St. Louis Blues Links: Rekindling The Flame Of Rivalry

Hello Blues fans! Can’t really say good morning because that has come and gone, but such is life. The Blues are still on the road, as they will be for much of the rest of the season with important games approaching.

The St. Louis Blues continue their road trip in a couple days. It’s a bit of an odd swing to this current trip as they will play in Detroit on Wednesday and then finally return home for one game against the Vancouver Canucks.

The one good thing about the end to this trip – other than it is almost over – is the chance to rekindle some old rivalries. There are not many left on this current team that might remember (David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo might be the only ones), but the Blues used to have some incredible games against their next two opponents.

The Vancouver Canucks rivalry goes way back to 1994. The Canucks blew past the Blues that year en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. While nobody was likely to beat the New York Rangers that year, it still stung to lose to Pavel Bure and especially the somewhat dirty Trevor Linden.

The two teams met again in the playoffs in 2008, after a lengthy absence from the Blue crew. The team was not quite prepared for the rigors of playoff hockey and got knocked out rather easily even if they were competitive in each game.

After that, it seemed like every game with the Canucks was a battle until they were replaced by the LA Kings as a west coast foe. Kevin Bieksa, now playing for the Anaheim Ducks, was a particular thorn in everyone’s side. So much was he a problem, he became one of those guys you wouldn’t mind seeing his face planted into the glass.

Then there are the Detroit Red Wings. Even some of our younger readers should be old enough to remember that rivalry. It took something fierce and special to replace the Chicago Blackhawks, but for many years the Red Wings did just that.

The Blues had some marvelous teams in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Unfortunately they ran into one of the all-time great teams in Detroit at the time. You wonder if Detroit had been missing just a piece here or there during those years, maybe the Blues would have been lifting that chalice over their heads. Hind sight is 20/20 though and there is no changing the past, unless you have a Delorean.

Now things have switched though. The Blues are coming off a conference finals appearance, even if they don’t look like it, and Detroit is likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in a quarter century.

Nothing like rubbing a little salt in the Red Wings wounds than to beat them in the Blues final appearance at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings will have a new facility starting next year, so the Blues could really do with exercising some demons by shutting down that building.

In the end, that’s all just talk for us fans. Players come and go so often now that rivalries rise and fall like the tides, with the older days forgotten.

The Blues have to focus on getting a W no matter who is in front of them. They do that and maybe this turnaround can be complete.

Here are your St. Louis Blues links to keep your day going strong.

I’m not very old at all, but have always had a bit of an old school mentality. Coaches yelling at you was always just somewhat accepted and dealt with. Not so much by today’s players. However, there is no denying there is a different atmosphere within the Blues locker room now that there is a new man in charge. (STLToday)

Whether you love Jake Allen or not, there is nothing in his game (yet) to suggest he will be a Hall of Fame player. Nevertheless, he can now say he is in the Hall of Fame – well, at least his pants are anyway. (Post-Dispatch)

Speaking of the Snake, he’s also had quite the turnaround since the coaching change. Whether you believe it is due to less pressure from Ken Hitchcock or more moral support from Martin Broduer, we have seen the Snake we needed from the start. He got his just dues this past week with some NHL honors too. (Arch Authority)

The Dallas Stars are mathematically still alive in the playoff race, but that is about it. So, they are likely to be sellers at this point come the trade deadline. With that in mind, are any of their pieces things the Blues would be interested in? (Defending Big D)

Next: Naysayers Be Damned, Jake Allen Still Best Option

Any time a great player has to auction off some of their own memorabilia, you have to wonder why the underlying cause is. When first reading this about Eric Lindros, you immediately fear the worst, but there does not appear to be any nefarious issues with it. (ESPN)

Power rankings are always a great topic of discussion, whether positive or negative. With that in mind, the Blues have returned to the top 10 this week. (ESPN)

Have a great day Blues fans!