St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Blues Breakout Leaf Blowers

Good morning Blues fans! Well, the team did all the right things last night to start a new era for the team. Now we have to wait and see if it is sustainable.

The St. Louis Blues said all the right things in the locker room the day before when Ken Hitchcock got fired. They turned around and did all the right things as soon as he was out the door.

It’s extremely frustrating that they could summon a fantastic game such as the one against the Toronto Maple Leafs after crapping the bed so many other nights. However, it’s best that I and anyone like me just let that bitterness go and enjoy it.

The Blues have had so few fantastic nights with a plethora of goals and yet having a decent defensive night that it is better to just soak it up. With that in mind, it was a very fun win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

There was a lot to enjoy, starting with the jersey retirement ceremony for Bob Plager. Maybe it was the movie nerd in me, but I really thought having the Man of Steel soundtrack playing for Plager was a great touch.

I saw on social media there were some questioning why a franchise would retire the number of a “mediocre player.” I don’t agree with that sentiment to start with, but even if you do it is extremely rare for someone to be involved with a franchise for its entire history in some capacity. Plager is a special guy and was a great defender. The fact he didn’t win a Stanley Cup is immaterial.

His speech was especially timely given the situation the current team is in. Plager talked about how whether you had a good game or not you always left it all on the ice and never cheated. Maybe that stuck in the heads of the current guys because sometimes it looks like they have not left it on the ice.

The Blues did against Toronto. They got timely goals, the defending was good in spurts (not at the beginning) and the goaltending was as good as it needed to be.

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Jake Allen silenced a lot of critics for a night, perhaps his own mind being one of them. One night is the key word there.

We have no clue if this turnaround is actually that. The Blues had several games where they looked like they had figured things out under Hitchcock, only for it to all blow up.

Now it’s up to this team to keep this going. If they can string together a few wins, then maybe we can think this is the real team. However, until we actually see it, we have to assume this is just a positive blip.

Here are your St. Louis Blues Morning Links to get your day started off right.

With all the focus on the raising of a banner to the rafters, it was not just myself that noticed Plager’s comments about playing for the name on the front instead of the back. Mike Yeo picked up on it and was glad the players were there to hear it. (STLToday)

With all the talk focusing Ken Hitchcock and the Blues specifically, the focus has not been on the rest of the division. With that in mind, Puck Prose took a look at the grander scheme of how the Blues fit into the playoff picture and how the coaching change might impact the race for the Central and Wild Card spots. (Puck Prose)

In case you missed it, yesterday we discussed how the Hitchcock firing made some feel (myself in particular). The move itself was fine, but how it was handled by the players and some fans left a bad taste. (Bleedin’ Blue)

He is definitely not someone that should be on the Blues radar, but Jerome Iginla may be on the move again. The sniper is apparently not happy with the direction of the Colorado Avalanche and wants to be moved at the deadline. (NHL)

No immediate decision will be made, but there will be important discussions about the NHL and the Olympics today. As things stand, there seems to be sentiment about not having the league’s players participate. (ESPN)

He’s every Blues fan’s favorite player (sarcasm), but you cannot deny the talent. Joe Pavelski joined a select goal scoring club yesterday. (ESPN)

Have a great day Blues fans!