Saturday Links: Imping Ain't Easy, But It's Necessary

We get to have some afternoon delight today. Click your links to warmup.

BLUES NEWS:

• First and foremost, T.J. Oshie made an appearance on The Today Show yesterday to talk about the birth complications of young Lyla Grace Oshie. She's now eating normally and recovering swiftly. I suggest we all raise a glass to the Oshies today & wish them well. I'd embed the segment below, but technical whatnots, you know. Sticktap to CCR. [TODAY]
• In other T.J. Oshie news, the search continues for his missing Olympics bag. Help find it - & please don't prank call Dan O'Neill. He's probably very busy looking for the bag. [Sporting News]
• The Blues have nominated Alexander Steen as the team's Masterton Trophy nominee. Way to get over those concussions, Steener - Bill Masterton DIED! [Blues]
• Speaking of The Great Nose-ed One, he sat out Thursday night's game and according to Hitchcock will be out this afternoon and likely tomorrow as well. Perhaps he's just getting some pre-post-season rest, or perhaps you need to start polishing off your Blues Panic ButtonsTM, especially if no one else steps up to score. Which brings me to... [Pro Hockey Talk]
  
• The Blues secondary scoring: has this been just a hair-pullingly frustrating slump, or are we totally fucked? SLGT got a new square rectangular oblong round table to discuss it. [SLGT]
• rminton618 (618 reprezent, yo!) takes a look at the remaining schedules of the three teams we could see in round one and makes predictions on who'll finish where. [SLGT]
• BOLD HEADLINE: CHELIOS SIGNS WITH BLUES! Actual news: Chris Chelios' son, Jake, has signed a PTO deal with the Blues' AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. I'll be charitable and let you guys make youre own "Chris Chelios Is So Old" joke. [Chicago Wolves]
  
• How are things in Conference III? Are the good ol' Blues still winning there? Find out, democratically. [III Communication]

KNOW YOUR ENEMY - THE COLORADO AVALANCHE:

• Colorado comes to town seemingly in a fight for home ice in their first round inevitable pummeling from match-up with the Blackhawks - but, at least in the minds of Avalanche fans, the Central division crown isn't quite settled just yet. A regulation win by the Avs would make things interesting on that front. They get their game previews up early in the mountains, don't they? [Mile High Hockey]
• As I mentioned yesterday, today isn't just a Conference III Title Belt match, an Avs defense of The Belt would make it the last Belt match of the year. [III Communication]
• Patrick Roy has vowed to rest Semyon Varlamov more down the stretch. Which will in no way make him lose his rhythm going into the postseason, costing the Avs the only thing propping up their piss poor possession numbers. Nope. That's totally not the exact thing that's going to happen. [Denver Post]

HOCKEY NEWS:

• Seven games from last night. If you willingly watched the Flames beat the Panthers, you need to work on your self-esteem. You don't have to degrade yourself like that - you're a human being, damnit! [NHL.com 4/4]
• 11 games on today's schedule, the second-to-last Saturday of the regular season. Tonight after our matinee, Stars-Lightning is your big match-up, especially if you're Team Not-Dallas. Also, the Red Wings and Canadiens are on HNiC, so if you're into having black-and-white nostalgic clips shoved down your throat, that's the game for you. [NHL.com 4/5]
• Bad news for Team Not-Dallas: the Coyotes were 40 seconds from a much needed regulation win before a gaff by goalie Thomas Greiss allowed the Oilers to tie the game, which Edmonton eventually won in the shootout. The Yotes do grab a point to climb one point above the Stars into the last wild card spot, but Big D owns two full games in hand, giving them the inside track. [Five for Howling]
• Fans and allies of #Lumbus also had a tough pill to swallow, as the Fuckhawks scored the winning goal with less than 4 seconds left in the third to beat the Blue Jackets 4-3. Fortunatley, the BJs also hold on to the last WC spot by a single point, only they have a game in hand on the Maple Leafs. [The Committed Indian]
• Turns out Drew Doughty 's injury wasn't quite as serious as first worried. It's not believed at this time to be a long-term issue. [LA Kings Insider]
• Above I mentioned that Alex Steen is the Blues' Masterton nominee - here are the list of every other team's nominees, or at least the ones that have been announced at this time. [Sporting News]
• Us Western Conference fans always complain about "East Coast bias," but that's not really a real thing, is it? Well, kinda-sorta-mabye...if you dive into the specifics of the NHL's new playoff commercials, it's hard not to see it. Sticktap again to CCR. [The Royal Half]

VIDEOS:

I just tossed you a bunch of clickables for you, plus an early start, so we'll skip right to today's videos - first, a continuation of Westeros Weekend leading up to the Game of Thrones premiere with a gangsta rap tribute to the pimpest imp in literature.

An afternoon game? Where we get to beat down on the Avalanche again? If you don't think that's the best idea in the world, I will fight you!

Send me some shit. Please?

• jasonmcadams1120 AT gmail DOT com
• @JMill1120

Game day, bitches! Tip your St. Louis Game Time vendor this afternoon.