Road Music: 12/23 @ Phoenix Coyotes

by CrossCheckRaise on Dec 23, 2011 4:00 PM CST

Not that it was needed, but further proof that Raffi Torres, indeed, blows. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

Happy Friday, everyone, and Merry Christmas Eve.....Eve. The last game before the holiday sets the Blues against the Desert Dogs in Phoenix. I'm sure a lot of thoughts will be on family gatherings, but the Blues will need to focus and put their game back together. While it wasn't the absolute worst one that I've seen, that Colorado game did not look good. They can shake that off with a good game tonight.

No great musical tie-ins tonight. I'm sure most of y'all have had your fill of Christmas music by now, but here's one I'm pretty certain you've never heard before. A Christmas song for the post-robot-apocalypse. Enjoy.

Chiron Beta Prime / Jonathan Coulton

The Enemy: The Coyotes are a .500 team at home, but are on a bit of a hot streak, having won two in a row. In doing a bit of research, I discovered this stat: they are 16-1-3 when they score the first goal. The Blues cannot afford a slow start, but need to get on the scoresheet first. The team's overall points leader is the well-travelled Ray Whitney with 32 points (12G/ 20A). Next in points (and first in goals) is Radim Vrbata (16G/ 13A). One of the biggest surprises for the Coyotes is in goaltending. Losing last year's starter Bryzgalov to free agency, the 'Yotes began the year with Mike Smith as their starter. So far this year, he's posted a 2.52 GAA and a .920 SV%. The other notable player in tonight's game is the newest Coyote, David Rundblad. Rundblad was the St Louis Blues' 1st-round draft pick in 2009, who was then traded at the 2010 draft to Ottawa for the pick that became Vladimir Tarasenko. Rundblad made his NHL debut with the Sens this year, with 4 points in 24 games. This past weekend, he was sent to Phoenix in exchange for Kyle Turris. Rundblad made his Phoenix debut on Wednesday, and registered an assist in his first game.

Further Reading:

Five For Howling

Blues vs Coyotes coverage

Final Verse: The puck drops at 8 PM St Louis time, with the GDT dropping shortly beforehand. The broadcasts are on the usual outlets: Fox SportsMW for the TV, and KMOX 1120 for the radio. Until then, this is your pregame warmup. Gather here, finish wrapping gifts, plan your excuses for cutting out early from dumb holiday parties, and take in a great riff on the holidays: