be happening. I do give this to Tampa in 6 however, only because the magic man Datsyuk is showing his age, and I don't think he alone could carry the series like he once could.

Rangers and Pens is a series I couldn't care less about, but I hope the Rangers have their way with Pittsburgh. New York has so much talent up and down the roster, NYR should take this in 6.

Same thing applies to Washington and the Isles. Another match-up that could go either way, but I say Caps in 5. Solely because I had Halak in net in NHL15 and he couldn't stop a beach ball if he were an entirely brick wall.

In the west we have two teams that are just frustrating as all hell to play against, the Winnipeg Jets and the Anaheim Ducks. This is the sexy pick for an upset, but for some reason I don't think it'll happen. Anaheim is so big and so fast, they just attack you in endless waves. I give it to Anaheim in 7.

Another Canadian match-up between Vancouver and Calgary looks to be a heated one. Calgary has the heart of a lion, so I say Flames in 6. 

Blues in 6 because screw the Wild.

Finally, we have the Preds and Hawks. It was just reported big UFA Vermette will be a game 1 healthy scratch. Not a great sign. Hawks are touched by the playoff Gods though, I bet Hawks in 6.

Cup Finalist: St. Louis Blues
Winner: Montreal Canadiens
Conn Smythe: Carey Price

It's incredible how the lowest amount of points this year is 97. Playoff bound clubs in today's game have their skilled players spread throughout the roster. Gone are the days of the goon. Players need to be more that scrappers and shot blockers, which is why Patrick Roy scares the hell out of me. He's openly praised the work of Nate Guenin and Brad Stuart, who are possibly two of the worst defenders in the league. Bigras, Geertson and Siemens seem poised to crack the opening night roster, so I vote we ditch the dead weight and open up cap space and playing opportunities. I hope Roy looks long and hard at some breakout plays and studies how the "pros" do it (Chicago, St. Louis, ...)If the Avs end up drafting a forward with their #1 pick, they need to go for a big goal scorer. Avs have guys who can set up the plays, but they need somebody other than Iggy/Landy who can bury a puck and wreak havoc in front of the net. Trading up in the draft wouldn't be such a bad idea, this year is supposed to be one of  the most talented crop in a long time.



Brian

What a year! Playoff Battles.

Well two games left and what a dog fight it has been this season. The Jets have almost clinched there spot with 2 games to go thanks to some brutal calls last night. Like the one on Paul Stastny when he scored like C'mon ref he barely tapped Tyler Myers stick there. Here is some video of it let me know what you think. I think the Ref has balls on that one. Just a great battle by Paul.

My Playoff preview.

Blues have battled hard all year and they are still battling for that home ice advantage out of the Central division. Thanks to that call last night The Nashville Predators are still tight, which makes it interesting.The Blues can end up playing either the Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks or the Minnesota wild come the first series I will write a small piece for each series.

Minnesota Wild  Season Series 2-1 Minnesota with one game left on the 11th of April.

These guys are hot right now with solid goaltending and winning key games scary going into the playoffs but the Blues are made for playoffs with big front end and solid defence to wear teams down every game. Here are the Players the Blues would have to keep an eye and are key contributors to the teams recent success. The Blues will have to finish their checks every time against Zach Parise, Ryan Suter. Will also need to shoot lots and get infront of Devan Dubnyk due to his recent hot streak.

- Key Players.

Zach Parise 73GP-32G-29A-61pts

Parise is the man here in Minnesota, if he is not going offensively the team tends to struggle in the Goal scoring department. Parise has a full two way player element to his game and tends to carry the bulk of the load here in Minnesota and plays very well with his linemates Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund. Last year in the playoffs Parise put up 4goals and 10 assists in 13 games so he can step up in the playoffs for this team.

Ryan Suter 76GP- 2G-36A- 38Pts

Ryan Suter. the man who plays over 30 minutes a night consistently. He is the backbone of this team along with Parise when they came together to Minnesota they were the new centerpiece and have done just that. But Suter this man is a Camel like how on earth does a man play over 33minutes sometimes. Its Blasphemy! He does it with ease and makes great outlet passes and stops the opponents best players. 

Devan Dubnyk .938svp 1.73

Who is this guy??? 2 years ago he was getting laughed and booed out of Edmonton and blamed for their brutal play. Now he has 27 wins in 38 games for the Wild and is being praised for bringing them to the playoffs. 

Series Prediction 4-2 Blues experience from Oshie, Backes and Stastny will overall take us forward.

Winnipeg Jets.  Season Series 3-2 Blues 4/5 were decided by one goal

The Jets have to be the grittiest team the Blues have played and definitely the most fun games to watch. This series would almost call for Blood these two Hate each other on the ice be a crazy series to watch all around. Here is a video of Reaves and Peluso going at it for your pleasure take it as preview to a great series. These two guys just don't give up and that is how this series would be from the first puck drop.

Key Players for Winnipeg.

Captain Andrew Ladd. 80GP-24G-38A-62pts

Well you can't talk about the Jets without mentioning Ladd the man has got 2 cup rings which is scary because he knows how to win. Ladd plays a solid two way game and will do whatver it takes to win games for his team and ultimately is the reason the Jets have come together to win games.

Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien 

Myers- 23GP- 3G-12A-15 pts ( Just Winnipegs stats)

Buff-68GP-18G-27A-45pts

On defence the Jets have two absolute BEASTS in Big Buff and Tyler Myers who they picked up at the deadline. These two monsters would be scary to come down on but the Blues love it it gets the juices flowing they wanna finish the check everytime and Assert dominance. Worth to note that Buff can also play forward and has a cup ring from the Chicago days so he knows how to win aswell. Myers is hungry from being at the bottom with the Sabres for so long so these two are hungry big guys.

Ondrej Pavelec 2.35GAA and .919 Svp

Starting goaltender here who is in his prime now and hungry to win in Winnipeg. He has had some good games although he battled an injury this year. This last line of defence is usually very reliable for the Jets and the Blues will need to get that traffic in front all series and score the greasy goals to take the series.

Prediction: 4-3 Blues this one will go all the way because Winnipeg will have a disgusting advantage at home. The MTS center will be gross loud for the Jets first playoff run in the new era. The Blues will have to make sure to win every game at home. This will also be such a tough battle every night with one long OT win for the Blues.

Chicago BlackHawks Season Series 2-2 with the series decider tommorow in STL

Another tough team and huge rival to the Blues this season and every other one, Kane has been injured most of the year but has started skating in hopes to make the playoff run. These teams go at eachother every game and the last years playoff series was a 4-2 victory for the Blackhawks behind the likes of Johnathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Who have nack for winnning.

Key Players.

Toews Kane combo. 

Not even going to put their regular season totals up there just there playoff performances will do the talking. For this combo we need our best D men making it hard for them all night every night if this series were to happen. Barret Jackman and Jay Bouwmeester would be a nice combination of older mature defencemen to just play a stay at home smart simple game against them. 

Toews Playoff NHL totals 6 years in the NHL 94 gp 29goals 52 assists and 81 pts Toews enjoys the playoffs. 2 cups

Kane playoff totals. 93gp in 6 years 37goals 57assists 91pts

These two need to be stopped if the Blues want to keep moving on.

Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook

These two are also workhorses for the Blackhawks and love the challenge of shutting down top lines and also scoring on them just to rub it in that they are better. Probably the second best Defensive combo behind the Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk St louis Blues combo. Keith and Seabrook have 2 Stanley Cups and can be deadly in the Playoffs if you take it to easy on them or dont go into every battle strong. 

Keith  93gp in playoffs 12 goals 42 assists 54 pts

Seabrook 89gp in playoffs 12goals 34assists 46 pts

These defencemen are key to the Blackhawks yearly success and the Blues will have to play to their strengths and should not have the problems they did last year with the bolstered lineup who wants to win more then anyone else.

Corey Crawford.

Crawford has been a real playoff performer year after year with a strong defence in front of him and the ability to make key saves is huge to the Hawks success. The Blues will need Backes to be right in front of him tipping pucks past him and pissing Crawford off so that he lets in a few weak ones and the Boys will be off to the second round! 

Crawfords playoff success in stats. 56 starts 32W 23L .920% 2.21GAA '13 Cup ring

Now lets go over the Blues keys to succeed in the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Blues will need to keep the pedal to the metal and stay fundamentally sound.Don't take chances and let the strong defensive play lead to goals and keep the puck safe with smart dumps, chips and easy passes. Play to the Strengths of the team wear opponents down with consistent hitting and be in everybody's way. Play playoff hockey sacrifice for the final prize in the end. Block shots make hits and grind out wins because they wont be easy.

Key players.

The Captains 

David Backes, Tj Oshie, Alex Pietrangelo, Barret Jackman, Alex Steen

These boys will have to take it upon themselves because if i know anything about Ken Hitchcock its that the Playoffs are for the Players. He has coached them up to here and they know everything they need to know system wise and Hitch will let them know what they need to know for each series but the boys need to find it in themselves to be succesful.

Brian Elliott

He has earned the starting role and earned the chance to lead this team into the playoffs. The Blues put Martin Brodeur in an Executive role and hopefully he can rub off on Elliott and instill that confidence we know he has to be there and stop all the pucks he needs to stop as well as make some saves he has no business making because that is what wins the big games.

The Blues have been building their team for this chance this year with the additions of Zbynek Michalek and Robert Bortuzzo these guys have that added grit skill that we needed. In order to win the whole team will need to step up to the plate and get those greasy playoff wins on the Road and at Home.

Blues Sleeper Playoff hero: 

Steve Ott, this guy was made for playoff hockey he is an animal on the ice finishes every check and also can get into peoples heads. Can score and is one of the Blues top penalty killers. Bred for the Playoffs. He has played 40 playoff games in his NHL career so he knows how to get here and is hungry to get deep.

He can fight too.

Blues and Flames

Here it is folks the night all us Blues fans have been waiting for. It is time the Blues clinch that playoff berth. After tonight anything can happen.


To start tough news on the Blues front with Steen and Tarasenko going down with injuries. Its going to be weird lineup card tonight in St.Louis, the depth the Blues have is remarkable so they will not miss a beat against the Flames tonight. It is also good to note that St.Louis has called up Ty Rattie from the Chicago Wolves tonight and he will be on the right side of Lehtera and Jokinen. Rattie has been on a tear in his lats 5 games his stat line reads - 4G- 6A- 10P. So you know the kid is coming in hot against the team he grew up watching out of Airdrie AB.



What we need to see tonight.

We need to see the gritty Blues tonight against those pesty Flames that never give up. Come out strong and never stop, the flames look for that inch and take a mile so the Blues can't give them anything this evening. Jake Allen will need to be hot to give the boys a chance especially with the new lines Hitch has put together.


What we cant see.

What ever happened in those absolute debacles against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vancouver Canucks.

Congrats to Zbynek Michalek for putting in his first as a Blue the other night against Vancouver he has been getting better every night just in time for the post season.



projected Lines tonight

Jaden Schwartz - Paul Stastny - T.J. Oshie

Dmitrij Jaskin - David Backes - Patrik Berglund

Olli Jokinen - Jori Lehtera - Ty Rattie

Steve Ott - Marcel Goc - Ryan Reaves       Courtesy to the Blues Website

Jay Bouwmeester - Alex Pietrangelo

Zbynek Michalek - Kevin Shattenkirk

Barret Jackman - Robert Bortuzzo    Blues Website

With Jake Allen getting the start tonight.

Prediction: Big Win for the boys to end this losing streak with Ty Ratties first NHL goal coming as the game winner. 3-1 win for the boys.

St.Louis Blues vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Finally Kevin Shattenkirk is back in the mix, its a good thing he can get some games in prior to the Stanley Cup playoffs. This is huge if your a fan like myself, Shattenkirk brings that all around style to the game and bolsters our back end immensely. Ken Hitchcock and Doug Armstrong are jumping for joy knowing Shatty will be back in the lineup those 25 games were tough without the obvious #1 beside Pietrangelo. Shattenkirk had 40pts in 49 games prior to going down so that production was missed badly and the Powerplay is even deadlier with him back on the Blue line.

To the game now the Blues have played columbus 1 other time this year and that did not end well for us St.Louis fans. The game was a complete and utter disaster and that is the only way to put it. 7-1 ass kicking at the hands of the disaster they call the Columbus Blue Jackets over in Ohio. Mind you the Jackets are a good team who have had some bad luck this year due to injuries. There is no way they should have wiped the floor with the Blues and the proof will be in tomorrow's showdown at the Scottrade Center.

Line Up vs Jackets

Steen-Backes-Oshie

Schwartz-Lehtera-Tarasenko

Jaskin-Statsny-Berglund

Ott-Goc-Reaves

Gunnarsson-Pietrangelo

Bouwmeester-Michalek

Jackman-Shattenkirk

Im guessing Elliott will be starting seeing as Allen Started the Last Couple

Prediction: 5-1 for the Blues baby. First Star will be Jaden Schwartz with 2 g's and 1 apple

Bold Game Prediction: Shatty Buries a powerplay Goal and assists on 1 of Schwartz's tallies.

Mock Draft 2.0

Hey everybody sorry we have not been posting much as of late, just been busy as hell.
Here is my second mock draft or the 2.0 version of it. I used the Lottery simulator again and got Colorado out of it who seemed to have a measly 3.5% chance of winning it. This just goes to show no matter how hard Buffalo tanks they still might not get Connor Mcdavid.

Before I post this draft I just want to comment on the recent St.Louis Blues run, its been music to my ears and amazing to watch them get that number one spot in the central and be in talks for the presidents trophy this season. With 8 games left they need to hold up that spot to secure home ice advantage throughout the western conference playoffs. I have been enjoying the recent play of Brian Elliott, just hope he has an extra push in him heading into the post season as the bonified number one goalie.

Paul Stastny, what can't I say about him the man has found his game in recent weeks and has looked really good with his line mates Dmitri Jaskin and Patric Berglund. Stastny has also been putting up lights out on the Powerplay

One last comment here, how about them Calgary Flames? They have found their game here and are almost a lock to make the playoffs as long as they keep up their play. Sean Monahan has looked great in his sophomore season and Jonas Hiller has stole them some games. I really like what they have done there in Calgary, with the " no quit attitude" and " never say never" style of play.


With out further a do my Mock Draft 2.0, I have it pretty bang on with where everyone is picking and the picks traded at the deadline here.

1.Colorad Avalanche: Connor Mcdavid. C, Erie Otters

            Well obviously Brian would like to see the Avalanche make the post season but cannot complain about this "consolation" prize. The generational player that would definitely be a key piece to the Avs turning into a dynasty. I could see a cup coming in their future if this happened.

2.Buffalo Sabres: Jack Eichel, C, Boston University

      Hobey Baker finalist and first freshman to lead the NCAA since Paul Kariya. Excellent number 2 pick and with his recent snapchat he sounds like he wants to be here. Hey Jack! Buffalo is coming for you!      

3.Arizona Coyotes: Noah Hanifin. D Boston College.

           Cornerstone D man coming out of the NCAA, this kid will be the best defence man from this draft class. All around with a gifted offensive upside. Hanifin will take care of his own end first and then help the team score.

4.Edmonton Oilers: Dylan Strome, C, Erie Otters.

             Ontario Hockey League leading scorer, played majority of the year without Mcdavid and even when Mcdavid played, they were the 1-2 centers. Will be a great #1 center.

5.Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner, C , London Knights

           OHL runner up, this kid just puts up points any way possible, hard worker with a nose for the net and never back down attitude. Leafs could use a goal scorer to start the build around

6.Carolina Hurricanes: Lawson Crouse, LW, Kingston Frontenacs

           Big kid, good skater, with heavy shot. I think I really like the idea of Crouse going to Carolina to learn from some pretty good NHL power forwards in the Staal brothers. Crouse is starting to grow on me. I was sceptical of him in the top 10 even after world Jr's but lately now that Sam Bennett has been back in Kingston he has really showed what he can do when surrounded by better players. In Carolina I believe he would get that.

7Columbus Blue Jackets: Ivan Provorov, D, Brandon Wheat Kings

        Arguably one of the most complete defence man in the draft, he makes playing the game look almost to easy. 

8.Philadelphia Flyers: Mathew Barzal, C, Seattle Thunderbirds

           Easily my second favourite in the upcoming draft, Injury sidelined Barzal at the start of the season but that did not stop him from almost leading his team in pts with 23 less games played. Its not the pt totals that I love about Barzal its the fact that he makes everyone around him look that much better with his Hockey IQ and vision. He can find an open teammate through small windows and when its time he will put that puck in the net.

9.New Jersey Devils: Miko Rantenan, C/RW Turku Finland

           200 ft player who has a nose for the net and is not afraid to get dirty, lays big checks to make plays and can put the puck in the net too.  Like most 18 year olds needs to grow into his body but this Finnish prospect has game.

10. Dallas Stars: Zach Werenski, D, Michigan

           Freshman defenseman who skates very effortlessly and makes smart plays with the puck. Think he could use some seasoning in the OHL he was drafted by London in the 2015 priority selection. If he stays at Michigan it wont be bad for him either.

11. San Jose Sharks: Oliver Kylington, D, Sweden

             Solid all around defenceman, Good skater, good shot and plays well in his own zone.

12. Florida Panthers: Timo Meir, RW, Halifax Mooseheads

 44 goals this season in the QMJHL, always in a position to score, not afraid to shoot the puck.

Could add some more scoring touch to the young high flying Panthers.

13. Ottawa Senators: Travis Konecny,C/RW, Ottawa 67’s

 Konecny is a very skilled player and is strong determined hockey player, highly skilled, sees the ice very well, and he can score whichever way is needed. 68 pts 60 games as the Captain of the Ottawa 67's dont think the Senators would pass on this guy could potentially be a top 3 guy in the NHL in my opinion.

14. L.A.Kings: Filip Chlapik, C, Charlottetown Islanders

 Highly skilled center who is a visionary playmaker but also can put the puck in the net when given the chance.

15.Boston: Nick Merkley, RW, Kelowna Rockets

High end talent out of Kelowna, Merkley plays a 200ft game and likes to find the open teammate when he sees him. Plays a complete hockey game. 

16.Winnipeg: Pavel Zacha, C, Sarnia Sting

     All i can say is this big guy likes to hit. Makes the big check and sees his teammates wherever        they are likes to shoot the puck. Can be used in all situations.

17.Minnesota:Kyle Connor, C, Youngstown

Off to Michigan next year. Two way forward, Connor does a lot of things well and is a pass first kind of player but has a good shot he could use more. Has a lot of potential.

18.Washington: Yevgeni Svechnikov,RW,Cape Breton

Pro caliber shot and skating, still needs to work on his two way game but he can protect the puck very well, consistency is an issue. 

19.Calgary: Jakub Zboril, D, St.John

Excellent all around defender that is a great skater and knows how to use his footwork to be in all situations. Handles the puck well and makes good passes and good accurate hard shots. 

20.Vancouver: Jeremy Roy, D, Sherbrooke

Best offensive defence man in the draft, constantly joining the rush, good skater and solid on his skates to be an effective NHL defence man

21.Detroit: Colin White, C, USNTDP

Future Boston College player who skates well protects the puck well and can score in many ways, will be successful two way NHL player.

22.Edmonton(Pitt):Brock Boeser, RW, Waterloo

UND commit Prototypical Pro style player, All around player who protects the puck finds holes and can score goals set them up and play in his own zone. Will need the seasoning and UND hopefully Edmonton can give him that time.

23.Arizona(Chi): Daniel Sprong, Rw, Charlottetown

Highly skilled player, who still has alot of his game he needs to develop but there is no denying his potential with his already high end skill set.

24.Buffalo(NYI): Brandon Carlo, D, Tri City Americans

Lose Tyler Myers? Thats Okay! 6'5 Brandon Carlo will fit in to that spot albeit Carlo doesnt have that offensive ability Myers had. He plays a defensive defence man type game but he plays it well. He will be a future minute munching D man in the NHL.

25.Philadelphia(TB):Paul Bittner, LW, Portland

Power forward. Is all you have to say about Bittner, plays both ends of the ice and will look good in the Black and Orange.

26.Toronto(Nash): Thomas Chabot,D, Saint John

Another one of the All around defence man in the 2015 draft, being a deep draft Chabot lands here today. Reads the play well and knows how to pick and choose his spots to jump in. Plays solid two way game. The Leafs need anything right now.

27.Anaheim: Jansen Harkins C, Prince George Cougars

It is hard not to like Harkins, shift by shift player and works extremely hard. He is a great faceoff guy which will definitely bring teams to want him even more.

28.Tampa Bay(NYR): Jake Debrusk,LW,Swift Current

Smart player who is willing to grind it out, High hockey IQ, another one of those players that makes his line mates that much better. Not afraid to take a blue collar approach to the game.

29.Montreal: Jordan Greenway, LW, USNTDP

Big 6'4 power forward, good hands for a big guy and sees the ice pretty well. Wins many of his board battles, so he knows how to use his size to his advantage could move up the board if some one really likes him.

30.Winnipeg(Buff Via STL):Jeremy Bracco, RW, USNTPD

I believe Bracco will sneak into the first round here, he is highly skilled with a never give up attitude and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Has excellent acceleration and I think any team that is smart enough to take a chance on him will be very happy you did.