Redden Won't play on Upcoming Trip...Plus Bishop on the Move?
Newly acquired D-man Wade Redden will not make his St. Louis Blues debut until Thursday January 24th at the earliest. The Blues have a plan in place which includes getting him consecutive days of practice before he plays. There’s a good chance he’s paired with Alex Pietrangelo when he enters the lineup.
The same lineup that defeated Detroit 6-0 Saturday will dress Monday in Nashville. This means Matt D’Agostini, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Jeff Woywitka will once again sit.
Ken Hitchcock says he was surprised his club was able to maintain the same level of energy from start to finish against the Red Wings. I don’t think anyone expected Detroit’s defense to be exposed the way it was.
Jaro Halak starts Monday in Nashville with Brian Elliott set to play Tuesday in Chicago.
Rink Rats!
Red Wings forward Darren Helm skated Sunday and appears close to returning from a back injury.
Ottawa may be looking to move goaltender Ben Bishop. Calgary could be an option although it remains premature to speculate. The Senators have three goalies on their roster along with Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
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I seriously have no idea where Langenbrunner fits on this roster. Please, let him retire and hire him as an additional coach. Hell, call him a "player-coach" that never plays in a game. I don't care, as long as he doesn't touch the ice... might he have a spot in the post season?!
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But if I am Tampa, Chicago(Vancouver? hahaha), Toronto, Columbus,Winnipeg or even Philly I would serious consider bringing Bishop on to my team. Heck as good as our goaltenders are I would put him in over any of them. Unfortunately I would say Yzerman isn't smart enough to think that far ahead. Maybe he signed a great goaltender in the making and maybe he should double down on the size thing and figure he'll find one of the two.
As you mentioned, the above clubs could use him. Additionally, Florida, Dallas, San Jose, Calgary, and the Islanders could use a guy like Bishop.
The scariest thought would be having to face him in Chicago though. flag this comment
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New Jersey only b/c they have two old netminders but he wants to play in the NHL now I would think.
As for Mike SMith. He wasn't a late bloomer in my opinion. He was awesome in Dallas and as you will recall I wanted the Blues to get him or Harding back when they were both younger. Apparently Tampa just sucks on the defensive side of the puck and acts like a black hole sucking goaltenders down in it.
They have exciting offensive players but the kind of offensive players that don't necessarily play at both ends of the rink a la Stamkos who is a one dimensional player. Much like a Brett Hull before he started to round out his game under Keenan and then complete it under Hitchcock.
I don't know just some thoughts.
I would think Philly only becaue they don't have a great back up and no one knows for sure about Bryzgalov. Though I think he has looked pretty good so far this season. I think last year was a fluke for him. But Philly is another team that as they lost dmen is having trouble playing on both sides of the puck despite their coach. flag this comment
He is a two way player. He hits.
Another one of my favorite players Sobotka was important to the game. I must say anyone who ever thought he needed to be traded or that a player like him is easy to replace--no.
I hope Berglund figures out the close tip ins. His head is up this year. He's strong so not much to be mad about.
Cole played well again. The weakness on defense looks like it is coming from Russell and Jackman.
Bad penalties by the Blues but I have a feeling the NHL is trying to make up to fans by giving home teams the sweet end of the penalty stick. Weber could have easily sat a few more times for interference. Rinne knocked the goal off its moorings during a second strong shift in a row by the Blues.
Holy crap we beat the Preds in a shootout!
Sloppy play out there. Too many of these early games I have watched have been sloppy.
Another two points on the road. Great job.
Tomorrow we need to stay out of the box and get pucks to the net. Our best chance is to get to Chicago's goaltending and some of their weak defenders.
What do you say Eggs,bacall?
Loved Tarasenko's reaction to getting knocked around a bit. The back check on the puck carrier where he finished his check after getting knocked down was exactly why I was excited to see him make his debut.
It's amazing to me to see how the game is so much faster for 20/10/91 than 42/74/57. I guess that's the difference between playing and not playing. Oshie dangled early, but I don't recall a time this early in the season where he and Perron lost the puck so much. I really like Andy Mac and Tarasenko! They look like they're having fun! I hope that puck off the chin didn't ring #10's bell...
Great effort from Sobotka. You're right. I was down on him during the Kings playoff series last year. He just looked so small. Kings were a buzzsaw... He may have been the best skater on the ice not named Tarasenko.
The broadcasters were questioning pulling Halak. I actually think it's good. He gets down on himself when he lets in a bad goal. I cringe when he drops his head after a soft one. Get him out and talk to him for a minute. It's a team game, for sure...
Tomorrow night is going to be a tough game. Have you watched Chicago this year? They look good. Hopefully, the boys get up there and get a rest in.
Perron... That line... They aught to focus on shutting down the other team's top offensive line for now. The offense will come. They need to play their way into it.
Get Rinne's big ass moving on that shoot out! He's best when he walls up. flag this comment
Tarasenko's the real deal. Already in two game he's demonstrated he can pass, shoot with accuracy, get good shots off under pressure, handle physical play, and keep his head up well enough to avoid getting smoked (tootoo). And when he scores it's like he's been there a million times. I always respect a guy who gets more excited when his teammates score than when he does himself.
If the blues can contain Hossa and Kane, they should have no trouble with the hawks.
The second period I thought we were beginning to dominate and then there was one penalty after another. I don't remember which goal it was(I want to say the first) but the Blues were dominating and a couple of missed calls occurred and you could kind of see it happen.
Nashville's power play is impressive. Nashville is still pretty darn good. Which to me says the Blues are really good.
CHicago is an offensive juggernaut. This is at the expense of defense and two goaltenders that are a bit shaky. We must especially attack Duncan Keith on the fore check and on transition. The last two years he is having trouble on the defensive side.
With Chicago's power play a ton of pressure will get you a short handed goal. Lay the body on Kane who is back on top of his game but still cannot take a hit. flag this comment