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We've been waiting a long time for this. Another season is upon us, and this year the Blues have a lot of expectations on their shoulders - Stanley Cup sized expectations. No pressure, or anything. One game at a time.
Speaking of one game at a time, game one out of 82 this year is tonight against the Nashville Predators. It might not sound like a glitzy team to start out against, but they have a nice, new addition named Seth Jones paired up with Shea Weber. I usually don't get excited about the opposition, but I am really looking forward to seeing how that pairing looks.
Our pairings? Same old same old, and frankly, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Blues are starting the season with the defensive pairings that they had during the latter half of the year, and if you want proof that Jay Bouwmeester and Jordan Leopold helped calm things down and solidify the left side, just look at how much Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk's play improved. That kind of shift is worth a pretty penny, and both Leopold and Bouwmeester got that this off season. Obviously, so did Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk.
The Blues are right up against the cap, and a lot of that is thanks to their defense. This season, look to them to help win the games - the team obviously is.
Check back later for a game preview with line-ups, a Lighting the Lamp from Mr. Rick Ackerman, and your game day thread followed up by a recap from someone nice enough to write one for me.
It's gameday at Game Time, and not a moment too soon. Make sure you head over to Dirk Hoag's fine blog On The Forecheck and say hi, and head back over here later on to read his answers to Three Questions.