Lightning At Blues Morning Open Thread: St. Louis Debuts

This has to be the kind of game that NBCSN dreams of. Schedule a game between two teams before the season starts, one of which you know will be contending. The other's a crapshoot. Fast-forward a few months, and the Blues have just acquired one of the biggest goalies in the NHL and the Lightning are plowing through the Eastern Conference even without Steven Stamkos.

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Unfortunately for the Lightning, when Stamkos comes back he may be without his key set-up guy. Tampa Bay's captain Martin St. Louis reportedly demanded a trade after being left off of Team Canada's initial roster by Lightning (and Team Canada) GM Steve Yzerman.

Marty must be pretty pissed if he's going to give up playing with Stamkos after all of the shit he's gone through in Tampa Bay up until now.

It's a stupid move by St. Louis, but he's not out of town yet. The Blues will have to face him at least one more time in a Bolts sweater; the Lightning are one of the rare Eastern Conference teams to have beaten the Blues, winning 4-2 back in November. They're a real force in the East; they have the ability to surprise. Will Miller's experience with them be benificial for the Blues? Hopefully so.

This is your morning open thread. Check back later on for some Lighting the Lamp, your game preview, and of course a GDT followed by a RBR recap. While you're waiting for all of that, head over to Raw Charge and say hi.