In case you missed it, DK is off to Calgary for tonight's Blues-Flames game, so I'll be hosting your links on this most glorious of days: Festivus! And a happy one to you and yours!
BLUES NEWS:
- First things first, Alexander Steen is now listed as day-to-day with an "upper-body injury." Let's just hope this one is located lower than David Backes' upper-body injury was. [STLToday]
- In response to this news, the Blues have called up Dmitrij Jaskin from the Chicago Wolves. However, there may have been some issues with travel arrangements and he may or may not get to Alberta in time for tonight's game. Hitch has gone on record, however, that if he plays, he will be seeing top-6 minutes. I wouldn't hold your breath over it, but that's what he said. [SLGT]
- As part of Prospect Sunday yesterday, Brian participated in an early mock draft. He picked us up some nice offensive skill, but failed to land either of the St. Louis-area kids, including Al's son Ryan, so he'd be torn apart by the local media for not having enough "good, Missou-rah boys." [SLGT]
KNOW YOUR ENEMY - THE CALGARY FLAMES:
- The folks over at Matchsticks & Gasoline are sick of the "advanced statistics" debate, because there is no debate. They're also trying to manage their expectations for Sean Monahan, a 19 year old who people were surprised that they drafted as high as they did in the first place. [Matchsticks & Gasoline]
- Flames forward Paul Byron was called up from Abbotsford in time for the team's Fathers Weekend, but unfortunately not in time to invite his own father. He also plays big for his size and is mature for his age, which earned him the nickname of Mighty Mouse. [Calgary Herald]
HOCKEY NEWS:
- The Rangers beat the Wild 4-1 and the Canucks beat the Jets 2-1. That's it. [NHL.com 12/22]
- 14 games tonight, the last night before Christmas break. If you insist on watching a game other than Blues-Flames, Avalanche-Sharks looks pretty formidable, and if you insist on rivalry games, your best bet is Lightning-Panthers. [NHL.com 12/23]
- It's an annoying cliche, but I think it's safe to say Niklas Backstrom probably wants this one back, don't you? [SBNation NHL]
- Roberto Luongo left last night's game after the first period with an apparent injury. Eddie Lack stepped in to take his place. [Nucks Misconduct]
- As I mentioned before, today is Festivus, and so J.R. Lind will be celebrating Conference III style - it hasn't been posted yet as of this writing, so I'll just send you to the main page to find it when he does. [III Communication]
- I couldn't find an embedding code to put it in the videos section, but Childhood Trauma passes along a Christmas video for you guys - do you want the best collection of Christmas standards on one CD for a low, low price? Then do the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL have a deal for you! [Oil Kings]
WORLD JUNIORS NEWS:
- The US team won their final pre-tournament game 3-2 over Finland yesterday, with goaltender Jon Gillies making 38 saves. [United States of Hockey]
- Pittsburgh native, Miami University winger, and Washington Capitals prospect Riley Barber has been named captain of your future 2-time defending gold medal winning Team USA. They've also cut the roster to 24 players, with final cut and the official team set to be announced later today. [USA Hockey]
- Elsewhere in the world, Canadian defenseman and Wild prospect Matthew Dumba was ejected from a warm up match against the hosts Sweden for a knee-on-knee collision with Swedish forward Erik Karlsson (not to be confused with Swedish "defesneman" Erik Karlsson). Dumba, whose name is so easy to make fun of that I refuse to make that joke purely on principle, could face an IIHF suspension, which would make him the second Canadian blueliner to receive such a ban, as Griffin Reinhart will sit out the first two group stage games as well. [SBNation NHL]
- Lambert tells you how to have fun while watching Canada play - other than watching them lose, of course. [The Sleeping Giant]
OTHER SHIT:
- A Seattle teenager's life was saved from a drive-by shooting...by her eyeglasses. This might be as good of a time as any to mention that I work at All About Eyes in O'Fallon, IL - I'm not saying buying your glasses from us will save you from bullets, but I'm not not saying that either. [Huff Post]
- As part of series looking for special places in all 50 States, Mental Floss recently put together a short profile of a place in Carbondale, Illinois that's near and dear to my heart: Castle Park. [Mental_Floss]
- Not a lot of people saw it in theaters when it came out in 2010, but here's why Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is not only one of my all-time favorite movies, but probably the deepest comic book movie ever made. [Slashfilm]
VIDEOS:
I DEFY you to find me a cuter video than this 20-day old husky learning to howl. If you can, I will post the shit out of it!
What's that you say? What is Festivus? Glad I pretended that you asked!
(That counts as today's holiday video, because I said so. But if you really need a Christmas video, click the Oil Kings link above - which you should have already done, cheater.)
In lieu of the Feats of Strength, Festivus is not over until you send me some links.
- jasonmcadams1120 AT gmail DOT com
- @JMill1120
Unfortunately, the National Hockey League does not yet recognize this proud and honorable holiday, so they force their employees to work instead of allowing them to spend time yelling at their families. It's sad, I know - probably something the PA should have fought for during the lockout, huh? Anyway, the plus side of this, however, is that's there's a Blues game tonight - check back throughout the day for previews, updates, and whatnots!