Legace Expected Back Saturday

by Brad Lee on Jan 17, 2008 9:10 AM CST

Hey look, it is the whole season sitting on the ice

By Brad Lee

Barret Jackman can probably sleep easier tonight knowing that All-Star goaltender Emmanuel Legace is probably ok after his collision last night with asshole Blackhawk forward Patrick Sharp.

With just under five minutes left in the first period in the Blues' demoralizing 6-1 loss at Chicago, Sharp was skating in on Legace. Jackman was trying to catch up with him and gave him a nudge (or you could call it a push) into Sharp's back as they arrived at Legace.Â Sharp,Â who lost control of the puck and didn't even get a shot off,Â took that as an invitation to try and blow Legace up. You could argue that Legace was pretty far out of the crease and Sharp couldn't anticipate where the goaltender would be, but Sharp made no effort to avoid contact. Here are two pictures of the collision:

At least his knee did not hit Manny in the head

Unfortunately Sharp ended up in the net and not impaled on something sharp

After the game, coach Andy Murray said it was just a bruise and thatÂ LegaceÂ will be in net on Saturday for the free food game vs. Nashville. God, we hope so because Marek Schwarz looked like a deer standing on Interstate 70 near Wentzville staring at three oncoming semis each doing 80 mph. You knew it wasn't going to end well.

We don't think you can debate Legace's importance to the team. But what you can debate is the heart of the Blues. When Legace left the game after the first period, it was still tied 0-0. Did the Blues try to pressure Lalime at all in the crease and possibly get a little physical with him? No. Did anyone go after Sharp even though he was pushed by Jackman? Don't remember it. You could argue the Blues didn't stand up for their injured teammate. Granted, the Blues were competitve for much of the first two periods, but they never seemed to really get things going. After a decent second period they still trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes. A power play goal by Patrick Kane early in the third sapped the Blues' will and essentially ended the game.

So what do you think? Were the Blues simply outplayed? Did they show a lack of heart afterÂ Legace went down?Â What does it mean that the Blues essentially gave up to a division rival in the closing minutes (We think that's what Andy Murray's message was with the pulled goaltender with more than six minutes left in the game down by three)?Â Â We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Come back for a little you write the comedy later today.

One more note, thanks to everyone who stopped by the live blog last night. Even though the game ended up sucking, we had a lot of different people stopping by and dropping a funny line. We'll have a couple live blogs next week, so make sure you're in on the fun. And if you tried leaving comments last night and didn't see yours approved, they're in there and you're free and clear to make instant comments on any thread.

UPDATE: Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch is reporting that Legace practiced today, faced shots from assistant coaches (was Ryan Johnson not available?) and did his positional drills, reinforcing the notion that Emmanuel will play Saturday. When he comes out for introductions, shower him on the ice with chicken fingers.

UPDATED UPDATE: There was some discussion in the comments about whether or not Sharp was at fault because of Jackman's pushÂ from behind.Â This picture isn't definitive, but judging from Jackman's expression, he may feel a little guilty (or just plain surprised). You be the judge.

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Comments

glad i had some other things to do last night. i kept tabs heard we were down 2-1 after two then some time later i get a call from my good buddy and he says6-1. i say stop fucking with me.

then i just said, well i’m not a gm, coach or player just a loyal fan who spends too much time caring for a team that obviously lacks the pride in the note me and my fellow fans feel for it.

by Chris D on Jan 17, 2008 9:28 AM CST reply actions

also don’t forget scwartz is only 21. give him time but not up here to develop. hell i’d play him more and more down there but that doesn’t happen. have some faith in hannu as well. has some faith in the young talent and start hoping if we get on the bubble towards the deadline lazy players like walt are dealt for young legs who work hard everyday and not once a month and then criticize their fellow teammates.

here’s to seeing oshie and berglund up hear soon. also, nikolia continues to get better and here’s something i hadn’t realized he’s at least now up to 207lb.s time to see what this kid can bring. perron, another kid and whoever else, i like it, i like these kids now a days. they tend to have more pride than some of these guys that helped cause the lockout.

by Chris D on Jan 17, 2008 9:35 AM CST reply actions

Ok, so your goalie is writhing around on the ice for a few minutes, is clearly seen holding his already taped wrist (see top photo), and shortly after the game the coach says “it’s only a bruise, and he’ll play Saturday”. Interesting. I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned out to be worse than they’re saying.

by Mr. Particle on Jan 17, 2008 10:25 AM CST reply actions

They read the PD article recently that said we don’t have to root against our own division anymore but no one told them it is different if we are playing against them.

by Scot C on Jan 17, 2008 12:17 PM CST reply actions

Legace came back right after the incident. Adrenaline theories aside, I think our all-star netminder is fine.
The lack of retaliation though, is very worrying.

by Chia on Jan 17, 2008 1:10 PM CST reply actions

What I don’t understand is why hasn’t Sharp been flattened yet? He has been a thorn in the Blues side that past few games. Whenever someone like that gets your goat like that, they need to be pushed around a bit.

by Answer Man on Jan 17, 2008 2:02 PM CST reply actions

at least now the blues have an instructional video to show to d.j. king to prepare him for his debut in the shootout. one run like the one sharp took at emmanuel and our conversion percentage in the shootout should skyrocket.

by Jessica on Jan 17, 2008 2:17 PM CST reply actions

Am I the only one that saw the collision as Jackman’s fault? He didn’t “bump” Sharp, he full-out pushed him over.

That might explain the lack of retaliation.

by Mr. Particle on Jan 17, 2008 2:28 PM CST reply actions

Particle Man, I think it was half and half. Sharp certainly wasn’t slowing down and I think was going to hit Legace either way, but Jackman didn’t help him. I put up the other photo I found that shows Jackman’s face.

We have more photographic evidence of this hit than the Kennedy assassination.

by Brad Lee on Jan 17, 2008 2:35 PM CST reply actions

well then there’s the report that jackman appologized to manny between periods kind of ends the debate. though undoubted sharp made no effort not to hurt or hit manny.

by Chris D on Jan 17, 2008 6:59 PM CST reply actions

I know it’s still early, and I’m not saying that the sky is falling yet, but it seems like AM teams historically start well and then limp to the finish. Those Kings teams of his would have some of the most brutal collapses you can imagine. I know a big reason for the drop off on those teams was injuries, but I still have to wonder if failing to maintain intensity and consistency is a running theme with Murray-coached teams.

That said, I like AM and I think that he has done an outstanding job so far by taking a shit-hole team and in less than a year turning them into playoff contenders.

by Manbones on Jan 17, 2008 7:35 PM CST reply actions

Now that’s just getting weird…

Strickland:

St. Louis Bandits goaltender Mike Johnson practiced with the Blues today in case Legace was unable to go. Johnson, who hails from Madison Wisconsin, is an 18 year old playing in his first season with the Bandits.

by Scot C on Jan 18, 2008 12:02 AM CST reply actions

actually it’s pretty common. i know a few guys that suit up in net and parctice with the blues here and there throughout the season or sometimes for visiting teams. sometimes a goalie gets a practice off and they want two goalies. so not weird at all.

by Chris D on Jan 18, 2008 12:27 AM CST reply actions

His name is Mike Johnson??! Sign him! I’m not happy until we have a whole team of only Johnson’s!

by Marcus Pettersson on Jan 18, 2008 1:30 AM CST reply actions

By the way, anyone know how Ears did in the Peoria game? Also, did he wear his Ear-mask, and if so, how many people in the audience wondered if that was his real ears? What is the capital of El Salvador? Is it OK to name your first born son Dolly? Who’s this Obama character I’m hearing about? Whatever happened to James Van Der Beek (of Dawson’s Creek fame)? Wait, who are you? Where the hell am I, anyway?

…someone just answer the Tofu question, please…

by Marcus Pettersson on Jan 18, 2008 3:58 AM CST reply actions

I don’t know if anyone got the Tuesdays on Tap promotional email, but my buddy just called Scottrade and apparently they cancelled the promotion already. I’m kind of pissed they would dangle $25 tix + all-inclusive drinks like that and then suggest to us that we get 20 ppl together for a suite instead. Anyone have any insider word on this bullshit?

by pdub on Jan 18, 2008 9:40 AM CST reply actions

Announcing the promo on the same day that a prominent former Blue gets sentenced to 4 years for a drunk driving offense was not a smart move. (Saw note of this on stltoday.com)

Does anybody here think that marketing gimmicks work to get people into the building? To me, only the ones that save me money are worth considering. Kids get in free? Great idea! 2-for-1 tickets? Excellent! Free food day? I’m there! Why not 1/2 price food & drink nights? Better yet, why not just lower all food & drink prices for all games by 25%?

You know, a real deal, as opposed to a token one (free taco!).

by Mr. Particle on Jan 18, 2008 10:05 AM CST reply actions

Hey, check the front page. We were working on this story as these comments came in.

by Brad Lee on Jan 18, 2008 10:21 AM CST reply actions

No I was just commenting that the goalie’s name was another Johnson as being weird.

by Scot C on Jan 18, 2008 11:13 AM CST reply actions

Marcus Pettersson asked:

“By the way, anyone know how Ears did in the Peoria game?”

4-2 win, 22 saves on 24 shots (or something like that).

“Also, did he wear his Ear-mask…”

Yup.

“…and if so, how many people in the audience wondered if that was his real ears?”

Unknown.

“What is the capital of El Salvador?”

San Jose.

“Is it OK to name your first born son Dolly?”

Absolutely not.

“Whoâ€™s this Obama character Iâ€™m hearing about?”

A freshman Senator from Illinois who apparently only ran for Congress to have a platform from which to launch his bid for President.

“Whatever happened to James Van Der Beek (of Dawsonâ€™s Creek fame)?”

Who friggin’ cares?

“Wait, who are you?”

Your friendly neighborhood GTPD.

“Where the hell am I, anyway?”

Sweden, I thought…

“â€¦someone just answer the Tofu question, pleaseâ€¦”

That’s ‘TiVo,’ not ‘Tofu,’ and I already did… ;-)

by GT Prospect Department on Jan 18, 2008 9:13 PM CST reply actions

Does anybody else think that the story of hte Blues this year is, to quote John Kelly as he says at least fifteen times every game, “And a save by Legace…”

by The Goalie Guy on Jan 18, 2008 11:00 PM CST reply actions