St. Louis Game Time - Blues At Flyers Gameday Storystream: Bully Broad StreetWe're one ugly bastard.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/10753/gt-fave.png2015-03-05T17:30:03-06:00http://www.stlouisgametime.com/rss/stream/79186302015-03-05T17:30:03-06:002015-03-05T17:30:03-06:00GameThread for Blues @ Flyers: Bortuzzo Era Begin
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<figcaption>Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Blues' road trip continues after a lengthy break.</p> <p>The last time that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/">Blues</a> were in Philly, they didn't exactly feel any brotherly love from the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.broadstreethockey.com/">Flyers</a>, losing 4-1. This time, post trade-deadline, the team's welcomed a few new brothers to the fold. <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/reloaded-blues-return-against-flyers/article_4b5f6709-28fd-50cb-a86d-69214d56c0e4.html" target="_blank">Barret Jackman and Rob Bortuzzo already are feeling it</a>:</p>
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<p>... Jackman recalls Bortuzzo calling him out a few times when the Pens were in town recently.</p>
<p>"I think he chirped me a couple of times," Jackman said. "We’ll let him get settled in before we bring that up."</p>
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<p>Awww.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ontheforecheck.com/">Nashville Predators</a>, who everyone believed would never not get a point ever again, has somehow lost four games in a row. The Blues are four points behind the Preds with two games in hand. The Flyers are five points behind the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/">Bruins</a> for the last playoff spot in the East. Both teams have a lot to play for. This may not be a Plager Brothers/Broad Street Bullies level game as far as toughness goes, but don't expect these guts to hug it out tonight.</p>
<p>This is your gameday thread. Comment like you're excited about the number of .gifs there are of <span>Olli Jokinen</span> out there.</p>
<p>Let's do this. Let's go Blues.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/3/5/8155151/gamethread-for-st-louis-blues-at-philadelphia-flyers-mar-5-2015hildymac2015-03-05T13:30:02-06:002015-03-05T13:30:02-06:00In My Mind: Blues At Philadelphia Flyers Preview
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<img alt="What this team needs is more guys from Finland ..." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6yIk7yLiiSyc5uyO6N-9UAdhnhw=/0x148:1536x1172/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45821382/usa-today-8415594.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>What this team needs is more guys from Finland ... | Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Blues catch a phlight to Philly phor the phinal leg of the road trip</p> <p>One of my pet peeves is the guy that only knows of one way of being a "fan" ... by constantly going negative and snarking on every facet of the team. There could be 99 things going right, but they'll isolate and spout off about the 1 thing that isn't working out at the moment. If and when the team hits a bad stretch, they take that as some sort of vindication, and almost seem to celebrate the losses.</p>
<p>Fuck That Noise.</p>
<p>Sure, there are some problems and kinks to be worked out with the team. Nobody here is going to blow smoke up your ass and tell you everything is perfect.... but you know what? It's a damn good time to be a <a href="https://www.stlouisgametime.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Blues</a> fan right now. Our boys are in second place in arguably the toughest division in the league, and are narrowing the gap with number one. There are 25 other teams and fanbases in the league that would love to be in our place right now. There's nothing "broke" about this team that can't be fixed, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with being happy with where the team is right now. If you step back and look at the big picture.... it ain't too shabby. Don't be frontin' with your negativity.</p>
<p>Where the team is right now, geographically speaking, is Philadelphia. The <a href="https://www.broadstreethockey.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Flyers</a> are 5 points and 2 teams behind the final wild card slot in the Eastern Conference. While not officially eliminated, there is no real expectation that they can make it to the postseason. This is despite having <span>Jakub Voracek</span> in the midst of a career year. This season, he is second in the league in assists (46), and tied for third in the league in total points (65). His linemate, <span>Claude Giroux</span>, is no schlub either. He is second on the team with 60 points on 18 goals and 42 assists. <span>Wayne Simmonds</span> leads the team in goals with 25, and adds 18 assists for 43 points (third on the team). That drop off tells part of the story for Philly's year. They've allowed 16 more goals than they've scored this year.</p>
<p>Part of that is due to the scoring being concentrated so much on that first line, but they are also allowing too many against as well. <span>Steve Mason</span> has decent numbers alone: .925 Save Percentage and 2.27 Goals Against Average. However, that has led to only a 12-13-8 record. He has started just 34 games this season, having gone down with a knee injury that required surgery. He's just now coming back from that injury, and is expected (though not confirmed) to be starting tonight. Backup goalie <span>Ray Emery</span> was pressed into service and put up a .893 SV% and 3.15 GAA during his absence.</p>
<p>The Flyers made 2 moves at the deadline:</p>
<p>Sending <span>Kimmo Timonen</span> to Chicago for 2 draft picks: 2015 2nd, 2016 conditional</p>
<p>Sending <span>Braydon Coburn</span> to Tampa Bay for <span>Radko Gudas</span> and 2 draft picks: 2015 1st, 2015 3rd.</p>
<p>As for the Blues, expect to see <span>Brian Elliott</span> in goal. Of our new players, the only one expected to see action is <span>Robert Bortuzzo</span> . Once you have new toys, it's necessary to take them out and play with them some. Bortuzzo should be well-familiar with the Flyers, let's see what he can show us. It's a beautiful chance to establish some first impressions.</p>
<p><b>Further Reading:</b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.broadstreethockey.com/">Broad Street Hockey</a></p>
<p><span>Blues vs Flyers coverage</span></p>
<p><b>GameDay Twitter Feed</b></p>
<p><span><a data-widget-id="516033528023105536" href="https://twitter.com/CrossCheckRaise/lists/gameday" class="twitter-timeline">Tweets from https://twitter.com/CrossCheckRaise/lists/gameday</a></span></p>
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<p><b>Final Verse:</b> It's an early start now, with the puck dropping at 6:00 St Louis time. The TV broadcast will be on Fox Sports MW, and the radio call will be KMOX 1120AM. The GDT should drop shortly beforehand. Come join us, won't you? If you have some spare time, feel free to check out today's release of Beyond Checkerdome (shameless plug).</p>
<p>Until then,</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZbZSe6N_BXs" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>LGB!!</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/3/5/8152875/in-my-mind-blues-at-philadelphia-flyers-previewCrossCheckRaise2015-03-05T08:41:59-06:002015-03-05T08:41:59-06:00Blues At Flyers Morning Open Thread: Not So New
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<figcaption>Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Some of the newest acquisitions from the trade deadline will more than likely be parked by the pretzels and popcorn tonight.</p> <p>Both the Blues and Flyers both made a few tweaks at the trade deadline. The Blues added Zybnek Michalek, Robert Bortuzzo, and Olli Jokinen. The Flyers shipped out defenseman Braydon Coburn to the Lightning.</p>
<p>The difference here is that the Flyers will probably not make the playoffs, so their tweaks were for the future. The Blues will be in the playoffs, and their tweaks was to fill in a few gaps and to polish the lineup. The polish will be in the pressbox tonight for the most part, but <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hockey/professional/reloaded-blues-return-against-flyers/article_4b5f6709-28fd-50cb-a86d-69214d56c0e4.html" target="_blank">Bortuzzo will be in the line-up against an opponent very familiar to him</a>. He'll be paired with Barret Jackman tonight. Says Jax:</p>
<p><span>"He’s tall," Jackman said. "He skates well for a big man. It’s going to take a lot of communication, but he plays a simple game — fit right in with me. He’s coming into a new system, so we’ll talk him through some things, (but) there’s nothing but good things about him."</span></p>
<p>This is your morning open thread. Check back later on for some road music, and head over to <a href="http://www.broadstreethockey.com/">Broad Street Hockey</a> to say hi to our SBN overlord Travis and his crew. They're pretty nice for Flyers fans.</p>
https://www.stlouisgametime.com/2015/3/5/8154445/blues-at-flyers-morning-open-thread-welcome-to-the-press-box-new-guyshildymac