For most of their opening round-robin game against the St Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche drove play but couldn’t score. Then things got dire in the third period when former Caps/current infant-child Andre Burakovsky got popped in the face by Blues forward Ivan Barbashev, putting Burakovsky’s priceless grin in peril.
By Peter Hassett 3 years ago
The Colorado Avalanche and St Louis Blues played a tight, close game, and the win came down to the last tenth of the last second. That was the time on the clock when forward Nazem Kadri beat Jordan Binnington to give the Avs a 2-1 lead.
By Peter Hassett 3 years ago
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas is reporting that four Blues players and a member of its coaching staff tested positive for coronavirus after several team members visited a bar in Clayton, Missouri, more than a week ago. Clayton is located on the border of St. Louis.
According to the Post-Dispatch story, a player tested positive for COVID-19 several days after the bar visit where members of the general public were dining and drinking. A source told Thomas that the bar visit “may” have been the culprit.
By Ian Oland 3 years ago
The St. Louis Blues are the latest NHL team forced to grapple with too many positive coronavirus tests.
The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford and Scott Burnside reported that the Blues canceled practice on Friday after multiple unnamed players tested positive for COVID-19.
The Blues were scheduled to take the ice at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri, before receiving word. Approximately two-thirds of the Blues’ roster has been skating at the facility lately.
Professional sports leagues hold drafts at large venues and they are gigantic productions on TV. Well-dressed players and their families pack into seats while fans cheer or boo picks.
But back during TJ Oshie’s NHL Draft, things weren’t like that. In 2005, the draft was held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa since the NHL lockout was still ongoing. The event was not public for the first time since 1980. Only the 20 highest prospects on the NHL Central Scouting rankings were present. Oshie that year was selected in the first round, 24th overall by the St. Louis Blues.
With this year’s NHL Draft unlikely to happen publicly, Oshie was asked by reporters what his experience was like.
His story is absurd.
Every member of the 2019-20 defending champion St. Louis Blues logged on for a video conference to commemorate what should have been opening night for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Wednesday.
Sportsnet’s Jim Hughson and NBC Kathryn Tappen hosted the funny, and at times chaotic, chat with over two dozen players, coaches, and management.
All 31 teams in the National Hockey League are expected to recognize the “Hockey is for Everyone” initiative during the 2019-20 season in order to “drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities.” But the St. Louis Blues won’t be in St. Louis for their HIFE celebration on March 24, as they will be 900 miles away, playing a game against the Washington Capitals.
Instead, Blues fans can instead attend a “Hockey is for Everyone Celebration and Watch Party” at Enterprise Center for the cost of $10 per person. Those in attendance “will have the best view in the city as they watch the game on the center-hung scoreboard in a home-game-like atmosphere.”
The Blues are going to have to do a lot more than just talk the talk if they expect to convince the members of any minority community that they’re included in the Blues’ definition of “everyone.” A “home-game-like atmosphere” is not a home game. St. Louis fans who have the “best view in the city” will still have worse views than any seat in Capital One Arena, since, in St. Louis, they’ll be craning their necks to see the game on the scoreboard, instead of watching their home team play on their home ice. A real commitment to diversity requires actual work, not empty gestures.
The event is an insult to the fans it’s meant to welcome.
By Brennin Weiswerda 3 years ago
The St. Louis Blues gave superfan Laila Anderson one of the most important jobs of the 2020 NHL All-Star Game.
At the end of pregame introductions, Laila took the mic and introduced the four St. Louis Blues All-Stars Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Binnington, David Perron, and Alex Pietrangelo to the capacity crowd at Enterprise Center.
TJ Oshie is on his way to St. Louis as an All-Star, but it’s far from his first visit to the city. The 33-year-old winger was drafted in the first round by the Blues in 2005, and played his first NHL game in the 2008-09 season. 443 games later, he was traded to the Washington Capitals and started the 2015-16 season in a red jersey.
Oshie was a fan favorite in St. Louis, and still is; his jersey is one of the most common ones worn in the Enterprise Center. Over seven seasons, he had plenty of ways he endeared himself to St. Louisans–like his 110 goals and 200 assists–but instead of spending more time looking at his stats, let’s look at some lesser-known off-ice hilarity.
By Brennin Weiswerda 3 years ago
For the first time in more than two years, Nathan Walker has scored an NHL goal. If that sounds bad, keep in mind he’s only played twelve games since the last that happened. The winsome, undersized Aussie has fought for a roster spot in Washington, Edmonton, and now St. Louis. Looks like he’s finally winning that fight.
It is my distinct privilege to introduce you all to Nathan Walker, NHL player and hockey goal scorer.
By Peter Hassett 3 years ago
