Road Music: 10/14 @ Nashville Predators

The St Louis Blues start their first road trip of the season with a stop in Music City. This will be the first opportunity for our boy(e)s to demonstrate that the Anaheim and Philly games were not just a fluke, but rather a hot start from a legitimately good team. While fans are riding high on those wins, there are still concerns- namely that the power play has only scored twice in 19 opportunities.

Since our match-up is in the home of country music, I thought I'd rephrase this year's slogan with a southern twang:

Ain't Wastin' Time No More / Allman Brothers Band

The Enemy: Our Central Division foes were rocked in the 2008 offseason by the loss of leading scorer Alex Radulov to Russia's KHL. This past offseason, they lost their captain Jason Arnott to another place where people talk funny and hand out big contracts - New Jersey. Nashville's biggest acquisition was Matthew Lombardi, formerly of Phoenix. Also newly arrived to the Predators is Sergei Kostitsyn, from Montreal. My only guess is that he was interested in joining this "Memphis Mafia" he had heard was nearby.

Further Reading:

Puck Daddy's Nashville Season Preview

On the Forecheck

Blues vs Predators coverage

Fun Fact: Nashville's starting goaltender Pekka Rinne was injured in the season-opener against Anaheim. He did not make the trip to Chicago at all, and his status is considered day-to-day. The back-up, Anders "the Giant" Lindback got the start against Chicago last night, with AHL call-up Mark Dekanich on the bench, presumably with a bucket between his feet. Neither goalie had a single minute of NHL experience prior to this season, and now this tandem (potentially) can make their career debuts with back-to-back games, with travel between, against division teams, the first of which are defending Cup champs. Surely, another reason to refer to them as "butterfly" goaltenders, regardless of style. Keep an eye on the comments for updates regarding Nashville's starter.

Broadcast Notes: Due the broadcast of Kansas State - Kansas football on Fox Sports MidWest, tonight's Blues game will be carried on alternate channels. The details are here. Also, you can check in with the excellent radio broadcast at KMOX 1120AM. Of course, there is usually a webcast somewhere online. Any links would be appreciated by our out of state and international fans. A nice touch would be to make sure those comments are rec'd until they turn green, to make those easier to find. Keep that up in the GDT, also.

Puck drops at 7 PM Central. Until then, this is your virtual tailagte. Gather here, work on your Dish Network/FSMW/College Football hate, and practice your hillbilly hockey jokes.

Let's Go Blues!

-CrossCheckRaise