When Ken Hitchcock took over the head coaching responsibilities for the St. Louis Blues, the club was off to a disappointing 6-7-0 start. After their 1-0 victory over the Dallas Stars Monday night, the team is now 27-12-6, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers for the best record in the NHL.
Aside from the new-look Florida Panthers leading the Southeastern Division and the youthful Ottawa Senators competing with the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins for supremacy in the Northeast, the Blues have to be considered the most surprising team in the NHL thus far this season. Especially when you consider that in November the club was floundering in 14th place in the Western Conference, the uphill climb they have made in the last two months to the top of the NHL is rather remarkable.
His return probably won’t garner the level of national media attention that Sindey Crosby received with his first game back, but don’t think the city of St. Louis isn’t ecstatic to see David Perron back in the lineup.
After missing 97 games with a concussion dating back to last season, the St. Louis Blues forward is set to make his return tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Perron will play left wing on a line with Patrik Berglund and Matt D’Agostini and has said that although he is nervous, he is prepared for contact.
Of the four men who were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday night, there is one common theme that ran consistently throughout each of their careers: perseverance.
Yes, Ed Belfour, Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mark Howe were all NHL superstars in their time, but each of them had their own hills to climb in order to one day be immortalized in that wonderful building in Downtown Toronto.
Belfour, who was often considered eccentric—even for a goaltender—went undrafted after playing collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota. He then would have to cut his teeth in the IHL before finally being given the chance to start for the Chicago Blackhawks.
However, with Milan Lucic’s hit (which was either intentional or unintentional depending on what city you are from) on Ryan Miller in Saturday night’s game at TD Garden, the two now seem to be sworn enemies for life.
The incident occurred as Lucic was chasing down a loose puck that got away from him on a potential breakaway. Miller thought he could beat Lucic to the puck, so he came out of the crease to clear it away. Lucic ended up crashing into Miller, with his arms up, knocking off Miller’s mask, practically decapitating him in the process.
The St. Louis Blues haven’t made the playoffs for the last three seasons. They’re not taking any chances on making it four in a row.
Disappointed with the club’s 6-7-0 start to the 2011-12 season, the Blues fired head coach Davis Payne after just one full season behind the bench. In his place, the Blues have hired veteran coach Ken Hitchcock to a contract through next season.
While the 40-year-old Payne was the second-youngest coach in the NHL, the 59-year-old Hitchcock brings much more experience to a relatively young Blues team. In parts of 14 seasons as a coach with the Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets, Hitchcock is 534-350-88-70, winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999-2000.
In the post-lockout NHL, having a solid netminder is a must. However, especially in recent years, backup goaltenders are becoming just as valuable of a commodity. Wins are hard to come by in this league, and if a team’s No. 1 guy in the crease goes down with an injury or just needs a break, it’s important that teams have a dependable backup to fill the void.
Here is a list of five backup goalies who have not only proved their worth thus far, but in some instances, have actually taken over the starting role.
Concussions have been a real problem in the NHL over the last few seasons, and unfortunately that trend has already showed signs of continuing in the 2011-12 season.
The St. Louis Blues, a team that was hit hard by the injury bug last year, is feeling the effects of it once again when they received word that forward Andy McDonald suffered a head injury at the end of the second period of Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.
For the third straight season last year, the St. Louis Blues finished in the middle of the pack in the Western Conference. And while they finished all of those seasons with records above .500, only one of them (2008-09) was good enough to get them into the postseason.
However, last season may have been the most disappointing. Three large parts of the Blues‘ offense, David Perron, Andy McDonald and T.J. Oshie, missed significant time due to injury, with Perron and McDonald suffering concussions and Oshie going down with a fractured ankle. Despite having Jaroslav Halak in net, the Blues couldn’t manage to get over the hump of mediocrity without their three big guns on offense.
I am happy to announce a new promotion here at Hockey Tickets Online. Beginning in October 2011, we will giving away way two tickets each month to a regular season NHL game.
To enter, simply leave your name and email address below. Once you are entered into the contest, your will be eligible to win tickets every month.
Congratulations to Eric who is our October ticket winner. Eric gets two tickets to the Panthers v Penguins game in November.
Jonathan Toews has been given the monicker “Mr. Serious” for a reason.
No, it’s not just because he’s a no-nonsense type of guy. It’s because back on July 18, 2008, at just 20 years old, the Chicago Blackhawks made Toews the third youngest captain in the history of the NHL.
Wearing that “C” on your sweater is a huge honor, but it comes with an incredible amount of responsibility. Toews may not be the most vocal captain in the NHL, but the now 24-year-old is quickly learning when he needs to take a stand and give his squad a good tongue lashing.
When Ken Hitchcock took over the head coaching responsibilities for the St. Louis Blues, the club was off to a disappointing 6-7-0 start. After their 1-0 victory over the Dallas Stars Monday night, the team is now 27-12-6, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers for the best record in the NHL.
