Amidst Trade Caos, Blues win 3-1

Doug Weight scored a pair of goals as the Blues beat Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday at the Scottrade.

The win came after the Blues dealt Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuck and Dennis Wideman in trades. Guerin and Tkachuck were the Blues leading scorers.

Weight helped fill that void, scoring two 3rd period goals including the game-winner on a breakaway, beating maybe the best goalie in the league. David Backes, who continues to get better, scored the Blues first goal on a nice feed from Radek Dvorak.

Curtis Sanford started the game once again in place of the injured Manny Legace. Sanford's only blemish came on a controversial goal that slipped under the goalie's chest and across the line. The goal probably never would have counted if Sanford would have rolled out, away from the goal instead of standing straight up, revealing the puck over the line. Legace had minor surgery on his lower body and should be out for a few weeks.

HIGHLIGHTS:




Player of the Game: Doug Weight, 2G, scored twice-including the game winner, on the ice for all 3 Blues' goals,offensive leader with absence of Guerin and Tkachuck.

Photos courtesy of St. Louis Blues Online, Video courtesy of My NHL.

Extended Jammer

Jamal Mayers has signed a three-year extended contract with the Blues.

Mayers has the longest running tenure with the team. He has spent the last 10 seasons in St. Louis, who drafted him in 1993, fourth round, 89th overall. He has skated in 495 career games, collecting 125 points (58 goals, 67 assists), along with 644 penalty minutes. This season, Mayers has played in 60 games for the Blues registering 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) and 68 penalty minutes, a team high.

Mayers is a big part of the Blues' penalty kill and does well to stick up for his teammates. He is also known to contribute to the community.

Photo courtesy of St. Louis Blues Online.

Blues Aquire Brad Boyes for Dennis Wideman

The Blues traded defensman Dennis Wideman to Boston for Forward Brad Boyes.

Boyes, 24, has played in 62 games for Boston this season, recording 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) along with 25 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 195-pound forward has played in a total of 145 NHL games, amassing 103 points (39 goals, 64 assists) while playing for the Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks. According to St. Louis Blues Online.

Photo Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

Guerin is Gone

The Blues traded forward Bill Guerin today to the San Jose Sharks for a conditional first round draft choice (previously acquired from New Jersey) in 2007 or 2008, forward Ville Nieminen and the University of Minnesota’s leading scorer Jay Barriball.


Nieminen, 29, has played in 30 games with San Jose this season, registering two points (one goal, one assist) and 14 penalty minutes. The 6-1, 220-pound forward captured the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. Nieminen has played in 371 career NHL games, amassing 117 points (48 goals, 69 assists) and 304 penalty minutes. The Tampere, Finland native was originally drafted by Colorado in the third round, 78th overall in 1997.

Barriball, 19, is playing in his first season at the University of Minnesota. He leads the team with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) and has posted 12 penalty minutes. The 5-10, 165-pound forward is currently tied for second in freshman scoring in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 36 points. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native was originally selected by San Jose in the seventh round, 203rd overall in 2006.
According to St. Louis Blues Online.

Barriball photo Courtesy: University of Minnesota, Guerin photo courtesy: St. Louis Blues online, Nieminen photo courtesy sjsharks.com.

Blues Fall to Blackhawks 5-1

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Blues 5-1 Sunday, just hours after the announcement that Keith Tkachuck had been traded from the team.

Curtis Sanford started the game for the Blues in replacement of the injured Manny Legace. Sanford, who has been stellar as a young goalie, was having us missing Legace with a less than stellar performance. He stopped just 4 of 11 shots before being replaced by Jason Bacashihua.

Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 22 shots, as the Blackhawks ended their 4 game losing streak, as well as ending the Blues 4 game winning streak. The Blues have yet to win 5 games in a row this season.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Blues Trade Keith Tkachuck, Acquire Glen Metropolit and Three Draft Picks from Atlanta

The St. Louis Blues have traded forward Keith Tkachuck to the Atlanta Thrashers for Forward Glen Metropolit, 1st and 3rd round picks in '07, and a 2nd round pick in '08.

Further more, if Tkuchuck resigns with Atlanta, then the Blues will obtain a 1st round pick in '08.



Metropolit, 32, has played in 57 games for Atlanta this season, recording 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) along with 20 penalty minutes. The 6-0, 195-pound forward has played in a total of 160 NHL games, amassing 75 points (22 goals, 53 assists) while playing for the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta. The Toronto, Ontario native was originally signed by Washington as an undrafted free agent on July 19, 1999. According to the Blues official website.

Blues Retain Brewer & Legace

Defensman Eric Brewer and Goaltender Manny Legace signed contract extensions with the St. Louis Blues.

Brewer signed a four year deal while Legace signed for two years.

Brewer leads all Blues defensmen in ice time, is second in blocked shots (14th in the NHL), and has 18 points while playing in all 61 games for the Note. He has 9 points in his last 20 games, along with a +7 rating.

Legace, arguably the Blues' team MVP this season, has a record of 23-15-5. Not bad considering he started out the season with a record of 5-10-1, and has gone 18-5-4 since returning from an injury.

Read the News Release from St. Louis Blues online.

Federko & St.Louis: A Match Made In Heaven

The Hall of Famer recalls what it has meant to him to be a St. Louisan after scoring a hat trick in his first home game as a Blue.

Read the article Federko left quite the first impression in St. Louis from NHL.com.

One Fine Legace

Read an article from St. Louis Blues Online about Manny Legace's fight against the critics who said he was too small, out of shape, and not an athlete.

Goaltender Works To Build Positive Legacy by Chris Pinkert.

Back to .500

The Blues climbed back to the .500 mark with a win against the Columbus Bluejackets on Tuesday night. The win was the Blues' forth consecutive and marked the first time since Oct. 14 that the team was .500 (2-2-1).

The game wasn't a strong one for the recently spectacular Manny Legace. None of the Bluejackets 4 goals were quality shots, but the goalie came up big in the shootout,stopping both Jackets' attempts.

Lee Stempniak and Doug Weight both scored for the Blues in the shootout.

Highlights:



The Blues (11th) are just one point back of both Edmonton (10th) and Colorado (9th), and 9 points back of Calgary (8th), who hold the last playoff spot.


Player of the Game: Doug Weight, 1A, battled hard all night, involved in the first and forth Blues goals, anchored the powerplay, scored in the shootout.

Four Blues appear on SI.com's list of the Best Shot Blockers of All-Time

Jay Mckee made the list of the best shot blockers, as well as three former Blues: Al Arbour, Graig McTavish, and Guy Carbonneau.

Read the article That's Gotta Hurt by Michael Farber.

Meet MacInnis, Chase, Plager and More!

Al MacInnis will be making an apperence with a special guest at Lou Fusz Pontiac-Buick-GMC on Feb. 21, from 6:30-7:30pm.

Bob Plager, Kelly Chase and a special Guest will appear Feb. 26, from 6:30-7:30pm at Sinclair-Buick-GMC.

For More Information Click Here.

Blues Beat Wild

David Backes scored two goals and Manny Legace made 33 saves to help the Blues to their 3rd straight victory.

The Wild tied the game 2-2 with 1.8 seconds to go in the first period with a goal by Marian Gaborik, but the Blues scored 3 in the second to take the lead.

Jay McClement added a goal and an assist and Lee Stempniak had two assist as the "kid line" continues to shine.

Jamal Mayers had a shorthanded goal and Keith Tkachuk scored on an empty net.

The Win moved the Blues within 10 points of the Wild who occupy the last playoff spot. With a win and a Colorado(10th) and Edmonton(9th) loss, the Blues will be tied for 9th place.

Up Next for the Blues: Tuesday night at 7pm VS the Columbus Bluejackets at Scottrade Center.

All Eyes on Guerin

The Blues' winger will most likely be dealt before the trade deadline.

Click Here for Full Story From stltoday.

Guerin's Goal Gets Blues Past Nashville

Manny Legace stopped 19 shots and Bill Guerin scored the lone, highlight-reel goal to end a 14-game losing streak against the Nashville Predators.

It was Legace's 5th shutout of the season.

Guerin's 27th goal made Sportcenter's top 10 list at number three.

HIGHLIGHT OF GUERIN'S GOAL:



Before the game, the strip of Clark Street in front of Scotttrade was officially named "Brett Hull Way." Full article from St. Louis Blues Online.

Blues Show Jackets No Love

David Backes scored twice for the first time in his career to lead the Blues past the Jackets in Columbus.

Bill Guerin scored his 26th goal and continues to improve the chances of the Blues receiving good young prospects for him at the deadline if he is dealt. Dallas Drake also added and empty-net goal.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Guerin's Hattrick Can't Sink Sharks

The Blues tried mounting a late 3rd period comeback after being down 6-2 at one point, but fell short, despite 3 goals from Bill Guerin.

Keith Tkachuk and Christian Backman also scored for the Blues in their 6-5 loss to the San Jose Sharks.

HIGHLIGHTS:



With their goals last night, Guerin and Tkachuk might have helped the Blues more than one might think . Both are on the trading block and their value might have gone up, especially Guerin's.

The Blues' playoff hopes are seemingly gone, so now they look to build with younger stars, and with the performances last night, the Blues may be able to negotiate something worth wild.

Who Will Be Dealt?

"The Blues: Their Having a Fire sale!"

Many believe Keith Tkachuk will be gone soon, including the left winger himself.

Other possible players to be traded near the deadline: Manny Legace, Bill Guerin, and Eric Brewer. The Blues have shown wide interest in resigning Brewer and some in resigning Legace as well.

Click Here for a full story from stltoday.com.

In Philly, Blues fall 4-3 in OT

The Blues failed to hang on to a lead late and fell to the Philadelphia Flyers, the worst team in the NHL. The win snapped a 13 game losing streak at home for Philly.

Simone Gagne scored late in the third to tie the game at 3-3. Then he netted another 27 seconds into overtime.

Lee Stempniak, Keith Tkachuk and David Backes all scored for the Blues.

The Blues are at 53 points on the year, 13 points away from a playoff spot. They are 3 points behind Colorado (10th) and 7 points behind Edmonton (9th). A look at the standings

Highlights from the 4-3OT loss in Philadelphia:

Legace Continues to turn heads

Here is an article from NHL.com about Manny Legace.

Legace and Sanford Clip Wings

Manny Legace and Curtis Sanford combined for 23 saves to hand the Detroit Redwings their first shutout in 176 games. Bill Guerin scored the lone goal for the Blues.

Legace was run by Tomas Holmstrom towards the end of the second period. He stayed in the game, but took himself out the next stopage in play. Sanford finished up the game.

Blues Remain in 11th Place

The Blues are tied for 11th place in the Western Conference. They are 12 points out of a playoff spot.

Check out the standings in both conferences.

NHL's Best HITS of January

Here's a video of the NHL's best hits of January. The Blues' own Eric Brewer leads the way with the first head-thumper. Also, look for Jay Mckee's big hit vs New Jersey as well.

Blues fall to Leafs 2-1

The same day that management announced a new ticket plan for next season the Blues come up just short to Toronto.
Andrew Raycroft made 19 saves which included a spectacular one that robbed Bill Guerin in the 3rd period which would have tied the game.
"Sometimes you just try to have a little poise and bear down on ones like that because they almost seem too easy," Guerin said. "I got great wood on it. It's unfortunate because that would have been a big goal for us."
Alexei Ponikarovsky opened the scoring in the 1st period with a power play goal. The Blues answered back in the 2nd on a goal by Ryan Johnson, his 7th of the year. Then towards the end of the 2nd, Alexander Steen broke the tie. Raycroft took care of the rest.
Here is a highlight of the save on Guerin. YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS:



Up next for The Note: Thursday, 7pm vs Detroit @ Scottrade

Prices Slashed for 2007-2008 Season!

The St. Louis Blues announced today that they will be reducing ticket prices for next season.
Blues Chairman, Dave Checketts says he wants fans to "come back to Scottrade in masses." Checketts admitted to making a mistake when he announced earlier that the team would need to raise prices to compete in today's NHL.
Lucky for Blues fans he changed his mind, and in the latest attempt to put fans back in the seats he also plans to put dollars back in their pockets.
Peter McLoughlin, CEO of St. Louis Blues Enterprises, explained that the Blues surveyed several fans and found that they were most passionate about #1: putting a competitive, hardworking team on the ice and #2: ticket prices. Since the arrival of Andy Murray, the Blues have successfully addressed both those issues.

2007-08 Blues Season Ticket Prices

Section 2007-08 2006-07
Glass Row A $120 $120
Glass Row B $105 $108
Glass Row C $100 $108
Glass Row D $95 $108
Club $100(F&B) $100
Plaza $80 $90
Plaza Ends (E-J) $50 $54
Plaza Ends (K-Q) $50 $54
Plaza Ends (R-KK)$34 $38
Mezzanine Center $34 $38
Mezzanine Ends $20 $23
Mezz High Center $20 $23
Mezz High Ends $7 $7

Legace Blanks Stars

Manny Legace made 22 saves Saturday as the Blues shut-out the Dallas Stars 2-0 at Scottrade Center. Martin Rucinsky and Keith Tkachuk both score as Doug weight added two assists. The win snapped a three game losing streak for the Blues.
It was a spirited game as the Blues stuck up for one another in two fights vs Krys Barch. Matt Walker fought Barch in the first and Ryan Johnson fought him in the second after he crushed Dallas Drake at center ice. Johnson received a game misconduct. Here is highlights of the fights:





Up next, the Blues face Toronto at home Tuesday at 7pm. Listen live on 550 KTRS.