Thursday Links - Slug the BuffaLOL

I'm usually a "No Fucks Given" kinda guy, but I was just a tad worried about how well my rants would be received yesterday, and they were received quite well, it appears (especially the latter one, which was rather encouraging). Thanks, gang.

Now . . . let's get back to hockey without being total dicks about it, shall we?

No? Not yet? Oh, okay, fine. Click on things first. YES, YOU MUST!

BLUES NEWS:

• The Blues host the Sabres tonight, and while most of us pretty much figured Ryan Miller would get the nod against his old team, it looks like the start is going to Brian Elliott instead, and it appears Ryan Miller is totally cool with it. That and more from Lou's notebook. [In The Slot / Lou Korac]
• John van der Woude of Hockey By Design ranks the Blues' unis over the years from worst to first in a guest post. [SLGT]
• Episode 37 of Beyond Checkerdome went to air yesterday. We had Bradley "Leigh" Lee on with us a second time (and he brought "Tunnel Audio" with him a bit, which we forgive him for) to discuss last week, what's coming up, the defense and so much more. Thanks, Brad! [SLGT]
  

KNOW YOUR ENEMY--THE BUFFALO SABRES:

• Just because the Sabres are playing out the string doesn't mean their SBN site doesn't deserve love. In fact, they probably need all of it they can get these days. That site . . . Die By The Blade, a site named in homage to the infamous skate cut by Blues forward Steve Tuttle on Clint Malarchuk 25 years ago. Go visit them. In all honesty, there are a LOT of great Sabres sites out there. Seek them out. They're solid. [Die By The Blade]
  

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Four games last night. Sure, the Red Wings helped the Blues get better President's Trophy positioning by beating the Bruins, but that means the Red Wings won. And seriously, fuck that. And Fuck Detroit. Also, fuck the President's Trophy. Who needs that damn thing, anyway? [NHL.com 04/02/14]
• Nine contests tonight. You'll be focused on the one in St. Louis, surely, but that game in San Jose oughta be a real humdinger, I'd say. [NHL.com 04/03/14]
• Sidney Crosby took a forearm to the face (and possibly a poke in the eye) from . . . a linesman. OOPS. (S/T to @ChrisAhner) [Deadspin, via PensBurgh]
• The two top items in Ryan Lambert's Power Rankings concern the Maple Leafs, not surprisingly. [Puck Daddy]
• Wings forward Daniel Cleary, who I believe is distantly-related to my fiancee, will likely miss the rest of the season thanks to a reaction from an injection he took for an injured knee. [Red Wings]
• Canadiens defenseman Douglas Murray will have a phone hearing today because he put his elbow into the face of Lightning(s) defenseman Michael Kostka the other day. [NHL.com]
• For what it's worth, Kostka was diagnosed with a concussion. [Lightning(s)]
• Some fans want to watch their teams miss the playoffs so they can watch their teams blow the whole thing up. Remember THESE days, guys? Weren't they FUN? No? Oh, right. [Puck Daddy]
• Remember that heavy shoulder-to-shoulder hit Brooks Orpik laid on Jonathan Toews on Sunday night? Well, Toews is out the rest of the regular season but should be fine for the playoffs. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Adam Oates is probably going to be fired if the Capitals miss the playoffs, so he's just laying it to his team now, I guess. So he says Alex Ovechkin "quit" on a goal by the Stars Tuesday. And perhaps he did. But hooooooo boy, maybe don't go out and tell the media that your Captain is a lazy shit-bum, eh? [CSN Washington]

OTHER SHIT:

• Wrestlemania XXX is this weekend. Thomas Golianopoulos did a Longform on Jim Ross, the long-time voice of WWF/WWE, who is soon leaving the company. It starts with a story about his most iconic call. If you've never seen it before (and if you're even quasi-interested in wrestling, if you haven't, you're crazy), click on that first video. It was AMAZING television. [SB Nation / Longform]
• DeSean Jackson, former Eagles receiver who was released when it came out he was associated with gang members (by a team that gave a contract extension to a guy who once infamously told a security guard at a Kenny Chesney concert, "I WILL FIGHT ALL OF YOU N*****S HERE!"), was signed yesterday by the Redskins. An old pal of his, Richard Sherman, defends Jackson. And it's very well done. (I normally wouldn't post something from Monday Morning Quarterback, but since Peter King didn't write it, I'm good.) [SI / MMQB]
• DOS A . . . dos?! Yep. USA and Mexico tied in a "friendly" soccer match last night. AND HOLY SHIT THOSE TEAM USA KITS LOOK HORRIBLE. [SB Nation]
• This guy is selling minimalist prints he made, based on some old baseball stadiums, and holy shit they look cool. [S. Preston Designs]

VIDEOS:

A couple from our pal @ChrisAhner. First, he noted that the Blackhawks signed a guy named Stephen Johns recently. It's an eye test! Which one is Stephen Johns? Is it this guy:

OOOORRRRRRR is it . . . THIS GUY?!:

I jokingly said "the latter". Boy, Zemgus Girgensons (who the Blues play tonight, ironically enough) really took a bad one there from Johns. Yikes.

That does it for me for the week. J-Mill has your weekend (we assume THIS time it will INCLUDE Sunday). Send him the finest links, videos and content in ALL THE LAND:

• jasonmcadams1120 AT gmail DOT com
• @JMill1120

And don't forget to show up tonight. It'll be one of the few Sabres games that won't be nationally-televised this year, so I know it'll be difficult. Also, buy a paper and tip your vendor, you frugal jerkweasel.

LET'S GO BLUES.