:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/21341379/139854746.0.jpg)
Well, that was certainly fun, wasn't it?
I've never been so happy to be wrong, as the Blues took down the Chicago BlackHawks in a shootout last night, 3-2. As sweet as this victory tastes, there's no time to savor it, as the Blues are right back at it tonight in Winnipeg. While this is same ol' situation of travel and hotels for most of the team, it's a coming home moment for two fan favorites, Alexander Steen and Ryan Reaves.
Alexander Steen is the son of former NHLer Thomas Steen. While Alexander is of Swedish descent, and plays for Sweden internationally, he was born and raised in Winnipeg. His father played for the Jets 1.0, and his number still hangs in the rafters with the now Phoenix Coyotes. Alexander calls Winnipeg home, and he and his family are still deeply involved in the community. Similarly, Ryan Reaves is also the son of a professional athlete. His dad is Willard Reaves, a star running back in the late 80s for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. Willard Reaves played there for 5 years, had a cup of coffee with the NFL, and then came back to Winnipeg to settle down. Ryan grew up there, more the son of a then sheriff than Canadian football legend.
Our boys can't get lost on memory lane, though. They face a Jets team that is still playing hungry and trying to put a winning season together. The Jets are off to a 3-4-0 start, and sit at the bottom of the new Central Division standings. They're coming off of a 3-0 loss in Montreal on Tuesday. Two of those wins have come at home, so the Jets would love to get back to .500 with another win in front of the home crowd. One thing that'll influence that is Evander Kane, who is considered day-to-day after leaving practice early on Wednesday with the dreaded Lower Body Injury.
The Jets are led in points by two players with matching 0 goals / 6 assists stat lines - Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien. There are three players tied for most goals scored with 3: Bryan Little, Evander Kane, and Andrew Ladd. It would seem that their offense is like ours - scoring by committee. The starting netminder for the Jets is Ondrej Pavelec, who's posted a 2-4-0 record and 3.05 GAA / .907 save percentage. The backup is Al Montoya, who won his only start by shutting out the Devils. I would presume Pavelec would start tonight though, nonetheless. They are not a good team, but they are certainly capable of biting you in the ass if you don't take care of business. They're a motley crew of players, but they can take advantage if the Blues allow them to.
Further Reading:
Blues vs Jets coverage
Final Verse: The puck drops at 7:00 PM St Louis time, with the broadcasts on Fox Sports MW for TV, and KYKY 98FM for the radio call. The Game Day Thread will drop shortly ahead of the puck. Until then, gather here and pregame with us. Will this be the game that Chris GD Stewart finally scores his first goal? Will the hometown boys do something special for their local fans? Will we see Brian Elliott get his first start of the year? Let us know what you predict down below.
The Draft Pick (via blogesalming)
LGB!!!
-CrossCheckRaise