SB Nation User Blog: gallagher

The Return of the Late Night Poll: What Now Edition.

gallagher — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 06:23:48 -0000

I am Silent Jay, you will not hear my exaltations!

People have called for trades. People have called for a coaching change. People have called for patience. Some have declared the end of mediocrity. Some are still cautiously optimistic.

And what of you, Up Late On Monday?

Me? I want to believe. I want to believe that the Blues have turned the corner and won't be so .500 from here on out. Of course, I believed that bullshit when they got that big win in San Jose and everyone was screaming, "Just like Boston last year! Just like Boston last year! Why am I screaming! Why am I screaming!"

Put me in the cautiously optimistic camp. But if this was just about me, it'd be a small poll.

What of you, Should Be Sleeping?

Poll

The Blues have been better on the Western Canadian Swing (R). What should management do now?

Retribution It Is; Blues Score Touchdown In Edmonton.

gallagher — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:25:30 -0000

by John Ulan - AP

"Oh no, get ready for the hard hugger."

View full size photo »

The annoucers tonight spent a good amount of time talking about how play like tonight is "how you get into the playoffs" and about how great it must be for management to see this when they showed such patience with the current lineup and about how "some" have been questioning coach Andy Murray's tenure with the team and how it's great to see his team respond.

Slow down.

The Blues just beat the 10th place team in the West (Vancouver) and the 15th place team in the West (Edmonton). I'm as excited as any Blues fan, but seriously, let's not declare the inconsistent efforts to be a thing of the past just yet.

That said, Wah-fucking-hoo! It sure was nice to see the Blues score goal after goal (after goal) against the Oilers, especially after I had to watch in person as the Oilers whipped the shit out of our boys on home ice 10 days ago. It was especially satisfying to watch their fans sitting in quiet frustration as the Blues celebrated after each score and to hear them booing their team off the ice.

Comes around, goes around, ya'heard?

Some random notes for your discussion:

We've spoken before about Alexander Steen and the flashes of skill we see from him. When he gets a little space to wind it up, the guy has a lazer of a shot and he knows how to put it under the bar. You can see why he was drafted in the first round when he unleashes that thing. It also now makes sense why he's seeing time on the power play. On the point, he has the room to operate and set that thing up. A goal and three assists tonight? That dude nose how to score. (You're welcome.)
Yet another example tonight of a guy (Ethan Moreau) overreacting to a perfectly legal hit by going after a guy and trying to start a fight. Yes, I know the Blues do it to, I just don't understand it. Why not just line the guy up later and give it right back? I liked seeing T.J. Oshie, victim of the attack, telling one of his teammates to not go after the guy. He knew they got the power play called and knew it was simple baiting.
Chris Mason: another one amazing save/one soft goal given up night. I'll leave it at that tonight, but seriously, it's an issue when the Blues are scoring their normal two or three goals and not putting up seven.
People are starting to get on Erik Johnson for his play and I can see some of that, he is not a sacred cow, of course, but I'm willing to let a lot of that go. Persoanlly, I like seeing him being creative and going where he needs to go to make plays. He gets back to cover for the most part, but the big benefit is that unpredictability offers offensive chances - it throws off the opposition when they don't know what he's going to do.
Thank you, Ladislav Smid. Thank you very much.
Nice to see the TechnoViking looking confident again. Welcome to Flashback City, Population: Us. Let's hope the IceBerg can keep it going and earn back some more of that playing time. I liked his line tonight with David Perron and B.J. Crombeen, as it gives them some playmaking, some shooting and some grit out there at the same time. Can we see that together a little longer, Coach? Please?
Speaking of lines, also a fan of Paul Kariya playing with T.J. Oshie and David Backes as they did to start the game. Kariya and Frosted Tips have a similar passing ability and their chemistry is apparent. Coach? Hmm? Please?
I've been a big fan of Silent Jay McClement for some time now and watching him score is always a bonus. He strikes me as the kind of guy who can hang around St. Louis his whole career, play a solid, neutralizing game for year after year and never really get a ton of attention. Then, when his career is all about over, everyone is gonna go, "Damn, that guy was really good, wasn't he?"

The Blues are back at it on Wednesday against Calgary, a team that (as I like to say), has like three good players. They're seveth in the Western Conference, but have struggled lately, going 4-5-1 in their last 10. Can the Save And Murray Tour continue to succeed?

Finally, a celebration for a nice night from Patrik Berglund:

Consistently Inconsistent Or Is There Retribution Afoot? Blues at Oilers GDT

gallagher — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 00:40:14 -0000

Another night in Western Canada against yet another team that I don't hate. The Canucks, as I mentioned yesterday, had some possible reasons to dislike, but there's just no hate there. The Oilers are the same for me. Back in the late '90s and early '00s I'd watch them on the Center Ice package and thought they were an interesting team, but that faded somewhere along the way. Today I probably can't name four Oilers without cheating and looking online.

But again, there are some reasons to try to get your hate on. For one, the Oilers are apparently starting their rookie netminder Devan Dubnyk because Jeff Deslauriers had it too easy against the Note in St. Louis and thought he'd let the kid have a crack at them. Seriously though, the Blues are reaching that point this year where teams do not respect their pop-gun offense and have been starting their backup netminders against them. That should piss the team off, but with this group, don't hold your breath.

Second, the Blues were booed off of home ice when these two teams met just 10 days ago after the Oilers came back from 3-0 to win 5-3. The Fire Andy Murray campaign picked up serious steam after that uninspiring loss and has further added supporters with the team's consistently inconsistent efforts. Can the Blues fire themselves up for some retribution against the Oilers? Can they play a good game tonight or will they follow the same pattern of good game/bad game they've had most of the season. Can they get another win on the Save Andy's Job Tour?

Again, who knows?

The Oilers, for their part, have struggled lately as well after going 5-0 on the road, capped by that win in St. Louis on Dec. 11, followed by a 0-3 steak on home ice.

I know the Road Music brought in some Heart for tonight's game, but I have a suggestion of my own. If I'd been one of the guys who got booed off the ice against this team, this is what I'd have on the locker room boombox before we went out:

And yeah, the puppiez help somehow.

Game is at 8 on FSN Midwest and KMOX. The other half live over at The Copper & Blue, where they totally copied us and use a Psalm from the Bible to intro the game.

This, of course, is your GDT.

Move, bitch, get out the way, Get out the way, bitch, get out the way.

Sunday Funday in Vancouver: Your Blues at Canucks GDT

gallagher — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:27:50 -0000

There's not much I like about the Vancouver Canucks. Which is not to say that I hate them, because most of my hate is taken up these days by the Detroit Red Wings, their fans, wasting my time at home games and the fact that Family Circus is still in the newspaper every day, meaning that someone is still collecting a paycheck for that shit.

And now we're ready for a Rainbow Party.

But the Canucks do have some kinetic hate. There's the playoff loss from last year that came after the Blues had emptied their emotional and physical tanks just to make. There's the trash-talking about David Backes' wife that was initiated by Ryan Kesler and Alexander Burrows (Kelly Backes is a saint! A SAINT!). This is the team that proudly counted Todd Bertuzzi as a member for the better part of a decade, a decade during which he perfected the whiny-face and tried to kill a grinder who had already answered the bell for his indiscretion during the game. Plus, they have the creepiest twins in all the land:

Come and play with us. Forever and ever and ever.

And they have Roberto Luongo, who's greatest asset might be the creepy, greasy guido look he's got down:

You know that's distracting to shooters.

But all that said, the Canucks are a good team. They are 20-15-0 and currently sitting in 10th in the Western Conference. A win tonight would bump them into the top-8, so they'll be looking to atone for their embarassing thrashing in St. Louis on Nov. 10 (6-1) and to put themselves back into the playoff picture.

As for the Blues, they're on the road, where their record is excellent. A win tonight would propel them out of 15th place in the West up to 12th in the conference with games in hand against everyone above them. A win would go a long way to taking the pressure off of coach Andy Murray who was given the mixed message via the media that his job is safe... at least until Christmas. Isn't Christmas this week? Isn't that the same kind of promise you'd make to a Christmas goose?

Looking for effort, looking for consistency, looking for something that suggests that the players don't want Murray to get fired. That is what we're looking for tonight. Game is at 9 tonight on FSN. The other half lives over at Nucks Misconduct. This is your GDT.

Get it done.

St. Blouis Lose: Back Down to .500.

gallagher — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:56:58 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

"Damn stupid gloves! I can't get the stupid middle finger up!" St. Louis says fuck you to St. Louis, opening up a black hole in downtown St. Louis.

Browse more photos »

I've got about 150 less frustrating things to do tonight than talk about that game some more, so here we go, high-speed style.

I've come to the conclusion that the reason that none of us can point to any one or two things that the Blues are doing wrong is because it is the intangibles that are costing this team games.

Consistency.
Heart.
Desire.
Need for the puck. Want for the puck.
The extra gear that kicks in when a player refuses to lose or decides he has to win.

These intangibles are hard to put a finger on. Who has them and who doesn't. But to me these things show up in comments like, "Boy, that guy is flying tonight." Or, on the negative side, "Holy shit, I thought Brad Boyes was a healthy scratch. Has he been here all night?"

Here's a list of everyone I thought was showing us all the intangibles tonight:

T.J. Oshie

Some other random thoughts for your consideration:

My couple articles about players being virtually untradeable and Andy Murray being virtually unkeepable at this point weren't terribly popular a couple weeks ago. Now, I stand by them even more. What kind of value can the Blues get for anyone that they'd be willing to trade at this point? How much longer can they stand behind Murray when his team's only consistent trait is that they are wildly inconsistent? Remember everyone, this is a business being run by businessmen. What happened at your job in 2009 when business was bad?
At what point will we have a goalie on this team who isn't a back-up trying to hold down a starter's job? Chris Mason is the king of the amazing save/weak goal game. Granted, there wasn't a ton of defense being played in front of him on a couple of those goals, but it's getting harder and harder to defend him as a true starting netminder. Don't get me started on Ty Conklin, because that would be replacing a backup trying to be a starter with another good backup trying to be a starter. You know, like replacing Manny Legace with Chris Mason.
14 seconds isn't a long time, but apparently it's enough to take advantage of a team like the Blues who, again, showed an incredible lack of killer instinct every time they scored a goal tonight.
Speaking of the building-deflating quick response goals the Blues kept giving up, it sure didn't stop Towel Boy from doing his attention-boner-inducing little ceremony. The Candy Ladies knew well enough to not pass the bag of celebratory chocolate and Swedish Fish, why doesn't Towelie get it?
Most overheard comment of the night: "Something's gotta give, right? Something has got to give."
Runner-up: "Wait, I thought I was the last piece of the puzzle."

The Blues are going on the dreaded Western Canadian Swing (TM) starting Sunday night in Vancouver. Maybe something will have given by then.

Blues at Hawks Overflow, Period 2.

gallagher — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:42:35 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

Waaaaah.

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You request, we acknowledge.

Go get it.

Cancel My Away Game Season Ticket Plan: Blues Win At Home.

gallagher — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:22:13 -0000

First things first: teams are starting to look past the Blues. Calgary started Curtis McIlhinney tonight, he of four games played this season (Miikka Kiprusoff has played in 29). But let's give the Blues this: they took advantage of not having to play Kiprusoff and did what they needed to get one of those heretofore elusive home wins.

Generally speaking, that team reminded me of the Blues of the early part of the Edmonton game. As we were talking about that game tonight at the rink I made the comment that at first we were all so excited because they were playing like the team we thought we had. Then, in the third period, they played like the team we unfortunately knew we had. That second team never showed up tonight.

Yes, there were mistakes; teams don't play perfect for all 60 minutes. barret Jackman lost track of Jarome Iginla a couple times and it nearly cost them. Yes, Brad Boyes missed the net wide again in key situations, but at least he made some smart plays with the puck and wound up with three assists tonight. Chris Mason made his standard unbelievable save and his standard "how'd that go in?" faux pas.

Overall, however, the type of effort we expect to see from this team every night. If it takes Barret Jackman and Keith Tkachuk mistreating each other in practice like they did this weekend, then so be it. Professional athletes are weird, giant man-child finely tuned coordinated machines. Head games and superstitions come with the territory.

Finally, a few other notes from tonight:

I didn't see the Hull ceremony, but I'm hoping to catch the replay. I was in the building early enough to catch the whole game and when they showed Hullie up on the jumbotron and he flashed that smile-smirk of his and gave the thumbs-up, it made me smile. I miss that guy. He made me a hockey fan. I love that guy.
In case you missed it, the fan that yelled something out that gave Hull pause and made the whole rink laugh was someone who yelled out, "Keenan sucks!" People said it looked like Hull wanted to say something about it. Personally, I don't know how he refrained.
Another great recurring joke of the night was the interviews of Hull's Team. Angelllla asked Tony Twist, Curtis Joseph, Geoff Courtnall and others to tell a 'family friendly Brett Hull story. Not one of them could do it. CuJo even said, "There are no family-friendly Brett Hull stories." Did I mention that I love that guy?
As for the game, a big sign that things went the right way is that I don't have to gush about the play of Silent Jay McClement tonight. When McClement's solid defensive play is noticable, things aren't going well for the team. Silent Jay was solid as always, but it's a good thing that he was overshadowed.
Apparently Brett Hull said in an interview today that T.J. Oshie reminds him a lot of himself when he was that age. All I can say about that is that we should all go into avoid the jinx mode and never speak of this again. That said, how fitting was it for the Teej to win the game with a Hullian shot late in the game? Sinking into a hole in the defense and then snapping on in? Quite fitting, actually.
On the power play tonight, Brad lee said, "Why is Alex Steen out there?" I replied with, "He's a great puck handler." A second later he fired a shot that scored. Call both of us crazy.
David Perron may not have scored and I may be starting to come over to the Answer Man's theory that his teammates don't like him based on their lack of obvious love for him on-ice, but there are few players in the NHL that have that want for the puck that Frenchie has. Even when he's stickhandling through the defense and they're hooking and holding him, he stays focused, keeps moving his feet and trying to get the puck back. You can't teach that quality. wanting the puck is what makes players better than like-skilled equals.

In Chicago tomorrow, which will be a huge test. It'll be a good chance to see how much confidence this team got from tonight as they try to beat a fierce rival in the first game they play against them this year.

You want something else? Here it is, your Hullian end to the Brett Hull Night:

Brett and Cal and Gary; Your Flames at Blues GDT

gallagher — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:12:51 -0000

by Tom Gannam - AP

They sing that you, "Can't touch a Flame when it's red hot," and Nigel Dawes proved that true of Mike Weaver when they visited last month.

View full size photo »

After the debacle against Edmonton Friday, I wrote down a few words about the current Blues and their struggles. Along the way I made the comment that the Flames have "like three good guys" which someone called me out for as being arrogant and dismissive or something. Dismissive I have been called before, arrogant was a new one.

So tonight the Flames come to town with like three good guys and look to wreck the now annual party we like to call Brett Hull Night. We celebrated wildly when we had Brett Hull Night to honor the re-naming of part of Clark Street to "Brett Hull Way." We celebrated even more wildly when we had Brett Hull Night to honor Hull and retire his iconic No. 16. Tonight we will celebrate, if maybe somewhat less wildly, Hull's unsurprising first-ballot selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame. And when we celebrate Brett Hull Night next year to celebrate the new statue they will surely erect outside for him, we will do so in wild, ticket-buying fashion.

Honestly, I have no problem with Brett Hull Night every year. He is a huge reason I became a fan, and likely a huge reason many of you became fans, too.

But what of the newly pissed-off Blues led by angry Barret Jackman, gruff Keith Tkachuk and their new heated practices? Will it be enough to leave a sell-out crowd happy as they leave, or will the home struggles continue?

The Flames are led by good guy Jarome Iginla, who has 17 goals and 32 points on the year, leading the team. For a franchise as old as the Flames, it's surprising when a player like Iginla, who has plenty of years left in the NHL, holds most of the franchise's offensive records. This isn't Nashville or San Jose, after all. But Iginla leads the franchise in games played (974), goals (426) and points (883), among other records. The Flames have other scorers and contributors, but the majority of the offense flows through Iginla (he has 19% of their goals himself and has a goal or an assist on 36% of the team's goals).

Another good guy is goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who has 17 wins, a great goals-against (2.18) and a save percentage over 92%. Like Iginla, it's surprising when a guy like Kiprusoff holds franchise records, but he is the career leader in shutouts (30) and in goals-against (2.40). Kiprusoff gets the majority of the starts and with good reason: he gives them better than average odds of winning every time he starts.

A third good guy would be the montrosity known as Dion Phaneuf and Jay Bouwmeester. These two giant defensemen gobble up huge minutes (24 and 27 respectively) and can contribute offensively (14 points each). The difference between the two is that while Phaneuf plays a much more physical game, Bouwmeester plays the position technically better, using positioning and his stick to break up offensive chances.

The Flames can throw one or the other of their stalwart defenders out in front of Kiprusoff for effectively the whole game, guaranteeing that they won't give up many quality chances. On the front end, Iginla and whoever is lucky enough to be riding shotgun for him (this year it's Rene Bourque) can be counted on to contribute offensively, making the Flames a tough game every single time.

Extra effort required: It's Brett Hull Night.

This is your Game Day Thread. Do it to it.

Booing And Firing And Getting Emo: Be A Blues Fan 2009.

gallagher — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:17:14 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

If you think Andy Murray looks mad, you should have seen the people in the crowd.

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I've never booed the Blues. Never sat in my seat and openly booed a poor performance before. Never sat on the couch at home and booed the team or even an individual player. I've been pissed plenty. Thrown stuff at my own TV. Broken my own possessions. Stormed out of rooms. But never booed the team before.

Last night I helped boo the home team off the ice. I don't feel guilty about it at all.

I think I've never booed the Blues before because even when they were getting killed in games or, like in 2005-06, simply didn't have the talent to compete with the other team most nights, at least there was effort. There was some drive or some sense of personal pride or personal embarrassment. There was some sense that even if they were getting wacked harder than my college roommate's dick on Five Hour Porno Sunday the players were trying their best to make it stop or to stem the tide or just avoid getting completely bent over in front of their fans.

But last night they let the Oilers embarrass them in front of a home crowd which, if not the rowdiest I've ever experienced, was at least behind the team. I'm sure some of those players felt shame in what had happened to them, but I know full well that some of them were over on the east side within an hour, and shame isn't exactly what was making their cheeks burn.

Only one other time have I sat in that building and thought definitively, "This coach is getting fired in the next couple days." that was on the night that Brett Hull's No. 16 went to the rafters and the Blues promptly had their mouths raped for them by the visiting Red Wings. At the time I realized that if the team couldn't get up to play hard on that night, then something had to change and that the change had to be the firing of Mike Kitchen.

Tonight I had the same feeling as that day right before Kitchen's excuse of "I told them what to do, but they just aren't doing it" failed to save his job. Andy Murray is going to lose his job.

As much as he is a likeable guy and as much as I don't want to see any individual lose his job, sports are still a business and this sports team is run by businessmen who didn't get to the position of being able to own a hockey team by making bad decisions. The owner, Dave Checketts, has already said in the media that mediocre isn't going to cut it, a statement that seems to indicate one of two courses of action: a trade or a firing. As I broke down in my overlong article about possible tradeable assets, there just aren't a lot of players that can be moved right now. And that leaves just one other option, an option that is familiar to people who run companies in America. In business, when one division of a company is failing, that division head gets the axe. All the employees get freaked, a new division head is hired with a mandate to kick ass and take names and the division either succeeds or more people get fired.

Andy Murray is that division head. If the new guy comes in and struggles, then we'll see some trades. But Andy Murray is going to be the first guy to fall on his sword for the Blues this year.

Finally, I've written about the Blues' lack of a killer instinct this year. Killer instinct? Holy shit. Maybe I need to write about them being less emo and losing the suicidal instinct they showed last night. Or maybe I have that wrong too. Maybe less suicidal and more of a less-hubris situation. Up by three and just 20 seconds to go until the third period? Wheee! Look at us! We are the bestest!

Dear Blues, Here's what you looked like from the stands last night. Guess which guy is you.

Next game is Tuesday against the Flames, who have like three good players. Brett Hull will be in the building as the Blues honor his career for the 17th time in the last four years. Will Murray still be behind the bench for that game? What happens if they Detroit it up for that one? How long does he get after that?

Ice Chips with Timothy Oshie

gallagher — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:29:08 -0000

Coach,

As a young player approaches and enters his draft year, describe the process of being scouted and/or recruited (since T.J. was both scouted by the Blues and recruited by North Dakota) and how it affects the family, as well as what it does to the young athlete's daily schedule, training regimen, etc.

Thanks, Brian

As a father, I didn't really recognize the whole process. Cary Eades, T.J.'s head coach at Warroad H.S. and then assistant coach at North Dakota, was a guiding light for both of us. He protected T.J. both at Warroad and North Dakota to make sure his focus was purely on hockey.

Looking back, I wouldn't do it any different. As the letters and packages came rolling in from a majority of Division 1 college programs, I read them then bundled the packages up until hockey was over for the season. I didn't want any distractions for him as the task at hand was Warroad Warriors hockey and nothing else. T.J. led Warroad to three consecutive Minnesota State High School Tournaments from 2003-05, winning titles his sophomore and senior seasons. I stressed to him to only concentrate on our next opponent, as I was Warroad's assistant hockey coach. Being in the system of the coaching fraternity was a huge benefit for me during the whole process.

As a parent, the experience was surreal. Talk of the 2005 NHL Draft was never in our conversations. T.J. let his hockey abilities and successes earn his recognition of being a NHL draft prospect. But, obviously, he was training intensely to enhance his body to play for the University of North Dakota. The day after his graduation in June of 2005, he flew east from Winnipeg (130 miles from Warroad) to Toronto to participate in the NHL Combine Camp. It was there I realized his stock was gaining as they invite the Top 100-120 prospects in the world.

I received many calls that month of July from NHL scouts and front office personnel. Once again, I didn't tell T.J. as he was training at the Minnesota Hockey Camp in Nisswa, MN. The most important thing was to be humble and have humility that summer of 2005. On Saturday, July 30, 2005, I really didn't know what to think. I was living alone in Warroad teaching and coaching at Warroad Schools in the Indian Education Department. Never in my mind did I think Osh would get picked in the first round. It was an impromptu draft so they only invited the top 20-25 prospects to attend the event in Ottawa, Canada. No pomp and circumstance at a NHL venue, just a hotel ballroom with the teams' front office and print and broadcast media personnel.

I had received a call from a close friend telling me there could be a surprise on Draft Day on July 29. Not really understanding the significance of it all, I decided to listen on the Internet via NHL.com. Most of the teams that I had spoken with drafted other young prospects. So obviously, I figured T.J. was a 2nd or 3rd round pick as he was listed as number 43 for North American skaters and number 111 in the International Scouting Service (ISS) charts.

When Jarmo Kekalainen announced the St. Louis Blues picks from Warroad High School, T.J. Oshie, our family's world was turned upside down.

I would tell young hockey prospects and parents to only focus on playing hockey, your academics and playing other sports. Don't worry about all the gentlemen with black coats on in the arena's concourse (the scouts). Don't be looking around the rink during warm-ups and games for them. The focal point is to play the game you love the very best you can. If you do that, the phone calls and letters start coming.

To the parents, simply enjoy the process.

Timothy W. Oshie

Oshie Sports & Media

oshiesports@gmail.com