Caught this link to Homer McFanboy today on PuckDaddy's Puck Headlines. Apparently Michal Neuvirth is the exact same person as Bjork. Hm.
Well, at least we didn't have to deal with this last night. His goaltending didn't make sense - I can't imagine if it were Bjork in goal - it'd probably make even less:
Anywho, pointless, I know, but after the last two games I think that Thrashers fans need something to laugh at.
I'm not going to whine too much about there only being two members of the Blues and two of the Thrashers up there, because both teams fly under the radar and didn't make the playoffs last year (and obviously this season's ballot was all about the playoffs *coughNiemicough*). I am beyond happy with Enstrom and Byfuglien getting their names up there, since they are the top scoring defensive pairing in the league. And, of course, Halak is more than deserving of being on the ballot as well.
I do feel awful, though, that TJ Oshie has a broken ankle for his first crack (sorry) at making the team. Chances are pretty good he won't be recovered in time for the game, soo... Blues fans, how about we try to get another guy on there for consideration? It'd be atrocious is the team with one of the best win percentages in the league doesn't have a rep out there. Who do you think the most appropriate write-in is for STL? I personally wouldn't mind seeing David Perron tooling around there. He already has experience in the Young Stars game, and we all know how close that is to a real life hockey game. Only with shorter periods and 110% less excitement.
Someone needs to tell Frenchie to not talk to the enemy.
Actual positive injury related news. It does exist! Like Santa, or talking giant M&Ms. Anyway, Bryan Little's set to make his return from his concussion and facial lacerations sustained against Buffalo on October 29th. The Thrashers have won only two of those six games that he's missed, so to say that Bryan Little isn't an important part of this line-up because he doesn't constantly score is very much ill-informed.
Also the players are practicing the shoot-out, and Ramsay has to remind them that it's their job to score during said drill? Outstanding. Someone needs to pick up for Kozlov in this department, and with Hedberg gone both Mason and Pavelec need to improve their SO stats big time. Here's hoping we just win tomorrow in regulation.
Just announced by the team, the Blues have re-signed star power-forward David Backes (also known as Chuck Norris's hero) to a five year, $4.5-ish million a season contract extension. It had been reported that negioations had stalled, which of course led to all sorts of Bleacher Report spectulation. Well, BR, wrong again, eh?
David Backes now makes more money than the dude in the blue bear suit will ever see in 10 lifetimes.
Gallagher over at Game Time has a good pro/con breakdown. Valid questions, and they tend to come up every time a guy is signed for big money with a no trade clause - now that he has the dough, and now that he's not being moved, will he slack off? Can Backes have another season like the year before last where he scored 31 goals and nailed 4 in a game against the Red Wings? No one knows. We don't have a magic 8 ball to shake, and if the Blues had one right now you'd probably shake it and it would get concussed.
Backes' re-signing is more important for the intangibles than for the stats. The team's a hodgepodge of secondary scoring. It has been for the past season, when Brad Boyes decided to no longer score goals. Signing Backes shows a commitment, much like when Erik Johnson was re-signed, to locking up the talented core of players and to giving them time to grow and develop together as a cohesive unit. It might cause some traffic jamming later on as far as contracts go, but some will go before we re-sign youngsters to long contracts. Backes is also a fan favorite, and the Blues probably would rather not deal with the disgust to be fired at them if the team loses someone who stands a pretty good chance of being captain when Brewer's tenure in that position ends.
On-ice, Backes is the heart of the team. He's not scared to play rough, to get into a fight, or to score - basically, he took that old "whatever it takes" motto to heart, and you want a guy like that on the team, both in the locker room and on the ice. The Blues draft smart, but there's no benefit to drafting smart if you don't keep who you draft. St. Louis recognizes the difference between bargaining chips and core players, and they made the right call by determining that Backes was one of the latter.
No, it won't be as bad as last night's debacle, that saw half the crowd get there at the start of the 2nd period thanks to the Gulch and surrounding lots being full (BTW, thank you for the $20 fee to park in the lower level of the CNN Deck - if it's like that tomorrow I'm turning around and parking topside). Saturday night might be a night to get there early and have a snack at Dantanna's. On top of the huge influx of Penguins fans that appear at Philips, The Stand Campaign is holding an event at the Georgia Dome expected to draw 40,000 people. Plan accordingly, get out an extra bit for parking, and head down there. I'm not sure what time the event starts (I can't find a time) but I'm sure that it'll probably be at puck drop. Because that's how the owners of Philips and the Dome coordinate.
UPDATE: According to Blues GM Doug Armstrong, Oshie is out for three months after ankle surgery. So, well, yay.
2010-11-11 15:02:00
ST. LOUIS - T.J. Oshie, one of the St. Louis Blues' top forwards, will be out indefinitely with a fractured left ankle.
Oshie was injured in an 8-1 loss Wednesday night at Columbus when he and another player fell to the ice and his leg got caught. Oshie leads the Blues with 10 points, scoring one goal.
The Blues recalled forward Nick Drazenovic and Chris Porter From Peoria, Ill., of the AHL in time for Thursday night's game against Nashville. Drazenovic leads Peoria with six goals.
So, yep. The 12 game home winning streak is on the line and tonight's call up is Nick Drazenovic... who is the Rivermen's leading scorer. How the hell is Peoria even icing a team? They're three games over .500, but I wonder how long that'll last with their best players playing stopgap for the Blues. Have fun with this tonight, Nashville. Lots of young kids for you.
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You hear that, Predators?
I refuse to recognize that there was a game tonight, but I can't refuse to recognize that TJ Oshie has a broken ankle and it requires surgery. So, for those of you playing along at home, the IR is looking like this:
If you didn't make it through the Game That Never Was, here's the hit that took down Osh - not the initial hit (nice ass-bump, Voracek. Holmstrom'd be proud), but the tackle by Samuel Pahlsson at the scrum at the end that caused Oshie to land on his ankle wonky.
Like it? Buy one from RinaWear.
Taking the body is one of the most important aspects of hockey - you have to knock the opponent off the puck and create turnovers and chances to move up-ice. It's not all about seeing if you can kill someone (though that's really fun in NHL11, especially if you're playing the Habs and controlling a player taller than 6 feet - go after Brian Gionta and see what happens). It's a valid strategy that's vital to hockey. Apparently in honor of the Blues playing the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight, Justin Bourne of The Hockey News has decided to highlight the skills of TJ Oshie in doing so. I've long said that Oshie is a pinball on skates out there - he's got more energy than some teams have as a whole. He is an expert at knocking people off their skates and off their game. Apparently Teej has a "method."
But with the Oshie method, you don’t have to get blasted - it just involves a little deception.
The trick here is to keep skating like you’re willing to get to the puck first and take the hit. Smart players used to work to get themselves against the glass here (as opposed to coasting), so their opponent would bounce off them and they wouldn’t have to deal with the extra feet of separation between them and the boards that can be so dangerous.
Oshie is particularly adept at acting like he doesn’t know his opponent is there or that he’s going to go in and take that hit up against the glass.
You have to keep your feet moving to make it look like that’s the plan, but prepare to plant your skates nice and early. Before you approach the boards, you dig in, turn back and land a stiff shoulder into the chest of the guy who’s all excited to get a free shot on you.
Given the direction you’re moving, you can rarely generate enough force to blow the guy up and since it usually appears to be minor, if not incidental contact, you almost never get an interference call. It’s right on the line between clean and dirty, but definitely in the category of “effective,” as contact rarely comes that early.
If someone wants to make an infomercial for The Oshie Method, be my guest. That thing'll be posted here and at Game Time so fast your head'll spin. Heck, get Chara in there to testify to its effectiveness. Better yet, how about just chatting up Rick Nash for a testimonial. He's an old pro at getting Oshied.
Some fun stats:
In retrospect, I should have posted this yesterday afternoon so the Thrashers could have studied it. As someone who has watched St. Louis light Turco up repeatedly, I've found the "top secret" (read: everyone knows it apparently but the Thrashers) way to score on Marty Turco. He's often times out of position, laying prone on the ice, or giving up a horrible rebound, and you have to take advantage of that. So, for future reference, any teams that want to defeat the Blackhawks and score on Marty Turco, here. Just follow this diagram:
