Blue Jackets At Blues Open Thread 11/16/07

By Brad Lee

The Blues welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to the DrinkScotch Center tonight. We'll be at the game tonight, so no live blog...unless the game is live in Sweden and a certain European isn't drunk or something when it starts around 2:30 a.m. local time. The odds all of that happening tonight: not great.

Here's the Yahoo! preview featuring the Associated Press and a glaring error where it mentions that MacInnis' number will be the sixth raised to the rafters at DrinkScotch. The only problem with that statement is that his number was the fifth...when it was raised to the roof at the end of the 2005-06 season. Oops.

And as an added bonus, below is part of the front page story from the actual printed Game Time. For free even! Remember, tonight is Al MacInnis Hall of Fame Induction Celebration/Keg Stand night, so get to your seat by 7:30 if possible.

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The Blues are 0-2-0 against the BJs this year and have scored as many goals as Childhood Trauma, the Answer Man, Towel Boy and the toilet-water blue bear mascot combined â€" zero. Pascal Leclaire, a little troll of a man if you ask us or the regulars on our blog â€" www.stlouisgametime.com) has posted both shutouts in Columbus this year. That’s helped put the Blues in last place in scoring in the Western Conference with 39 goals on the season. Of course now would be a good time to remind you that the Blues have also played the fewest games in the conference and also lead the conference in goals allowed with 37. So take that stat for what it’s worth.

Anyway, we’d cheer lustily tonight if Leclaire gets the same treatment as Dominik Hasek when he was sent to the bench with his tail between in his legs after an offensive bombardment similar to Tuesday night. That was one of the best feelings this season, by the way. It was a clear acknowledgement by the Red Wings that said, “Thanks for kicking our ass. Cheer our future Hall of Famer as he skates to the bench and cries the bitter tears of disappointment.”

The Blue Jackets, led by Jabba the Hutt’s cousin Ken Hitchcock, play an interesting style. And by interesting, we mean slow, methodical and probably boring as Hell. They clog the middle, they grind the flow out of the game and they wait for you to make a mistake. It’s the same formula that Minnesota and New Jersey have employed for years, but in a less entertaining and enjoyable way. It’s as if the hockey team is the actual embodiment of Ohio: It’s just there in the way making you deal with it. The Blue Jackets are actually above the Blue Notes in the standings with a 9-6-3 record. Tuesday night Columbus won 4-2 in Chicago ending a four-game skid. Some guy named Sergei Federov had a goal and an assist in the game. We say some guy about Federov because he has morphed from being a killer of Blues hopes and dreams and All-World talent into just some guy who most nights isn’t a threat to take over a game or make a big contribution. And we are totally not jinxing the Blues and guaranteeing a big game from the Russian by writing that.

Rick Nash is finally not as much of a knucklehead as he used to be. He’s scored 12 goals â€" seven more than the next best guy on his team â€" and has 19 points overall in 18 games. He’s even a plus-2. He’s a big, younger version of Keith Tkachuk and is DANGEROUS around the net. If given the chance, he will take out the garbage if a puck is left loose near the crease. And for some reason, the name on the back of his sweater in Columbus begins with a lowercase n. We have no idea why.

Will the Blues keep the momentum going after a HUGE win vs. Detroit Tuesday? Will David Perron keep scoring at such a frantic pace? Will someone on the team buy the 19-year-old a beer if he gets another goal? Will Jay McKee get injured sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch? Will the Blues finally get a win against a franchise the team and most fans have never ever respected? Only the next 60 minutes of game action will tell.

Let’s Go Blues.