Just six days ago the Columbus Blue Jackets skated into St. Louis riding a three-game winning streak. They had to figure the Blues were ripe for a beating with interim coach Davis Payne just 1-3-0 and early in his tenure with the Blues. Then the puck dropped for the first period and the Blues scored three goals and beat up the Jackets in four fights during the first 20 minutes.
St. Louis held onto the lead in the third and won going away 4-1. Confidence, if you believe in such a thing for a professional sports team, started to build. One win in a row turned into two. And now tonight the Blues have won four straight. Meanwhile the Jackets have lost three in a row (the St. Louis game plus two at the hands of the Blackhawks). Look at what can change in six days.
Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch reports Chris Mason will get the start in net with Cam Janssen and Darryl Sydor getting tickets to the press box buffet for the third straight game. I like the Blues more with Cam Smash with his energy and toughness he brings each night, but it's hard to argue with the success the team is having right now. And Sydor might as well buy knitting needles and a bunch of yarn for all I care. Knit me some mittens, old-timer. I'd be fine if he never plays again for the Blues.
Columbus goaltender Mathieu Garon took a puck off the wrist at the morning skate, Rutherford also says, but expects to get the start in net instead of one-year wonder Steve Mason. Even potentially injured the Jackets don't want to put the Calder Trophy winner out there. Might as well take him out back and shoot him.
We have two small requests for you our dear commenters/crazed lunatics who hang out here. The first is to stop by The Cannon, our counterpart for Columbus. They're nice enough. Stop by and say hello in a somewhat friendly but still hope their team plays like shit way.
Secondly (and frankly more importantly), be sure to drop some comments over at Pension Plan Puppets. They're donating money to the Haiti earthquake relief efforts with the Red Cross. They're pledging a few cents for every comment. This afternoon the total amount they will donate no matter what was above $1,500. They hope to get at least 10,000 comments tonight. So make a Leafs joke, spend PPP's money.
Hopefully the Blues show no charity to the Blue Jackets. So sit back, warm up the keyboard, open a fresh bag of cool ranch Doritos (seriously, the best flavor ever added to chip that wasn't bbq) and comment away.
This is your game day thread, Blues fans. Comment like the winning streak depends on it.
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