Thursday Links - Bonne Chance, Mon Ami

An old friend swings by the DrinkScotch tonight. And hey, be sure to give him an ovation. His departure helped get Alex Pietrangelo's extension done.

BLUES NEWS:

• Vladimir Sobotka is skating harder and MIGHT return tonight. Jordan Leopold is getting closer to returning, but probably not tonight. David Perron plays his first game in St. Louis since getting traded to Edmonton. And Cade Fairchild was traded to the Coyotes for future considerations. All that and more in Lou Korac's pregame notebook. [In The Slot / Lou Korac]
• Hildy made light of a dumb StL Today slideshow about hockey, which was not really "An Idiot's Guide To Hockey" . . . it was, essentially, "An Idiot". [SLGT]
• Beyond Checkerdome Episode 34 went to air yesterday. We discussed the week that was in Blues hockey and all the trade deadline stuff. And a fuck-ton more, as always. Oh, and beer. [SLGT]
• CanesAndBluesFan has a poll up. He wants to know which goalie YOU think was the best to move at the trade deadline. VOTE NOW! [SLGT]
• As you might have known, Jay Bouwmeester played his 700th consecutive game without missing one on Tuesday. In typical Jay-Bo fashion, he really doesn't care to talk about it. (S/T to TerrapinKen) [FS Midwest]

KNOW YOUR ENEMY--THE EDMONTON OILERS:

• For everything you need to know about the Oilers, who may possibly draft first in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, check out The Copper & Blue. Good people. [The Copper & Blue]
  

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Four games last night, and they all ended with final scores. [NHL.com 03/12/14]
• Seven games tonight. Rumor has it one of them is in St. Louis, and you'll get to hear "O Canada" ahead of it. [NHL.com 03/13/14]
• Check out the standings. Check out who is NOT in second place anymore after last night's game. Yes, the Colorado Avalanche(s) are now ahead of the Blackhawks . . . which is fucking insane. [NHL.com]
• Ryan Lambert takes on a variety of things as always in this week's Power Rankings. [Puck Daddy]
• Rich Peverley will not play the rest of this season. Probably the smart call. [SI NHL]
• A couple on hockey fans, and they're spot on . . . first, Barry Petchesky at Deadspin wants to know why hockey fans are assholes about Rich Peverley vs. LeBron James. And as much as I despise professional basketball . . . this is a valid question. Don't be THAT asshole. [Deadspin]
• Steve Lepore makes the same point by pointing out the obvious difference between Good Hockey Twitter and Bad Hockey Twitter. (S/T to my links partner-in-crime, J-Mill) [Awful Announcing]
• I didn't realize Jean-Sebastien Giguere was the last remaining active former Hartford Whalers player still in the NHL. Well, the writing may be on the wall for him. [Puck Daddy]
• Blue Jackets forward Blake Comeau will sit two games for boarding Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith the other day. [NHL.com]
• A Danish hockey player was not only suspended for fixing games, he was basically fired by his team with cause. Good. [Puck Daddy]
• One possible solution to reducing the number of games that go to a shootout is 3-on-3 overtime for, say, five minutes. People say this is just as much a gimmick AS the shootout. Justin Bourne does not agree. [The Score / Backhand Shelf]

OTHER SHIT:

• This is the most insane finish to a basketball game I've ever seen. I say this, recalling when I was in junior high, watching my school lose on a three-quarter court shot. (Yeah, that happened.) [Deadspin]
• Usually, when someone announces that they're going to fly around the world, it doesn't make headlines. Well, this woman's name is . . . not kidding . . . Amelia Earhart. So. [Y! Odd News]
• Rick Reilly used to be a spectacular columnist. Then he got old, and he lost it. Then ESPN got him. Now, ESPN doesn't want him anymore, and they're starting to phase him out. Good. [Deadspin]
• Former Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger will be the new chairman of English Premier League team Southampton. [Y! Sports / Reuters]
  

VIDEOS:

Yep, a full string of double-video posts. You guys rule.

FIRST . . . ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER GOT A FUCKING TANK! And you can go crush shit with him for a good cause. (S/T to @ChrisAhner):

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Arnold was born to have a motherfucking tank, and we all know this.

And . . . brothers that make bets, have bets with consequences. Read the subtitles on this one. (S/T to Kate):

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Provo, UT, if you don't know, is where Brigham Young University is located. Surely the strict Mormons were all for this, eh?

I'm done for the week. Barring technical difficulties (and there haven't been any lately, like, at all . . . *knock knock*), J-Mill has your Friday thru Sunday links. Be as nice to him has you folks have been to ME this week, if you would:

• jasonmcadams1120 AT gmail DOT com
• @JMill1120

#RockTheScott tonight if you're headed downtown. Oh, and give David Perron a hand. And buy yourself a St. Louis Game Time rag, and tip your vendor . . . you cheap son of a bitch.

LET'S GO BLUES.