Eric Brewer to Tampa Bay

photo © 2011 Bridget Samuels | more info (via: Wylio)

 

Eric Brewer has agreed to waive his NTC and go to Tampa Bay.   According to sources on twitter, the Blues will get a 3nd round pick in return.

Personally, as he’s a UFA at season’s end, I hope the Blues take a very good, long look at re-signing him.

This seems to mark the card that the Blues are now sellers this season – and who would bet against David Backes being named Captain?

Good luck, Captain Brewer. We wish you well.

EDIT:  It appears that the Blues will get a prospect as well as a draft pick.  The prospect is Brock Beukeboom and further details on him can be found at Hockey’s Future

Blues 1 – Blue Jackets 8

 

Ouch.  The Blues came back down to earth not with a bump but with the force of an impacting asteriod. They had no energy, no passion, they were slow, sluggish and listless – with endless turnovers and seemingly no cohesion.

The rot started right away – with the Blue Jackets scoring three goals in the first period. So, 3-0 at the end of period 1; 6-1 at the end of period 2 and 8-1 by the time the game ended. The Blue Jackets had breakaways and there was a fluky goal that hit Halak’s skate and popped into the net. Halak was pulled after giving up 4 goals on 15 shots but Conklin didn’t fare much better, giving up 4 goals on 20 shots. The Blues defense was almost non-existent – as mentioned before, an appalling number of turnovers, sloppy play and hardly any forechecking or backchecking contributed to this dire loss.

In the third period, the Blues had both Janssen and Boyes ejected from the game as they tried desperately to haul back a little bit of respect. Of course, it just had to get EVEN worse. With just over 10 minutes left to play in the game, TJ Oshie was helped off the ice after becoming involved in one of the many scrums that littered the game. Pahlsson fell on top of Oshie who landed awkwardly – it was later revealed that TJ Oshie has broken his ankle and may have to undergo surgery. This is a very bitter blow for a Blues team already decimated by injuries.

Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson were both -3 on the night – as was Andy McDonald who managed 6 shots. McDonald, Boyes and Backes really need to pick up their pace. McDonald has 2 goals and 3 assists on the season, Backes has 1 goal and 4 assists and Brad Boyes, whilst money in the shootout, has 1 goal and 4 assists. These three HAVE to lead by example now – there is no excuse.

Nick Drazenovic has been called up from Peoria and expect another call up during the day. Winchester could be close to returning but Perron is still suffering from headaches relating to the Joe Thornton hit.

The Blues play Nashville at Scottrade tonight – let’s see if this game was a temporary blip…or the shape of things to come.

UPDATE: Blues have recalled Chris Porter along with Nick Drazenovic from Peoria.

Sharks 0 – Blues 2

A very chippy game this one, that contained controversial hits and decisions – and saw three Blues players make their way to the locker room at various points during the game. David Perron went off the ice following a nasty hit from Thornton but later returned. Barret Jackman injured his knee and limped off – later returning. Brad Winchester also left the ice. Three boarding penalties on the Sharks – I don’t know whether they felt they were above being penalised but that was the way they played.

The first period saw the Blues have four powerplays – and score on none of them. The powerplay was a shambles – there seemed to be little teamwork and, to be honest, the Sharks ended up with more shots on goal and chances than the Blues did. More than once, the Blues were thankful to Jaroslav Halak for pulling them out of the fire. The save Halak made on a shot from Huskins simply took your breath away. The Blues went ahead with just over 2 minutes left to play in the first. Barret Jackman flipped the puck across the ice to Matt D’Agostini who surged down the wing and sent a laser of a shot past Niemi in the Sharks goal. It was D’Agostini’s 5th goal of the season. An interesting fact about the first period is that, despite the Blues 4 powerplays to the Sharks 1, the Blues were outshot 9-8.

The second period was even worse penalty wise. 12 penalties were called, including a 5 minute major and 10 minute Game Misconduct on Joe Thornton who was ejected from the game with just over 5 minutes gone in the second. Minutes earlier, Thornton was penalised for boarding – a nasty little hit on TJ Oshie. As he left the penalty box, he skated towards David Perron and levelled him with a shoulder to the head. Perron was blindsided and, to be frank, Thornton’s defense after the game of “he just ran into me” simply cuts no ice. Thornton was deservedly ejected from the game and Perron went to the locker room. David Perron returned shortly afterwards and scored to put the Blues two up. Perron picked up a rebound from an Oshie shot and casually flipped it into the back with a neat little backhand. The Blues were surging in the second – outshooting the Sharks 14-5.

In the third, the Blues relaxed a bit – and were outshot by the Sharks 11-7. They didn’t seem in danger though, and were skating hard and trying for the third goal. A complete change on last season where they sat back and waited for the opposition to come to them. Backes missed an open net but the Blues came out deserved winners. Game notes:

• Jaroslav Halak picked up his third shutout of the season, stopping all 25 shots.  He has now played 9 games with 7 wins and 3 shutouts.
• Alex Pietrangelo registered two assists and his first NHL fight.  Pietrangelo and Couture dropped the gloves following Thornton’s hit on Perron.
• Eric Brewer did the Captain’s job again – picking up a roughing penalty after Thornton’s hit on Oshie.
• The games three stars were: 1. Jaroslav Halak, 2. David Perron and 3. David Backes.

Next up, the Blues take on Boston – but it seems unlikely that we’ll see the two top goalies in the league duel it out.  Tim Thomas is playing tonight against the Capitals so it appears that Rask will get the start for Boston tomorrow.  Anyway, here are the edited highlights of the game.  For the fuller highlights, check out the Blues Official Site

Penguins 0 – Blues 1 (O/T)

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As has now been stated practically everywhere, the Blues have beaten the last two years Stanley Cup Champions on consecutive nights.  If they wanted to make a statement, they couldn’t have picked a better opportunity.  The Blues are 4-0 at home this season – and are currently on a 10 game winning streak at Scottrade.

Again, the Blues came out hard and determined and were very unlucky to go in at the end of the first still tied 0-0.  They had two powerplays but couldn’t find a way past former Blue, Brent Johnson, in the Penguin goal.  The Blues outshot the Penguins 7-3 in the first – the game shaping up to be very much a battle between the two goaltenders.

The second period was the game changer.  The Penguins outshot the Blues 19-7 with Jaroslav Halak making some superb saves and the Blues defense doing a sterling job in closing off lanes.  There were scrums in the Blues crease with the Blues D protecting Halak – one of the best moments being when Roman Polak wrestled Sidney Crosby away from Halak.  The main thing was that the Blues survived everything that the Penguins threw at them in that second period.

The third period was pretty even with the Penguins just outshooting the Blues by 9-8.  No Polak on ice (he’d left the game after slicing his right arm) meant the Blues were short on defense – but the Penguins still couldn’t find a way through.   There was a feeling though that the Blues might just snatch this game and went it went into overtime, Erik Johnson provided the winner after great work by Oshie along the boards.  The sellout crowd erupted and the Blues deservedly took the two points.

• Alex Pietrangelo looks like he belongs out there – he had the highest ice time of the Blues in the game.
• Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had a combined 10 shots – but still couldn’t get past their nemesis, Jaroslav Halak.
• T J Oshie might not lead the Blues in scoring but he’s pretty much an assist machine at the moment.  Strong on the puck and strong along the boards, he provided a neat pass to Erik Johnson for the game winner.
• Eric Brewer had one of his best games as a Blue.   He’s worked hard this season, is aggressive and very controlled in defense.
• Jaroslav Halak – 31 saves in an excellent performance that saw him named the game’s number 1 star.  He’s cool and calm, focussed and confident .  The rest of the team seem to sense this as they pick up on Halak’s confidence – it adds another dimension, allows players to be a bit more relaxed.

The Blues have another rest now – and play again on Thursday against Nashville.  Expect Halak in goal again.  Hopefully, Roman Polak will be fit enough to play.  In the meantime, here is overtime in it’s entirety…not that there was a lot of it:

 

Ducks 1 – Blues 5

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Well, this was one of THE most one-sided games you’ll ever see. How the Blues didn’t win by double the number of goals is probably due to their utterly anaemic powerplay. At one point, they had a 7 minute powerplay which came to absolutely nothing. However – due to the sheer number of “events” in this game, let’s take it point by point:

• The Blues outshot the Ducks 53-14
• The Blues broke a 42 year old franchise record by scoring 6 seconds apart in the first period.
• The Blues goals were scored by David Backes; Andy MacDonald; BJ Crombeen (SH) and 2 by Matt D’Agostini including one FINALLY on the powerplay.
• There were 37 penalties totalling an incredible 143 penalty minutes.
• Ryan Reaves had a good game – and a good fight until he was ejected from the game early in the second period for not tying his jersey down.
• Jonas Hiller was replaced by backup Curtis McElhinney after giving up 4 goals on 34 shots.

The Blues worked hard and were rewarded – of course, the Ducks started getting chippy when things weren’t going their way and,  apart from the Reaves fight, there were also scraps between Perron and Ryan and Eric Brewer and Aaron Voros.  It was definitely lively – and kudos to Barret Jackman for refusing to get drawn into a fight with George Parros when the Blues were well ahead.

Alex Pietrangelo looked comfortable on the puck – getting his first assist on Matt D’Agostini’s first goal.  D’Agostini is a bit of a find – not afraid to hit and check, put on the “grinder” line and yet has definite offensive skill.  D’Agostini was the game’s first star – with Alex Steen 2nd and BJ Crombeen 3rd.

The Blues looked good – the Ducks looked terrible.  But a great victory for the Blues.  They’re now 2 from 2 and face Nashville on Thursday.

Weekly update

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The Blues have trimmed their roster down to 28 – with TJ Hensick and Ben Bishop being assigned to Peoria. Bishop has impressed during his time with squad so in the case of injuries, expect him to see some time up with the Blues this season – and you get the feeling that Bishop will not disappoint between the pipes. Nicholas Drazenovic is still with the Blues squad and with Sobotka likely not to recover from shoulder surgery in time for the start of the season, I would hope that Drazenovic sticks and starts the season in St Louis. I have hopes for him.

The Blues have announced the Eric Brewer will remain as captain for the upcoming season with the assistants being David Backes, Barret Jackman, Alex Steen and Erik Johnson.

Mandi Schwartz has received the stem cell transplant she needs – and all best wishes to her for the future.

Preseason games have seen the Blues lose to Colorado and Dallas but register two wins against Minnesota and win against Colorado.

Blackhawks 2 – Blues 4

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Always  nice to beat the Blackhawks – even nicer when it means that the Blues playoff hopes are still alive.  Just – but they are still alive.  As usual for games against the Blackhawks, it was a physical and hard hitting game.

It started badly for the Blues.  Play broke down too often in the offensive zone leaving the Blues defense charging back trying to stop a few breakaways.   Cam Janssen tried to set the tone by fighting Ben Eager a couple of minutes after the start but a misunderstanding between Oshie and Backes led to Patrick Sharp being given an unimpeded run at Chris Mason for the Blackhawk’s first goal.   The ever impressive Alex Steen pulled the Blues level when he zipped the puck past Niemi in the Blackhawks goal – courtesy of a great screen by Jay McClement.  The Blackhawks pulled ahead again after a puck bounced over Eric Brewer’s stick giving Jonathan Toews a chance.  His shot was saved by Mason but the rebound was slotted home by Marian Hossa.

The Blues tied the game early in the second period with a rocket of a shot from Eric Brewer from the blueline.  Amazingly, it wasn’t tipped and went straight in.  Janssen kept the energy going by fighting Nick Boynton near the end of the period – and got a game misconduct for his troubles.  It appears that he hit Boynton when the officials were separating them…and also had his arm out of the sleeve of his jersey to give himself more room to throw a punch.  It was a pretty even period with both teams having 11 shots.

The third period was where the Blues pushed harder.  Although they were outshot 11-9 in this period, the Blues didn’t have a powerplay – whereas the Blackhawks had one powerplay midway through the period but were unable to capitalise.  It was that man, Alex Steen, who put the Blues ahead – combining with David Backes and Erik Johnson to slot the puck home.   Erik Johnson added a fourth goal later after the Blackhawks were caught puckwatching and he nipped in unseen to score past Niemi.

Paul Kariya didn’t come out for the second period – he has a lower body injury and is listed as “day to day”.  Word is that Kariya will have tests but will not accompany the team on the trip to Nashville for tomorrow’s game.  In his absence, Alex Steen will take Kariya’s place on the top line with Oshie and Backes.  Steen did brilliantly on this line in the Blackhawks game and he’s definitely deserved  his chance.

Anyway – your game reports:

• The Blues Official Site has the recap, highlights and interviews with Alex Steen, Erik Johnson, Chris Mason and Davis Payne.
• St Louis Game Time is happy that the Blues kept the Blackhawks recent slump alive and discusses the rivalry.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the Post Dispatch sums up the game and gives Alex Steen some kudos – comments from Alex “The Steen Machine” Steen, Davis Payne, Erik Johnson and Chris Mason.

This very odd playoff run continues in Nashville on Thursday.

Blues 4 – Rangers 3

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Not only did the Blues pick up two very important points; not only did defenseman Mike Weaver score his first goal in 184 games; not only did Eric Brewer have an incredible 12 hits in the game…but Paul Kariya scored the Blues winning goal – that just happened to be his 400th NHL career goal.

Once again, the Blues scored quickly with Brad Boyes slotting his 13th of the season past a rather shaky Henrik Lundqvist after 1.10 of the first period.   Less than five minutes later however, the Rangers tied the game on a powerplay goal from Ryan Callahan.  Ty Conklin, starting his first game since 4 February 2010, really had no chance with the shot from Jokinen that was tipped in by Callahan.   The Rangers scored again late in the period – this time it was Marion Gaborik – to go in at the end of the first 2-1 up, having outshot the Blues 11-4.

The Blues had a strong second period – even though they were outshot 8-6.   Mike Weaver scored less than three minutes into the period with a speculative shot from near the Blue line.  It’s almost three years since Weaver last scored and, with his hard work on defense – not to mention hard hitting, if anyone deserved a goal it was Mike Weaver.  Erik Johnson put the Blues ahead a few minutes later, sliding the puck between Lundqvist’s legs to put the Blues 3-2 up.

The Blues were outshot again in the third – by 10-6  and Wade Redden tied the game for the Rangers with just over 7 minutes gone in the final period.  Amazingly, he was roundly booed by his own supporters.  The Blues didn’t stop working though – and then it was time for THE goal.  Paul Kariya started the move with a good hit that freed the puck.  Oshie took the puck up the wing whilst Kariya seemed to drop back a bit at centre.  He was biding his time though – and a sudden burst of speed took him past the defender and he positioned himself just in front of Lundqvist in time to redirect a pass from Oshie into the net.   It was fitting that Kariya’s 400th goal should be the one to win the game for the Blues.

Kudos must go to the whole team for their workrate – they piled a lot of hits onto the Rangers and Eric Brewer and Mike Weaver were the pick of the defensemen.  The Blues survived a five on three in the third, managed to counter Sean Avery’s antics and capitalised on a shaky Lundqvist.  Ty Conklin saved 26 out of 29 – a great effort considering he hadn’t started a game since 4 February this year.  So, your game reports:

• The Blues Official Site has the recap and game highlights.
• St Louis Game Time Game Day Thread – join the love-in.
• Jeremy Rutherford of the Post-Dispatch recaps the game with comments from Mike Weaver, Paul Kariya, David Backes, Davis Payne, Erik Johnson and Ty Conklin.

Jeremy Rutherford also has an article about Kariya’s 400th goal – complete with pictures – at The Post Dispatch. So, here it is – goal number 400 for Paul Kariya:

Maple Leafs 0 – Blues 4

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With the Blues standing pat at the Olympic trade freeze deadline, pressure was on to get the two points needed to drag themselves back into the playoff race.  The Blues did it – and they did it in style.   With the Blue Jackets, Predators and Wild all losing, the Blues made up some ground in the standings.

It was never going to be easy – the Maple Leafs have been rejuvenated with the addition of Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Dion Phaneuf.   An entertaining first period saw ex-Blue Lee Stempniak hit the post, Cam Janssen and Colton Orr getting into a scrap (one that was stopped rather quickly by the officials) and Andy McDonald picking up his 19th goal of the season to put the Blues 1-0 up.    It was a great goal – Brewer lifted the puck out of the Blues zone for McDonald to chase.  McDonald’s pass across ice was deflected and shot on goal by Erik Johnson.  The rebound came out to Patrik Berglund who played a neat little pass to McDonald to slot into the net.  Really excellent work by Berglund who is slowly rediscovering his form of last season.

In the second period, the Blues found themselves on the penalty kill three times and it’s worth mentioning just how good the Blues penalty killing is because, despite having three powerplays, the Maple Leafs were limited to four shots for the entire period.  The penalty kill is working hard – and it’s also starting to pay dividends in the offensive zone.   The Blues scored two shorthanded goals in this period.  The first followed good work by David Backes who pressured Tomas Kaberle into a dangerous turnover.  Backes took the puck behind the net and attempted a wraparound goal.  The puck squirted out to TJ Oshie who, with Giguere sprawled on the ice, made no mistake with a practically open net for his 12th goal of the season.

The Blues second shorthanded goal was a absolute delight.  A solo, unassisted goal by Alex Steen who broke out of the defensive zone and carried the puck behind the Maple Leafs goal.  He battled for the puck against, at first, two Maple Leafs, and then four.  Steen never gave up and, surprisingly, came away with the puck and scored a briliant wraparound goal on a very surprised Giguere.

The Maple Leafs came out for the third period 3-0 down – and they really piled the pressure onto the Blues.   Chris Mason was superb – making 15 saves in the final period alone – and the Blues wrapped up the game with just over 6 minutes left.  Crombeen took the puck behind the Maple Leafs goal and centered for Jay McClement.  McClement dragged the puck to the right and passed across goal to Crombeen who had a simple tap in.

For the Blues, it was a job well done and it must have been very sweet for Alex Steen to score and Carlo Colaiacovo pick up an assist against their old team.  Two sorely needed points now take the Blues to only four points behind the seemingly freefalling Calgary Flames who currently hold 8th place.  Anyway – your game report:

• The Blues Official Site has the recap, highlights and interviews with TJ Oshie, David Backes, Chris Mason and Davis Payne.
• St Louis Game Time Game Day Thread – with a difference. It’s a combined thread with the Maple Leafs fans. So brace yourselves…
• Dan O’Neill of the Post Dispatch points out that whilst the Blues won, they have a bigger challenge tonight with comments from Chris Mason, David Backes and Capitals Coach, Bruce Boudreau.

So, in their final game before the Olympic break, the Blues face the Washington Capitals at Scottrade.  Alex Ovechkin is in town – and the Blues have one hell of a game on their hands.  Puck drops at 7pm – and this one is going to be a doozy.

Blues 2 – Avalanche 5

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It’s getting tired now.  More stupid calls from the officials and, for the second time in two games, a Blues disallowed goal.  Any conspiracy theorists out there would have a field day with all this.  The thing is though, it didn’t really affect the outcome.

The Blues again missed chances.  Again, defensive lapses and turnovers led to goals for the Avalanche.  The same old story.  It started so well – Eric Brewer scoring his 6th of the season to put the Blues 1 up after just over 3 minutes of the game.  The Avalanche tied the game less than a minute later before Erik Johnson put the Blues ahead again in the 8th minute.  It took until the 17th minute of the period before the Avalanche tied the game again on a powerplay goal.  That, however, was the best it got for the Blues.

The Avalanche then scored 3 goals in just over 4 minutes in the second period – with Chris Mason allowing 5 goals on 15 shots.  He had a bad game and was pulled for Ty Conklin.  Conklin made 18 saves for the Blues but it was too little too late.

It looked like the Blues might be coming back into it when TJ Oshie appeared to score.  Both Oshie and Scott Hannah were chasing a puck into the Avalanche zone.  The puck hit Hannah and went into the net.  Oshie was called up for Hooking and, amazingly, the goal was disallowed.  It’s just the way the Blues luck is running at the moment.  The Blues had their chances and simply couldn’t find a way through.

The Blues played a sloppy game – and didn’t deserve to win – but what does this say about their playoff chances?    It says a lot – the Blues are currently 7 points out of the playoffs and Nashville, in 8th place, have 2 games in hand over the Blues.   Tonight’s game against Detroit is now crucial – but we’re going to need teams above us to start losing too.  Can we do it?  I doubt it.  They’re not playing well enough.

Anyway – your game reports:

• The Blues Official Site has the recap and game highlights.
• St Louis Game Time Game Day Thread – you might want to equip yourself with a tin hat for this…
• Jeremy Rutherford of the Post Dispatch calls the game an “ugly loss” with comments from Davis Payne, Eric Brewer and Chris Mason.

Tonight, the Red Wings visit Scottrade – a must win for the Blues.  With the Olympic Trade Freeze on Friday, the Blues have decisions to make.  According to Andy Strickland, the Blues have already made it clear to other GM’s that Carlo Colaiacovo is available.