St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Do The Penguin Dance
Good morning Blues fans! The time has come again to face the defending Stanley Cup champions. After already defeating them and potentially gaining the spark they needed with a coaching change, things might be looking up for the Blues…might.
The St. Louis Blues have another chance to turn their season back around. I can’s stress that word enough – another.
We have said it so many times, it seems. After every win the talk is about whether this will be the one to spark a push forward. Will this performance be the one that sticks?
Each time we have been not only disappointed, but bitterly disappointed. The Blues have found new and inventive ways to rip your heart out and almost laugh in your face about it.
The Blues again have a chance to build on something and push back toward the light. They have already defeated Pittsburgh this season, so they have an opportunity to sweep the season series with the defending champions.
St. Louis is coming off a rather impressive win over Toronto. That could be attributed to the new coach factor or Bobby Plager’s emotional speech. They can show they have figured a couple things out with a win tonight.
Additionally, this team needs to win or at the very least have a good performance if they want to prove they are not just a blip. They need to be able to show that it won’t be just one game off the bat to impress their new boss and then revert back to their terrible habits.
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Surprisingly, the Blues have a pretty good record against Pittsburgh even though one is a title contender and the Blues have only recently tried to be. St. Louis is 5-2 against the Pens since the 2013-14 season.
The only bad thing about that mark is St. Louis is much more hit or miss against Pittsburgh when playing in St. Louis. The Blues have alternated wins and losses every season at home. If that holds true, we can sadly expect a Blues loss tonight.
St. Louis needs to ignore that. The Blues need to ignore all the chatter and outside talk and just play. If they can put together a performance similar to the one we saw on Thursday, they can do that. If not, then this team is broken and it will take an offseason to repair.
Let’s hope that is not the case because summers are way too long for this hockey fan. I’d rather see a good game and have the Blues do the Penguin dance after a good win.
Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.
Despite his history for being a screamer, Mike Yeo is taking a different tact early with his superstar Vladimir Tarasenko. Positive reinforcement has had a good effect so far even with a small sample size. (Post-Dispatch)
With the NHL taking part in its “You Can Play” Initiative, every team was asked to pick a representative. The Blues selected David Perron for that honor. The bigger surprise may have been who the Montreal Canadiens picked. (Arch Authority)
One of the lesser talked about coaching changes was the switch from Jim Corsi to Martin Broduer. You can’t argue with Marty’s resume, but legendary players can’t always impart their knowledge successfully – see Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky. Like Yeo, it is so far so good for the Hall of Famer as a goalie coach. (STLToday)
All the discussion about Kevin Shattenkirk in the past seemed hinged on whether he would re-sign with the potential trade partner. That seems to have turned as anyone even remotely interested might only want a rental for fear of the potential flat salary cap next year. (ESPN)
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It can only be a short term effect, but history shows that a coaching change will provide a positive effect. How long that lasts is up to Yeo and the Blues. (STLToday)
For those with a bit of free time or not interested in the “Big Game” on Sunday, you can visit the NHL’s Centennial Fan Arena. It will be in St. Louis today and Sunday. (NHL)
Have a great day Blues fans!
