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It's waaaaay too early to be making any projections about the Blues, but you have to like what we've seen so far. In terms of defense, the Blues seem to have picked up right where they left off last year, and now there's more pop in the offense. The Blues are getting shots on goal, and that's the beginning of any offensive threat. As the Great One said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". Tonight, in particular, the Blues will need to get plenty of puck on net.
The Enemy: The Dallas Stars have emerged from bankruptcy court with new ownership, and they've started to bounce back as an organization. They've just re-signed star-forward (but, technically, they all are, eh?) Jamie Benn to a 5-year deal. He's still working out his work visa, so we won't be seeing him tonight. The consolation prize is that his younger brother, Jordie Benn, will likely be playing D for Dallas tonight. Also missing from the lineup (probably) is Jaromir Jagr. He has been listed as day-to-day with some back issues, and was described as "40/60" for playing in today's game.
Looking at the various game previews, a couple of things jumped out at me. One, the Dallas coach is named Glen Gulutzan, and that sounds like a Marvel comic book character. Probably a villan. Two, he's decided to start rookie Christopher Nilstorp tonight over the number-one goalie Kari Lehtonen. Nilstorp's only previous NHL action was in a 1-0 loss to the Wild, where he made 31 saves on 32 shots against. Which leads to the third thing I picked up - while the Blues lead the league in "Shots Allowed per Game" at 19.5, dead last in that same category is Dallas, with 38.2.
So, the Blues are facing a team that: allows the most shots on goal in the league, is starting a rookie in net, and will be without 2 of the top forwards on their roster. Opportunity is knocking, if the Blues will only answer.
Further Reading:
Dallas Morning News Stars Blog (they link to Game Time. Weird)
Final Verse: The puck drops at 7:00 PM St Louis time, and our GDT will be along a little before then. The TV broadcast will be on FoxSports MidWest, and the radio call will be on KMOX 1120 AM. Until then, this is your pregame warmup. Stretch out, get your fingers ready for the commentin', and definitely don't be afraid to mess with Texas.
Today's video is an excellent use of today's song. Notice the colors of the villain's outfit: Green, Black, and goldish yellow... hmm, who else wears those colors?
Iron Man's Entrance - The Avengers [HD] (via Raymanemo)
LGB!
- CrossCheckRaise