St. Louis Game Time - Predators At Blues GameDay Storystream: Allen Squares Off Against A Potent Preds... Defense?We're one ugly bastard.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/10753/gt-fave.png2015-12-18T01:34:25-06:00http://www.stlouisgametime.com/rss/stream/101654872015-12-18T01:34:25-06:002015-12-18T01:34:25-06:00Predators Vs. Blues Recap: Vladdy Don't Care 'Bout No Return.
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<p>Smells like bacon in here. </p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a> returned home tonight to take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ontheforecheck.com/">Nashville Predators</a>. The Blues coming off a 4-3 come from behind win against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arcticicehockey.com/">Jets</a> the other night look to keep that winning thing going. Nashville is coming off a 2-1 OT loss to Calgary on Tuesday. Your starting lines for tonight would see the line of Steen, Stastny and Tarasenko reunited. Paajarvi would remain with Backes and Brouwer. Fabbri, Lehtera, and Jaskin would make up your third line and Upshall, Brozdiak and Reaves would round out your forward lines. The D-parings would remain constant as Bouwmeester and Pietrangelo would be your top pairing. Gunnarsson/Parayko and Lindbohm/Shattenkirk would be the other two pairs. In goal tonight would be <span>Jake Allen</span>.</p>
<p><b>First Period:</b></p>
<p><b></b>The Blues penalty kill coming into tonight is number one in the league. Apparently no one told the Predators this. <span>Troy Brouwer</span> went to the box for interference. <span>Roman Josi</span> puts the puck in the back of the net for a 1-0 Predators lead.</p>
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<p>Jake Allen almost gave the Preds a 2-0 lead here as he fumbled the puck behind the net. Yikes.</p>
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<p>Not the start that the Blues were hoping for. The Blues did have their chances though. <span>Pekka Rinne</span> was just as strong early on.</p>
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<p>One of the Blues better chances came later in the period. The Tarasenko, Stastny, Steen line was back at it again. Rinne had to make a brilliant save to keep it out of the back of the net.</p>
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<p>Despite that the Blues would trail the Preds 1-0 after one.</p>
<p><b>Second Period:</b></p>
<p>The second period was uneventful from a goal scoring standpoint. Not to say that the Blues didn't have their chances. Here Ryan Reaves had one of the better chances of the period when he almost banked one off a Preds skate passed Rinne</p>
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<p>Kyle Brozdiak would go off for repairs early on in the period. Some line shuffling would take place and therefore you saw Stastny with Reaves and Upshall. Here they would generate a couple of chances against Rinne. Just couldn't solve him in the first two periods tonight.</p>
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<p><b>Third Period:</b></p>
<p>That would be until the third period. The Blues seem to find another gear in the third, and they found it again tonight. (They're plus 15 in the third in scoring differential) The Blues seemed to have a power play early on in the period but <span>Paul Stastny</span> would be called for a faceoff violation. Here's the thing though...HE NEVER TOUCHED THE PUCK.</p>
<p>With the ensuing 4-on-4 <span>David Backes</span> would tie the game on a tip in from <span>Alex Pietrangelo</span>.</p>
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<p>Needless to say the bad call wouldn't hurt the Blues. It was the first goal 4-on-4 for the Blues this year. It was still a bullshit call. But so is delay of game anything. But that's for another article. Whatever. Backes would net his 10th of the year. Pietrangelo (10) and Shattenkirk (16) would get the assists.</p>
<p>Still on the 4-on-4 Jake Allen would deny the Preds to come right back down the ice and steal the momentum back from the Blues. Here he makes two timely saves, with one of them being on the breakaway.</p>
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<p>More Jake Allen keeping the game in check for the Blues.</p>
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<p><span>Scottie Upshall</span> (and the fourth line period) had a great game tonight. Here he does everything but score.</p>
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<p>Side note: Brozdiak did come back in the third because he's a hockey player, yeah yeah.</p>
<p>Delay of game penalty again against the Blues. (Ugh) During the Preds power play Fabbri gets hit right in the helmet by Bouwmeester. Whoops. Also, <span>Shea Weber</span> has a wide open chance in front of the net. Only to be denied by Allen.</p>
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<p>The Predators would get called late in the period for tripping and the Blues would take advantage. I mean it is the man advantage right? <span>Vladimir Tarasenko</span>. Still good at hockey. Running out of great jokes/things to say about him because he is that good. Anyway, he puts the Blues ahead 2-1 on this GREAT shot.</p>
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<p>You can spell clutch T-a-r-a-s-e-n-k-o. It is Vladdy's 20th goal of the year. It marks the third straight season that he's scored 20 goals. Wow. Steen (19) and Stastny (8) would get the assists.</p>
<p>Late in the game, there would be another one of those how did that not find the back of the net moments</p>
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<p>Seriously. But after all of that the Blues would make yet another comeback in the third and win it 2-1. While the Blues didn't play a full 60, they played well enough to win. That's certainly something to build on. That and with Tarasenko, they can sometimes get away with it. The Blues play Calgary Saturday afternoon. Go out and buy a paper and enjoy a Saturday matinee.</p>
<p>I also wanted to post this in case anyone missed it.</p>
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<blockquote lang="en" class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jax?src=hash">#Jax</a>. <a href="https://t.co/ef99FM6GG2">https://t.co/ef99FM6GG2</a></p>
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) <a href="https://twitter.com/StLouisBlues/status/677659292267360256">December 18, 2015</a>
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<p>Thank you Jax. For everything. (Minus signing with a division rival. Whatever jerk.)</p>
<p><b>Three <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.defendingbigd.com/">Stars</a>:</b></p>
<p>Third Star: <span>Barret Jackman</span> (Didn't do anything on the score sheet, nice gesture from the home folks tonight)</p>
<p>Second Star: David Backes (1 goal, Have you ever seen him and Captain America in the same room? No? Just saying)</p>
<p>First Star: Vladimir Tarasenko (1 goal, witty comment about how good he is here)</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/12/18/10492096/predators-vs-blues-recap-vladdy-dont-care-bout-no-returnJustin422015-12-17T18:30:02-06:002015-12-17T18:30:02-06:00GameThread for Predators at Blues: Blues Typical
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<figcaption>Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Blues would like to build on their come from behind victory on Tuesday night. Can a flat Predators team be what they need?</p> <p>It has to be a little tough to play for a team for over a decade, then return as the enemy.</p>
<p>Regardless of what fans felt about <span>Barret Jackman</span> (and there were certainly opinions), the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a> considered him a valued teammate, and <a target="_blank" href="http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=793205&navid=DL%7CSTL%7Chome">on today's Overtime Blog they had nothing but great things to say</a>.</p>
<blockquote> <p>"As a pair, we got to grow together and he was someone who allowed me to play my offensive-style game," said Blues defenseman <span>Kevin Shattenkirk</span>. "I knew I had a rock-steady defenseman back there who can really take care and bail me out of some bad predicaments. But more than anything, he really just taught me how to be a professional and take of myself - at the rink, off the ice and how to be a part of the community and make sure you’re a positive influence with fans.</p> <p>"He’s someone I will always reference as one of my mentors."</p> </blockquote>
<p>Aw.</p>
<p>This is your GameDay Thread. Comment like you think Jackman looks weird in a Preds jersey.</p>
<p>Let's do this. Let's Go Blues.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/12/17/10459348/gamethread-for-nashville-predators-at-st-louis-blues-dec-17-2015hildymac2015-12-17T15:00:03-06:002015-12-17T15:00:03-06:00Preds At Blues Game Preview: Preds In Their Place
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<figcaption>Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Will Shea Weber be able to get a puck through the Blues PK unit and Jake Allen?</p> <p>Tuesday night's victory over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.arcticicehockey.com/">Jets</a> was described by <span>Jake Allen</span> as a "character win." I would certainly say so. Character wins are better than moral victories, because the latter means you lost. The former means that you dug deep, realized what you were doing wrong, fixed your issues, and played.</p>
<p>Boy howdy, did they ever. They were helped by the Jets' amazing ability to take a nearly constant stream of penalties, which more than likely won't be the case tonight against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ontheforecheck.com/">Nashville Predators</a>. But if the Preds do take a few trips to the box, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a>' power play is picking up steam and could make them pay. Skewed by a rash of ineffective play at home, the Blues' power play is clicking at 20.2%, tied with Nashville for the ninth best in the league. They are, after making the Jets pay several times, the best road power play in the league.</p>
<p>Perhaps they finally had "that practice." I'm assuming that's a thing this season.</p>
<p>The Predators will have a hard time scoring against the league's best penalty kill, and one of the league's top ten goaltenders, but the Blues shouldn't sleep on Shea Weber. Weber is second on the Preds in goals with 9, eight of which have come on the power play, and the team's defense total has 35.</p>
<p>The Preds haven't had a strong December, much like the Blues. Tonight could be key in getting St. Louis back on track and able to string together victories, but it could also be key to righting Nashville's ship as well. That translates into the typical, hard fought game that we expect from these two teams. Last month's game was an aberration. The Blues and Preds play each other closely, which should lead to a quality game for the return of <span>Barret Jackman</span>.</p>
<p>The Blues should be rolling with the same line-up that fought back in Winnipeg. If they begin tonight's game with the fortitude that they showed in the last two periods against the Jets, and if they continue the pressure, the Blues should win this game handily.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/12/17/10416686/predators-at-blues-game-preview-blues-league-best-penalty-kill-set-tohildymac2015-12-17T11:00:02-06:002015-12-17T11:00:02-06:00Lighting The Lamp: Mental Malfunctions
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<p>You might recognize the "Lighting the Lamp" feature from the Game Time paper. Rick Ackerman has been nice enough to send over his column for the website. "Lighting the Lamp" will be featured every home game day.</p> <p><b>Lighting the Lamp</b> <b>with Rick Ackerman</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After two months of the current season, the <a href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">St. Louis Blues</a> were sitting pretty with a 15-6-3 record and 33 points. With 11 home games, nine against teams with fewer points, it looked good for the Note to ratchet it up and begin to catch up with Dallas in the Central Division. Inexplicably, the Blues wet the bed against Florida, crapped the bed with an embarrassing loss to Toronto, vomited in the bed by losing to Philadelphia and then slept fairly well in bed, yet somehow lost to Colorado, then in last place, even though they out shot the Avs 43-18. That makes eight points squandered, making it difficult to stay even, much less catch up, with the bang-bang <a href="https://www.defendingbigd.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dallas Stars</a>. The boys are 2-4-0 at home in December, outscored 15 to 12 in six games. Ouch!</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, explain how and why the Blues looked like a strong <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl-playoffs" class="sbn-auto-link">Stanley Cup</a> contender with a brilliant (well, two periods, anyway) performance against the Stars, the best team in the league. And then St. Louis skated into Winnipeg and stole a game, coming from behind to edge the <a href="https://www.arcticicehockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jets</a> with two third period goals by Vladi Tarasenko (his 19th) and Paul Stastny. Only Dallas' Jamie Benn has scored more goals (20) than the Blues' Russian ace. Actually, <span>Jake Allen</span> was most responsible for the gritty victory, making 34 saves in the game, many of them brilliant. Although a respectable overall 9-6-2 at home, the Blues are now an excellent 9-4-2 total on the road, proving that they are playing better on the road away from the many pressures at home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Actually, it's a mental problem. For reasons coaches and hockey analysts have been trying to figure out for over a hundred years now, many hockey teams such as the Blues play down to inferior teams and play up to superior teams. So, Coach Hitchcock should emphasize to the players that the visiting <a href="https://www.ontheforecheck.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Nashville Predators</a> are really a superior hockey team, even though they trail the Blues by four points. Statistically, these divisional rivals are pretty much even. At this point in the season, the Blues have barely outscored the Preds 82 to 81 and allowed fewer goals against, 78 to 81, with Nashville playing one game less then St. Louis. The Predators' power play is identical to the Blues (both at 20.2%), while the Blues' penalty killing is vastly superior, 88.0% (first in the NHL) to 76.5% (third worst in the league). Nashville gets slightly more shots per game, 31.4 to 30.4. Both teams allow few shots against, the Preds at 26.5 (second in the league) and the Blues 28.0 (sixth in the NHL).</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">It is exhilarating to see Nashville have success both on and off the ice. Many players will tell you it is their favorite NHL city to visit, mostly due to the music and night life readily available close to Bridgestone Arena. Last season was a turning point for the yellow-clad Predators as the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time in three years. Even though they were bounced by the <a href="https://www.secondcityhockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Blackhawks</a> in the first round, Nashville sold out a club record 30 games and Bridgestone was voted America's "Venue of the Year" by Pollstar. The Arena underwent many renovations in 2014, including a new entrance at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Demonbreun, uniting the rink with the Music City Center and new businesses in Nashville's booming SoBro (south of Broadway) district. Management also installed new exterior LED boards, free Wi-Fi arena-wide and opening Tavern '96, the building's first full-time restaurant.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Attendance at Bridgestone jumped 1.5% in 2014-15 to an average of 16, 854, 98.5% of capacity and has pretty much stayed the same this season at an average of 16, 789, only 65 fewer per game. Not shabby at all for a southern city with no previous major league hockey and a metropolitan area population of only $1.8 million. More importantly, however, the team's value according to Forbes is currently $255 million (ranked 26th in the NHL; the Blues are 24th at a value of $270 million), an increase of $81 million since the team was bought by the current owners in 2007. With a manageable debt to value ratio of 33%, the team is in good shape financially, especially since they are not spending to the top of the salary cap. At $61.25 million, the Predators have around $10.15 million left in cap space.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Believe it or not, Nashville's leading point producer is defenseman <span>Roman Josi</span> with seven goals and 22 points and a minus two in plus/minus. The leading goal scorer is ex-Penguin right winger <span>James Neal</span> with 12 goals and 20 points. Franchise defenseman <span>Shea Weber</span> is right behind them with nine goals and 19 points and a surprising minus five. Veteran center <span>Mike Ribeiro</span> and young winger <span>Filip Forsberg</span> have the most assists with 13. The usual backbone of the team is goaltender <span>Pekka Rinne</span>, yet his stats are nothing to crow about. He has allowed a decent 2.41 goals against per game with a save percentage of .907 in 26 games, with a pretty good record of 12-8-6. Rinne made 19 saves in Tuesday's home loss to Calgary, only allowing two goals against. Ex-Blue Kris Russell notched the game winner in overtime.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With Minnesota and Chicago only two points and Nashville only four points behind St. Louis, it behooves the Blues to pretend this is a road game tonight against a stronger team and put two more points in the Central Division bank.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/12/17/10402340/lighting-the-lamp-mental-malfunctionshildymacAckermania2015-12-17T08:00:03-06:002015-12-17T08:00:03-06:00Predators At Blues Morning Open Thread: Jax
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<figcaption>Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Long-time Blue Barret Jackman makes his Scottrade return tonight.</p> <p>There are two sides to every fan, the rational and the emotional. The rational side of me realizes that it was time for <span>Barret Jackman</span> to move on, as there was no room for him on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a>' blue line any longer. He's aging, he's getting slower, and his spot has been taken by <span>Colton Parayko</span>, who is a significant upgrade.</p>
<p>The emotional side of me, though, does miss him. As the longest tenured Blue (and longest tenured St. Louis athlete) upon his departure, it was hard to envision a team without him and his intolerance for stupidity.</p>
<p>Tonight, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ontheforecheck.com/">Nashville Predators</a> are in town. After a strong start to the season, they've struggled in December, going 3-3-2. They've lost five straight overtime games, so there's your key, folks. Get them to OT.</p>
<p>Actually, better yet, finish them in regulation. The Blues popped them 4-0 in November; how about a performance like that at home?</p>
<p>This is your morning open thread. Check back later for Rick's Lighting the Lamp, your game preview, and your GDT. While we're waiting, head to <a href="http://www.ontheforecheck.com/">On the Forecheck</a> and say hi to the nice Nashvillians over there.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/12/17/10399478/predators-at-blues-morning-open-thread-welcome-back-jaxhildymac