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St. Lou, MO NHL Hockey - Favorite Pro Sport of the Sith and other Evilbeings

Discussion in 'MidWest Regional Discussion' started by jedigal, Dec 7, 2000.

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  1. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, the game tonight was not AWFUL, but it could have been a lot better. The Blues were OFF more than they were on. Passing and puck handling were atrocious much of the night. Someone was always getting off sides, I don't think there was a single instance of 60 or more consecutive seconds of gameplay. The Blues played like crap until the last minute of the 1st period, then came out in the second period and couldn't figure out how to play until that was half over. The third period started with Blues on the power play, and they wasted that away. They did play well (and dominated) MOST of the third period, and managed to tie it up and force overtime, but it was just a very weird game. No flow to it. And they really leaned on Turek. He made some truly spectacular saves.

    #%$@ officials seemed to think that the Flyers are a bunch of Dudley Do-Rights, a penalty could happen right in front of them and if a Flyer was doing it they wouldn't see it.

    All I can say is thank god we weren't playing one of the top teams, cuz we would have been slaughtered.

    Anyway, Blues 1 Flyers 2 in Overtime brings the Blues season record to:
    27-7-4-1 St. Louis Blues STILL (could have been tied for 1st if we'd've won) second in NHL with 59 pts.
     
  2. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Woohoo! Blues over Mighty Ducks 4-2.
    Unfortunately Colorado beat Columbus last night so the Avalanche is still ahead of us by 1 point.

    Tonight's game,
    St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks (9:30 CST)
    is a BIG game.
    Two of the best teams in the entire NHL! I know it's late, but it should be great. (Hey, that rhymed.)
    San Jose is tied with Detroit (Detroit sucks!) for 3rd in the league, and Blues of course are second (to the Avalanche who don't play again until Friday (vs. Minn. Wild, so they will still be tops in the NHL)).

    Friday night, I recommend as a good match-up
    Detroit (sucks!) Red Wings at Dallas Stars (7:30 CST).
    Dallas is currently 5th in the NHL, and Red Wings will either be 3rd or 4th depending on whether Sharks win or lose tonight.
    Check it out!
     
  3. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    A sad day.
    :(

    Well, actually, it's early, and I'm not sad, but rather cheerful this morning. But there is sad news for Blues fans.
    Sharks 6 Blues 3
    Just another example of why the Blues should NOT lean too heavily on their goalie. B/c there are going to be times when he doesn't come through.
     
  4. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, folks, here's an update on the situation of the VERY BEST hockey team in the NHL. That's right, the best. We may be one point behind the Colorado Avalanche, but they have played two more games than us.

    Thurs Blues let the Sharks walk away with it all, San Jose 6 St. Louis 3.
    Sat, Blues trounce LA Kings 4-2.

    Sunday a truly beautiful event occurred: Chicago Blackhawks skated to a tie with Colorado. Excellent performance Hawks!

    Current Season Records:
    Colorado is one point ahead with 28-8-7-1
    Blues are 29-8-4-1
    San Jose is 26-11-6-0 and
    Detroit is 25-13-4-4.
    San Jose and Detroit are tied for 3rd in the league.

    My "Impossible Dream": Detroit gets shut out of the playoffs! Ah, dreams....

    Games that are, IMO, worth watching:
    Any Blues game! They are
    Tonight vs. Phoenix Coyotes
    Thurs 1/18 in St. Louis vs. Oilers
    Sat 1/20 in St. Louis vs. Canucks
    Sun 1/21 at Nashville Predators
    Also,
    Tonight Detroit vs. San Jose (See above)
    Tues 1/16 Detroit vs. Vancouver

    And, let me just mention in passing, for the record,
    Detroit sucks!
     
  5. JediJeff13

    JediJeff13 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 27, 2000
    My beloved Hawks - making a move for the post season!! Still a couple players short of a great team, but there's a ton of talent in the minors that will hopefully develop.
     
  6. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Yeah, that Blackhawks game would have been great to see. Of course, I like to see anyone beat up on Colorado and Detroit. Anyone, anytime. Crush those b.... um, anyway...

    Last night's hockey sucked. I didn't get to see any of it, but here's why I don't care for the results:
    Phoenix 3 St. Louis 1 (Geez, Blues, those dogs, uh I mean Coyotes, aren't even any good)
    Detroit 3 Sharks 2 (not that I like the Sharks that much, but, as we all know, Detroit does suck)

    Tonight if you're home and have cable (or if you're lucky maybe it'll be on your regular tv) and are up that late, check out
    Detroit in Vancouver at 10pm CST.
    And root for Vancouver of course.

    Thursday night if you choose not to watch the Blues drill the Oilers you might look into these good match-ups:
    Washington Caps vs. Ottawa Senators
    Vancouver Canucks vs. the CO Avalanche (again, root for Vancouver!)
     
  7. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Um, bad news.

    Yep. Very bad.

    The worst.

    Those darn red things from Detroit are third in the NHL, and only ONE POINT BEHIND the Blues.

    Geez, I wish.... Ooooops. It's not nice to wish bad things on other people, even the sucky red things. So, INSTEAD, I wish the Blues would REALLY START KICKING SOME ASS!!!

    LET'S GO BLUES!

    Sorry about the shouting. I tend to get loud at hockey games. What? What's that you say? I'm not at a game, I'm in the office? Oh.

    Do you bleed blue?
     
  8. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, I will not be home this evening so noone will be at my house in front of the telly cheering for the Blues. They have to face Edmonton all by themselves. Er, well, at least, without me, their number 1 fan.

    Please please please play good tonight, Blues!!!! The Oilers are NOT worthy of winning against you! Kick some booty!

    Great Buffalo, please infuse the Blues players with your courage, strength and stamina!

    :::reaches out hand, sending powerful Force vibes to the Blues lockerroom:::
     
  9. JediJeff13

    JediJeff13 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 27, 2000
    Oh, I bleed Blue - Chelsea Blue!!!

    Oi! Oi! Oi!
     
  10. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Thank you, Great Spirit. I will make the ritual sacrifice this evening.

    OK. Last night, Blues 4 Oilers 1

    Tomorrow as an appetizer before the Blues strangle the Canucks at 8pm CST there might be a good game at 5pm as the Sharks attack the Avalanche.
    And of course Sunday check out the Blues again vs. the supposed Predators.

    Current Standings:
    Colorado is first in the NHL with 69pts, and only two teams can really compare right now, the Blues (of course) with 65pts, and the Red Things (Detroit) with 62pts. And the Blues have played 3 fewer games than Colorado (and 4 fewer than Detroit) so we know which team is really tops!
    The Avalanche 30-8-8-1
    St. Louis Blues 30-9-4-1
    Detroit (sucks) 27-13-4-4

    BLUES ROCK!!!!!
     
  11. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    WOW! It's been almost a month since my last hockey thread update! Well, no one's been bumping the thread, clamoring for it, so I don't feel too bad.

    I've been super swamped and busy. In fact, I'm not even ready with an update right now.

    I'm just gonna say this: Two upcoming Blues games to watch are
    Tonight vs. Calgary Flames and
    Fri 2/16 at Chicago Blackhawks
    Expect Blues to win both games.

    I'll give a more complete Blues update possibly as early as tomorrow, but definitely BEFORE Monday.

    Only 6 weeks left in regular season play. This is when things really start to get exciting!
    (Heh heh, they've been great all season, but I still get wound up as the season progresses.)
     
  12. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    OK, a lot has been happening since I last reported in.

    INJURIES:
    The Blues have been plagued with injuries. And always, it seems, to our best and brightest. Murphy must be very happy. Currently the injured reserve list includes (but is not limited to):
    Tyson Nash
    Pavol Demitra
    Al MacInnis
    Chris Pronger
    Michal Handzus
    Bryce Salvador
    Reid Simpson and
    Reed Low.

    LAST 13 GAMES:
    The Blues, despite being practically a minor league team due to injuries, have kicked ass. Oh, compared to the first 13 games of the season it may not look that way, but here's what we've had:
    7 Wins
    3 Losses (1 in OT) and
    3 Ties
    What is MOST notable about this is the consistent high quality of play the Blues have exhibited, which is underlined by the fact that the above games included:
    --- A WIN vs. the NJ Devils, who are possibly the best team in the Eastern Conference,
    --- An OVERTIME LOSS to the San Jose Sharks, one of the top 5 NHL teams
    --- A WIN (although in OT) against the ***COLORADO AVALANCHE*** our toughest competition, and
    --- A TIE with rivals the Dallas Stars.
    Most people would not have expected such strong performances from the weakened Blues team. Are we beginning to see a team that is capable of rising to a challenge? A team that could win the Stanley Cup? We'll see.

    LAST NIGHT
    The Blues allowed Calgary the first goal of the evening, and then proceeded to snuff the Flames.
    St. Louis 4 -- Calgary 1
    That win brings St. Louis to a total of 83 points, and makes them the ***--- NUMBER ONE TEAM IN THE NHL!!!!!!!!! ---*** That's right, the Blues have one more point than the Avalanche, and have played one FEWER games.
    Way to go Blues!

    UPCOMING OF INTEREST:
    ***** Tonight *****
    St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks
    and during commercials and between periods, check in on
    Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils (should be a good contest)
    ***** Saturday, 2/17 *****
    Colorado Avalanche plays. Toronto Maple Leafs
    The Avalanche should smother the Leafs, the game's primarily of interest to me b/c of the point contest between Col. and StL.
    ***** Sunday, 2/18 *****
    Detroit Red Wings at Dallas Stars
    You won't often hear this from me, but "GO STARS!"

    ONLY 7 (I think) WEEKS LEFT IN THE REGULAR SEASON!!!!

    CURRENT STANDINGS (Top 5 NHL Teams):
    37-11-7-2 St. Louis Blues (83 pts)
    36-12-8-2 Colorado Avalanche (82 pts)
    33-16-5-4 Detroit (SUCKS) Red Wings (75 pts)
    32-15-8-2 Ottawa Senators (74 pts)
    31-15-10-0 San Jose Sharks (72 pts)
     
  13. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    "Not tonight, Dear. The Blackhawks are in town."

    Do you bleed Blue?
     
  14. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Here's the week's word in the realm of NHL hockey.

    Friday the 16th the Blues gave a disappointing performance against the Chicago Blackhawks, losing by a big margin, 2 to 6. I guess they used up all their energy on the Flames the previous evening. Let's hope they learn to play well for more than game in a row before we get to the playoffs. If you opted to watch the Penguins play the Devils, you saw a much better show, they skated to a 4 - 4 tie.

    Suprisingly enough, Saturday the 17th, the Avalanche was unable to conquer the Toronto Maple Leafs. They tied 5-5. Since Colorado only earned one point for the tie, they and the Blues are tied for 1st place in the NHL.

    Sunday Detroit (which sucks) won (which figures) against the Stars, final 2 to 1.

    No new injuries to the Blues, and I believe that Reed Low is now back in action. The Blues play Monday and Tuesday, while Colorado plays only on Monday. This will get leave them at the same number of games played, and hopefully gives the Blues a chance to increase their lead over Colorado. Colorado is currently winning their contest against the competent Pittsburgh Penguins with a score of 5 to 1 in the middle of the 3rd period.

    Notable Match-ups for this week:
    ***** Tonight, Monday 2/19 *****
    Blues vs. Florida Panthers
    NJ Devils vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
    ***** Tuesday 2/20 *****
    Blues vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (if the best team in the league can't beat the worst team in the league, no matter HOW many nights in a row they've played, then there's something very wrong in the universe.)
    LA Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers
    ***** Wednesday 2/21 *****
    Take the day off from hockey. All the games appear to be pretty one-sided.
    ***** Thursday 2/22 *****
    Vancouver Canucks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
    Buffalo Sabres vs. NJ Devils
    LA Kings vs. Calgary Flames
     
  15. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, so much for getting any points AHEAD of Colorado. How about just keeping up? I guess we'll see tonight.

    Last night's game (Panthers SHUT OUT Blues, 3-0) just goes to show the ONE UNDENIABLE TRUTH about the St. Louis Blues. They're d@mned unpredictable. You never know when they're gonna rock n' roll, and when they're gonna cave in.

    But if they don't win tonight, I'll be PRETTY UPSET!
     
  16. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    On the other hand, the Panthers are in the middle of a resurgence.

    This loss also makes the third time that the Blues have tied their longest losing streak for this season - two games. So expect a win tonight, they're due, and the Lightning are crap, but don't expect a good game, we should really be skating circles around them.
     
  17. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Yep, the Blues are unpredictable. At least by me. Man, Turek really needs to get his sh!t together. If he could be anything like consistent, then we could make it through this time with all these injuries. 3 losses in a row! That just sucks. (Suck is a registered trademark of jj13. Used by permission.) Oh yeah, the score, 4 to 2, Lightning. A nice feather in their cap.
     
  18. SteelLepp

    SteelLepp Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 1, 1998
    I agree. We played awful against the 'Hawks but we played well enough against the Panthers and 'Ning but Turek let in some pretty soft goals. Also, what was with some of those penalty calls in the game with TB? The penalty against Hecht (that the game winning goal was scored on) for clearing the goalie's stick when he's on the other side of the crease. Give me a break. Anyway, let's go Blues.

    Catch ya later
     
  19. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Right, penalties galore against the Blues. And a bunch of pansy-@ss penalties at that. Sheesh. I guess the officials forgot that hockey is a contact sport.

    We need to get some good mojo working for Turek. Anybody got a spare Jedi amulet?
     
  20. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Ok, here's the Friday version of my bi-weekly Blues/NHL report.

    The bad news speaks for itself:
    CURRENT NHL TOP 5 SEASON RECORDS
    38-12-9-2 Colorado Avalanche 87pts
    37-14-7-2 St. Louis Blues 83pts
    36-16-6-4 Detroit Red Wings (SUCK!!!!) 82pts
    34-16-8-2 Ottawa Senators 78pts
    33-17-10-0 San Jose Sharks 76pts

    Given that a Blues loss will result in Detroit moving up to the number two spot in the conference (and the NHL), obviously I'm going to be watching the Detroit/St.Louis game tonight! Not that I expect the Blues to win. Why?
    1) We're still practically a minor league team. Our injured reserve list reads like a Who's Who of Blues players: Nash, Demitra, Low, MacInnis, Pronger, Handzus, and now Todd Reirden.
    2) In their last 10 games at Joe Louis Arena, the Blues have only won once, posting a 1-7-2 record.
    3) Even with the whole team, the Blues have not beaten Detroit this year. The October game was a 1-2 loss, and the December game was a 2-2 tie.

    Here are some other hockey events that I will be keeping tabs on over the next several days:

    ***Tonight Fri 2/23***
    7pm Coyotes vs. Sabres
    8pm Blues vs. Red Wings
    8:30pm Thrashers vs. Blackhawks

    ***Saturday 2/24***
    4pm Canucks vs. Senators
    8pm Wild vs. Predators
    8:30pm Bruins vs. Blues

    ***Sunday 2/25***
    8pm Stars vs. Oilers
    8pm Blue Jackets vs. Ducks (What's the point, you say? Well, they're tied for last place in the conference. I'd expect to see some scrambling to get out of that hole. [face_mischief]

    I'll even give an early 'heads up' for Monday
    ***Monday 2/26***
    8pm Sharks vs. Blues
    8pm Panthers vs. Devils (No contest, you say? Well, if the Panthers are still hot, it could be! As most Blues fans can tell you, never say never.)

    LET'S GO BLUES!!!!!
    >>>AND<<<
    GET WELL BLUES!!!!!
     
  21. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    PRONGER HAS RETURNED!
    Hallelujah!

    After their biggest losing streak (4 in a row) the Blues come back with an overtime win against the Bruins, 3-2. We did NOT play badly against the Red Wings the prior evening, but there just was no SPARK, no VAVOOM, even when the Blues controlled. I didn't see the Bruins game, but I'm guessing that having Pronger back made a huge difference.

    Still out on injured reserve are: Demitra, MacInnis, Handzus, Nash and Low. If we could get Demitra back soon, that would help tremendously. And let's hope Pronger keeps that knee healthy.

    The bad news: We've let Detroit take over 2nd place in our division. And of course, missed one more opportunity to prove we CAN play against that team, our big nemesis.

    News from the Eastern Conference - Two easy wins against the New York Rangers and Islanders have bumped the Penguins up several points. Now they are tied for 4th in that conference. Go Penguins!

    Season Record for the Top 5 NHL teams:
    40-12-9-2 Colorado Avalanche 91pts
    38-16-6-4 Detroit Red Wings 86pts
    38-15-7-2 St. Louis Blues 85pts (but we've played 2 fewer games than Detroit :))
    35-16-8-2 Ottawa Senators 80pts
    Tie for 5th:
    34-17-10-0 San Jose Sharks 78pts
    33-18-10-2 Philadelphia Flyers 78pts

    Here's my watching picks for the week:
    ***Tonight Monday 2/26***
    Sharks at BLUES 7:00pm
    ***Tuesday 2/27***
    Kings vs. Predators 8:00pm (These teams are 9th and 10th in the conference, and would both like to gain that last slot in the playoffs.)
    Senators vs. Sabres 7:00pm (Better caliber teams than above might make for a more interesting game.)
    ***Wednesday 2/28***
    Panthers vs. Rangers 7:30pm (Just as an appetizer for the following two.)
    Blues vs. Oilers 9:00pm
    Stars vs. Canucks 10:00pm
    ***Thursday 3/1***
    ********************
    Non-Blues GAME of the Week:
    Sharks vs. Senators 7:00pm THIS ONE SHOULD BE GOOD! Playoff type action before the playoffs begin.
    ********************

    LET'S GO BLUES!!!!!!!!

    "Taped Red Wings game over wedding video."
    Do you bleed Blue?
     
  22. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, last night the Blues won by a landslide, 7 to 2, over the Sharks.

    BUT IT WASN'T WORTH THE PRICE!
    Only halfway through the 1st period of his second game since knee surgery, Chris Pronger is out with a broken arm for at least the remainder of the regular season.

    Can we do it without him? (In addition to our other injury losses?)

    I dunno.

    On the one hand, last night's win couldn't be attributed to Pronger, but on the other hand, I didn't see the game. Did we play well, or did the Sharks just suck?

    And just for the record, I am way jealous of the two people I know (including my husband) who went to the game last night. Way jealous! Mad, almost. Ah well, some 20,000 people had to be there. [face_mischief]
     
  23. jedigal

    jedigal Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 21, 2000
    Well, the loss to the Oilers really hurt. (4-2) Our Blues didn't play bad, but they didn't play the way they can, the way that has turned them from a mediocre/good team into an excellent team and future Stanley Cup contender.

    Defensively, even without the BIG 2 (Pronger and MacInnis) the Blues still rock the house. But offensively, they don't seem to have any cohesion. I have a theory that, b/c our injured players are all men that get a lot of time on the ice, that all of our lines are messed up, lacking leadership and familiarity with each others' style of play. And don't even get me started on goaltending. I don't DISlike Turek, but IMO, we should have NEVER traded Cujo. I hated that trade when it happened, and I'm liking it less and less every day. Turek's not bad (major understatement of course! he's an excellent goalie) but I like Cujo better.

    DETROIT vs. ST. LOUIS
    Well, what I'd really like to see is St. Louis vs. Colorado in the Western Conference finals. So, who is our nemesis? Detroit of course. Yes, both Dallas and San Jose can be tough, but I have confidence in our ability to prevail against those teams in a best of 7 series. So why do I think we CAN beat Dallas/San Jose where I'm not so sure about Detroit/Colorado? Frankly, those top teams psyche us out. We choke against them. The other two, sure they can beat us. SOMEtimes. But not the way Detroit and CO do. Frankly, I think we could unpysche our way to a win against Detroit, b/c I think when healthy we've got a better team. But with CO I'm not so sure. They are GOOD!

    Anyway, back to Detroit vs. StL. Didn't someone (me) say something silly in an earlier post about not facing the D again this season? Well, I think so, so just see my sig. I dunno WHAT I was thinking. We'll be playing them twice, Sat March 10, and Wed March 28. How we do in those games will be an important indication of what's to come in the post-season (IMHO).

    I've also looked at the rest of our season and the rest of Detroit's season, comparing the level of difficulty the two teams face in their opponents. It looks pretty level to me. So I expect we'll end up where we are now. In second or third place in the conference, within a no more than three point margin of each other.

    OTHER NHL NEWS
    *Keep your eye on the NJ Devils. They're hot!
    *Last night Senators eat up the Sharks 8 to 4. Must have been a great game!

    WEEKEND FORECAST
    ***Tonight, Friday 3/2***
    Blues vs. Canucks 10pm CST
    Go out and party early, this is the only game worth watching. There's some decent match-ups but only between bottom rung teams, all the other games should be game/set/match.
    ***Saturday 3/3***
    Penguins vs. Capitals 7pm CST
    Blues vs. Flames 10pm CST
    and keep an eye on the score of Red Wings vs. Kings at the same time.
    ***Sunday 3/4***
    Not much of a day for hockey. But if I'm home I might peak at this, Hawks are a long shot for a playoff slot and Carolina needs a win to keep their playoff slot.
    Blackhaws vs. Hurricanes 3pm CST
    ***Monday 3/5***
    Take the night off from hockey! ONLY TWO games being played, one we can be definitive who will win (Flyers will kick Bruins asses) and the other one WHO CARES who wins (Rangers vs. Islanders - I guess maybe some NY folks might care).

    That's all folks!

    As always - LET'S GO BLUES! MTFBWY!
     
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