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Whether you wanted it or not, tonight begins the Ryan Miller era of Blues goaltenders. Will it be any different than the previous 65 goaltending eras in Blues history? Here's hoping.
Oh,...and Steve Ott I guess.
BLUES NEWS:
- When Ryan Miller leads the Blues out onto the ice for the first time tonight, they'll be facing the
PhoenixArizona Coyotes. It's a West Coast game (well, almost West Coast), but the puck will drop at a reasonable hour here in the Heartland, 7:00 central. And at about 7:15 central, Miller will get rammed into by a Yote (probably BizNasty) and tear his ACL, ending his career. If you prepare yourself for it now, it'll be less painful when it inevitably happens. Your official preview here: [Blues] - Speaking of frightening inevitabilities, Steve Ott will also make his Blues debut tonight, reportedly on a line with Derek Roy and T.J. Oshie. Hildy thinks that what Ott brings to the table, even best case scenario, is just more of what the Blues have. I agree, as that's the same reason I wasn't on board with the Stewart-for-Ryan Callahan rumors. [SLGT]
- Chris Kerber did a great welcoming interview with Miller in Arizona, and here it is. Heads up, the audio plays automatically. [Blues]
- Our pal Dominik looks at the Ryan Miller deal through the lens of the Blues entire history with goalies. According to Dom, this was a trade 47 years in the making. [SBNation NHL]
- Now that the Jaroslav Halak era of the Blues is done and gone, David Rogers looks back on what might have been, as well as what actually was. [Frozen Notes]
- Number 39 (yes, he will be wearing number 39, not 30 - please report all "MILLER 30" Blues jerseys as a Jersey Foul immediately) is excited to begin a new era. And I promise that's the last time I'll use the word "era" this morning. (...except for that last one.) [STLToday]
- And from western New York state, Sabres fans are taking a closer look at what exactly they got back in the deal, now that they're starting to emotionally recover. [Die by the Blade]
KNOW YOUR ENEMY - THE PHOENIX ARIZONA COYOTES:
- The Yotes are a point back of the Dallas Stars for the last Western Conference wild card spot, with as many as three other teams in the mix as well. 5fH analyzes what the Desert Dogs need to be shopping for ahead of Wednesday's Trade Deadline. [Five for Howling]
- The last few owner-less years, the Coyotes have earned a reputation for "over-achieving." If they want to see the postseason again this year, they need to recapture their old magic. [AZ Central]
HOCKEY NEWS:
- 10 different games yesterday, the most noteworthy of which was the
Chicago/Crosby Circle JerkStadium Series game where the Blackhawks proved something all of us already knew: the Penguins - arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference - are a big damn pile of shit. The Hawks won 5-1. [NHL.com 3/1] - 8 games today, starting with the NBC game at 11:30am central with the Flyers & the Capitals. Then at 3 is the outdoor Heritage Classic between two shitty Canadian teams with no history with each other in a stadium that's technically a dome which might not even be sold out. Also, a Tampa-Colorado match-up that on a different day would be a nice highlight. [NHL.com 3/2]
- After the first week back from the Olympics, here's how the standings look this morning: the Hawks win at Soldier Field put them 2 up on us in the Central, but we still have 3 games in hand. We're also 5 back of the Ducks for the President's Trophy with 2 games in hand. [NHL.com Standings]
- The biggest non-snow covered news yesterday was Pat LaFontaine resigning from his post as Buffalo's President of Hockey Operations, after less than 4 months on the job. Some whispers say it was over a butting of heads over his wishes to re-sign Miller, while others say it goes much deeper than that. Sidebar: I just now realized that "resign" and "re-sign" are spelled identically, but mean exactly the opposite of each other. English is fucked up. [Die by the Blade]
- In today's Heritage Classic, the Canucks will start the hot hand Eddie Lack in net. That decision of course started a whole new round of goalie controversy in BC - you think Jaro-vs-Ells-vs-Trade for Miller was exhausting, just imagine what Canucks fans have been going through for years. Actually, don't bother imagining - Canucks fan Harrison Mooney lays it all out for you. [Puck Daddy]
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Sean Monahan scored in overtime to give the Flames the win over their Albertan rivals, the Oilers. I assume his teammates wanted to celebrate with him.
Brian McGrattan just asked me if I want to get a big wolf tattoo on my chest and I said no I don't think I want that.
— Boring Sean Monahan (@boringmonahan) February 19, 2014
- Alexander Ovechkin recorded his 800th career point yesterday via a power-play goal. It was his 2nd of the day & his 43rd of the season. Caps beat the Bruins 4-2. Warning: auto-playing video. [CSN Washington]
- And speaking of career milestones,
PenguinsCapitalsRangersKHLFlyersStarsBruinsDevils winger Jaromir Jagr scored his 700th career NHL goal yesterday in New Jersey's 6-1 clobbering of the Islanders. Even if this is his final season for realz this time he's super serious, he still has time to catch Mike Gartner for 6th on the all-time goal scoring list at 708. Just think, if he had never jumped ship over to the KHL, he'd probably have passed Hullie for 3rd. Hell, he might even be threatening Gordie's 801 mark. [Pro Hockey Talk]
OTHER SHIT:
- Jon Bois designed his very own basketball video game. It's not very good, but he worked really hard on it. And you must experience it. [SBNation]
- Although it runs at the same time as the Blues-Yotes game, tonight is the 86th Annual Academy Awards. In case you're double screening or DVRing it, here's your official drinking game. [Uproxx]
- In the 86 years that the Oscars have been awarded, filmmaking has changed quite a bit. It was so different back then, in fact, that there are entire Oscar-nominated films that today are completely lost to us and no longer exist. Here are 9 of them. [Mental_Floss]
VIDEO:
Just one today, but it's a good one, sent in by Ashely, AKA, ActualFantasticEditor. It's actor/writer/all-around awesome dude Seth Rogan appearing before congress to seriously (mostly) about Alzheimer's Disease. A truly great speech that if you haven't seen yet, make it a point to do so. Preferably right now, because I'm giving it to you.
Tomorrow is Tyler. You know how this shit works.
- gtdonutking AT gmail DOT com
- @KingDonutI
It's not just a game day, it's also Prospect Sunday. So be sure to check back to see Brian tear his hair out about the "conditional draft pick" that could be anything from a 3rd rounder in 2016 to a first rounder this summer.
This trade had better work. Also, let's score some goddamn goals while we're at it. LET'S GO BLUES!!!