St. Louis Blues Morning Links: Bye, Bye Joe Louis

Good morning Blues fans! It’s time for hockey after a brief pause to get the players some rest and practice time. It’s also time to shut down a particularly hurtful building.

The St. Louis Blues have had a checkered past with the Detroit Red Wings over recent history. There was a time, even if brief, that Detroit (not Chicago) was the Blues main rival.

There are some people that probably grew up on the St. Louis/Detroit rivalry. So much so that they may have actually had to learn to hate the Blackhawks – something made easy by their winning ways and their spiteful players.

The Blues and Detroit rivalry was something special when it was going. St. Louis matches Chicago a little better now, but they still have not quite gotten to their level on a consistency basis.

You could say the same for the old Blues and Red Wings, since St. Louis never won any Cups. Still, the flame that burned for fans and players during those games was white hot.

Now, there are barely smoking embers left. When the Red Wings cried to the league and made the move to the Eastern Conference, it made sense to a point but also killed some of their best rivalries.

No longer do we get to see the winged wheel come to St. Louis more than once. The Red Wings had intense rivalries with San Jose, Colorado and Chicago as well. All gone after the move and reduced to more of a sideshow twice a year.

Still, as fans we can take enjoyment out of beating those you know whats. And what better way to really stick it to Detroit than to win in the Blues final appearance in Joe Louis Arena.

That’s right, that dump is finally closing (editor’s note: I really have no idea to the quality of the arena since I have not been there). It has been the place of too many harsh memories, of which that shot of Yzerman’s goal over Jon Casey’s shoulder is burnt into my brain.

Here…suffer with me friends.

Oh, lord it makes me sick. It would not pain the people of Detroit nearly as much to lose a regular season game, but I would still take great pleasure if the Blues could steal one glimmer of hope from them by taking the final game in that building and furthering their likelihood of missing the playoffs.

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Time will tell though. The Blues will be without Paul Stastny since he is on injured reserve. They are without Robby Fabbri as well, though that has been absorbed better to this point.

The Blues did eventually recall Wade Megan. Whether he plays or not remains to be seen, but the potential is there for the Blues to have as many as three AHL players in their roster at once.

That does not seem like an enviable prospects. Nevertheless, all three have contributed and show great effort in trying to prove they belong. As long as the team keeps winning, I don’t care who is in the lineup or what line they play on anymore.

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

There was an odd seven hour gap between placing Stastny on IR and recalling Megan. While that is a tiny bit unsettling, at least the Blues made a decision. Megan’s last recall did not set him back either as he continued his hot play in the American league. (Arch Authority)

There’s never enough Red Wings hate as far as we here at Bleedin’ Blue are concerned. With that in mind, get a few more doses of it from the folks over at Gametime. They have a nice preview of the game mixed in with good ol’ fashioned rivalry chatter. (St. Louis Gametime)

While fans might be happy to see the Joe go the way of the dodo, the players and coaches have different feelings. Mike Yeo won a Stanley Cup in that building, so he has fonder memories, but each player has their own take on the old barn and aren’t so eager to see it say bye. (STLToday)

Speaking of rivalries though, there are few older than the one between Montreal and Boston. With that in mind, it seems odd that the Canadiens would be so hot after a Boston coach. That is exactly what happened as the Canadiens dumped their boss in favor of the one just let go by the Bruins. (NHL)

Don’t expect to see Anoine Vermette for a while. Whether he is just dumb or was in a fit of rage, the man took a slash at an official and the league may be ready to throw the book at him after his game ejection. (ESPN)

Have a great day Blues fans!

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