This Jonathan Quick sex joke is our favorite ad of 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs (PHOTO) (Puck Daddy)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

You've got your stick in hand and all you want to do is score, but someone is denying you that moment of euphoria. Husbands of the world, the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the Phoenix Coyotes feel your frustration … and this display ad outside of Staples Center around LA Live during Game 4 of the Western Conference Final is hilarious. Over the last two years, the Boston Bruins offered some hilarious (and hilariously offensive, to some parties) display advertisements. For example: "Never, Ever Date A Flyers Fan. Even If She Shaves Her Moustache." Whoever put this Jonathan Quick tribute up — the Los Angeles Kings? Reebok? Some mysterious goalie-loving benefactor? — is giving those Boston ads a run for comedic genius in playoff display advertising. Although, a word of advice for that frustrated husband: Try shooting from center ice. s/t @bloodyeyeballs, via @hockeydoc21 and @tonybova

Game Time Prospect Sunday, May 20, 2012

Source: St. Louis Game Time by Tomorrows Blues

By Brian Weidler, "Game Time" Prospect Department

Another short and sweet week, as there's just not much to talk about right now in the World O' Prospects. After the Memorial Cup, there will be heavy emphasis on the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.

PROSPECT PROMOTIONS / DEMOTIONS:

None to report this week.

PROSPECT TRADES:

None to report this week.

PLAYERS ON SICK CALL:

None to report this week.

PLAYERS RETURNED TO DUTY:

None to

Sunday Links: Again? Again.

Source: St. Louis Game Time by hartigan

Okay, now we're just losing it. The Rangers vs Devils debate went way too far last night, and went straight to an Albany Devils vs Connecticut Whale all - out fight. The casual Devils fan thought we were nuts. Whatever.

Blues News:

Hartigan misses Blues hockey a lot. So much. I start 75 percent of my sentences with "The Blues" and the remaining sentences start with "you annoy me."

The gist of the hockey world:

WCF: [LA Times]
ECF:

Advice to Fans for Handling Tarasenko Reports

Source: Frozen Notes by David Rogers

Advice to Fans for Handling Tarasenko Reports

Rumors have been swirling around Vladimir Tarasenko’s future. Will he come to the NHL or will he elect to stay home in Russia and play in the KHL? That is the question. Leading up to his decision fans have seen reports indicating he will come to the NHL and others making it seem like he will stay put in the KHL. It’s important that we all keep our senses and avoid making a big deal out of any report until official news comes from the team or Tarasenko’s mouth.

Recently, a report out of Russia stated Tarasenko was “overweight” and unfit to play due to said weight. Interesting timing, given the fact Tarasenko is believed to be making a decision soon don’t you think? This sort of report is likely designed to throw St. Louis representatives off and question Tarasenko’s fitness and perhaps offer less money. Such a report is likely designed to keep Tarasenko skating in Russia.

Other reports have guaranteed Tarasenko’s future lies in the NHL and that this added weight is muscle for the NHL. These claims are more optimistic and ones Blues fans want to see but they also contain some fabrication. In reality, reports about Tarasenko being excited to play in the NHL sound a bit too good to be true, especially when you consider that if Tarasenko was eager to play in the NHL he would have decided some time ago.

I’ve elected to not link any of the previously mentioned reports as I feel they don’t hold water well in the factual world. There isn’t enough behind them to give them any feeling of credibility, thus, I’m not sourcing them.

The bottom line is that fans should view the Tarasenko rumors and reports as that – rumors and loosely based speculation. They are no different than major trade rumors. Have some fun analyzing the reports but take everything, from America or Russia, with a huge grain of salt.

Only Tarasenko knows what he will do. No need to get too happy or too worked up until the words of his decision come out of his mouth. Now if only ESPN felt as strongly about hockey as they did about basketball we could have another elaborate “decision” on our hands.

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On brink of Stanley Cup Final, LA Kings not looking ahead (Puck Daddy)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Staples Center in Los Angeles has been busy this weekend with six playoff games in four days between the Clippers, Kings and Lakers with today featuring a day/night hockey/basketball doubleheader. And while arena workers change the surface from ice to a basketball court sometime this afternoon, at the same time, there could be some celebrating going on in the home locker room. The Stanley Cup Final awaits the Kings with a win today over the Phoenix Coyotes. It's been 19 years since they've been at this point in the postseason, but there are plenty of players on the roster that have played this late in a season before. Despite that experience, there will be nerves and likely some minds looking ahead before the puck drops on Game 4. "Everyone talks about getting to the Stanley Cup Final, but I can only speak really for myself, playing in that game tomorrow [Sunday] night is pretty fun, as well," said Kings captain Dustin Brown yesterday. "It's one of the things where you gotta really enjoy the journey. We're one game away from the Cup Final. But it's one game we have to win." It's only human nature for Brown and his teammates to picture what a celebration might be like in front of the home crowd after another series sweep. And, in Brown's case, he may have taken a moment to ponder whether or not he touches the Clarence Campbell Bowl out of superstition. Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, however, were a bit more cautious.

Five Flyers on offseason surgery list

Source: STLtoday.com

Five Flyers on offseason surgery list

Rangers shut out Devils, take 2-1 series lead

Source: STLtoday.com

NEWARK, N.J. • In his latest playoff gem, Henrik Lundqvist had little time to do more than stop every breakaway or 2-on-1 attempt New Jersey shot his way. When he took a moment to breathe, Lundqvis…

Saturday Links: Spring Cleaning Edition

Source: St. Louis Game Time by hartigan

It's metaphorical. The whole idea of spring cleaning - taking stock of what you have, whether necessary or not, more than enough or not - holds true to the end of any sports season. It's a pain, it's messy, it's emotional, it's overwhelming. But it's necessary to move forward, to grow up, to get better and to find that awesome pair of shoes that have been hiding in the back of your closet.
So, maybe I'm not strictly talking about hockey here, but in my mind a hockey team is a wonderful wardrobe. The metaphor works - trust me.

Blues News:

I didn't really find anything.

Hockey News:

Patrick Warburton is best known as the voice of Kronk in The Emperor's New Groove. But he had another role, a

Kings up 3-0 but try to stay hungry

Source: STLtoday.com

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. • Dwight King has been living in a hotel since the Los Angeles Kings recalled him from the minors just over three months ago, and the playoff hero isn't about to move out of his …

Rangers-Devils series shifts to New Jersey

Source: STLtoday.com

Rangers-Devils series shifts to New Jersey

Player Recap: David Backes

Source: Bleedin' Blue by Kevin Glenn

Player Recap: David Backes - Bleedin' Blue - Bleedin' Blue - A St. Louis Blues Blog

NHL Playoffs: Coyotes' Failure vs. Kings Is Redemption for St. Louis Blues

Source: Bleacher Report

In the past five years, the St. Louis Blues' worst season was the 2007-2008 campaign in which the team finished with a record of 33-36-13 for 79 points good for last place in the Central Division.

For those that remember the high-flying NHL of the 1980s, it seemed like any team with 81 points made the postseason (which partially accounted for how the Blues made 25 straight playoff appearances, a streak which began in 1980 and ended in 2004).

Gone are the figure-skating days where a scorer's 100-point season was barely a blip on the radar. Not when Wayne Gretzky eclipsed the 200-point plateau in 80 games with regularity. True enforcers roamed the ice and no one—I mean no one—messed with the other team's top skill guy. And in a broader context, a hockey team had to be truly atrocious to miss the playoffs.

In today's NHL (take this season for example), the 8th place team in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings, earned 95 points. Last year, the Chicago Blackhawks also placed 8th even though they earned 97 points on the season. 

Every team that punches a ticket to the playoffs is there for a reason—they either have talent offensively, an All-Star caliber goalie, smothering defense, excellent special teams, or a combination of those strengths.

So when the Blues caught fire for nearly five months following the appointment of Ken Hitchcock (who replaced the overmatched Davis Payne) and finished with 109 points, expectations were reasonably high for the young, but maturing Blues. St. Louis earned its first Central Division title in 12 long years.

After handling the San Jose Sharks in Round 1, the Blues seemed to have a clear path to their first Stanley Cup appearance since the 1960s.

The flawed and aging Detroit Red Wings were ousted by the Nashville Predators. Phoenix knocked out the dangerous Chicago Blackhawks. And in Round 2, the Coyotes were in the process of dispatching the Preds.

Essentially every team in the Western Conference that gave the Blues fits during the regular season was headed for the golf course—if the Blues could just hold up their end of the bargain against the Kings. 

It was billed as a showdown of mirror-image teams—low-scoring, great goaltending, physical hard-checking forwards. But something seemed very wrong about this matchup. How could a team that included Anze Kopitar, Dustins Brown and Penner, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty end up scoring 16 fewer goals than the offensively-challenged Blues?

At the trade deadline, while the Blues stood pat, sitting in first place most of the year (but also handcuffed financially), the Kings were scrambling and addressed their low-scoring ways by picking up Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets which re-united him with former fellow Flyer Richards.

As it turns out, all questions about the Kings (and the Blues) were answered in the playoffs. L.A. never clicked until it brought Carter aboard, who was like a missing piece in a "Where's Waldo" jigsaw puzzle. Apparently the Kings found Waldo just in time.

The Kings, a supremely talented team, had underachieved all year. The St. Louis Blues, by contrast, were finding success by playing a perfect team system brought in by Hitchcock. But that also meant the Blues were walking a fine line with little margin for error, lacking the offense to overcome many mistakes.

When the Kings dominated and eventually swept the wide-eyed Blues in four games, ignorant fans and critics were quick to call the Blues squad a 109-point fraud. When in reality, it was the meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions—both toward who they really were, talent-wise.

And as the Kings have gone up 3-0 in their series with the Phoenix Coyotes, it is all the more confirmation that there is no hotter team in the NHL playoffs than the Kings. They have a world-class goalie in Jonathan Quick, plenty of hard-hitting grit in captain Dustin Brown and defenseman Willie Mitchell, and loads of offensive wizards like the aforementioned Kopitar, Richards and Carter.

Yes, the Blues were a mirror-image of the Kings—just minus all those players mentioned in the previous paragraph.

The Blues had a very successful campaign despite being hit with concussion after concussion to their top contributors, but they persevered. Young guns T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Backes, and David Perron finally have a taste of playoff hockey in their mouths.

We expect they are already looking forward to a second helping in 2013.

Read more St Louis Blues news on BleacherReport.com

NHL Playoffs: Coyotes' Failure vs Kings Is Redemption for St. Louis Blues

Source: Bleacher Report

In the past five years, the St. Louis Blues' worst season was the 2007-2008 campaign in which the team finished with a record of 33-36-13 for 79 points good for last place in the Central Division.

For those that remember the high-flying NHL of the 1980s, it seemed like any team with 81 points made the postseason (which partially accounted for how the Blues made 25 straight playoff appearances, a streak which began in 1980 and ended in 2004).

Gone are the figure-skating days where a scorer's 100-point season was barely a blip on the radar. Not when Wayne Gretzky eclipsed the 200-point plateau in 80 games with regularity. True enforcers roamed the ice and no one—I mean no one—messed with the other team's top skill guy. And in a broader context, a hockey team had to be truly atrocious to miss the playoffs.

In today's NHL (take this season for example), the 8th place team in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings, earned 95 points. Last year, the Chicago Blackhawks also placed 8th even though they earned 97 points on the season. 

Every team that punches a ticket to the playoffs is there for a reason—they either have talent offensively, an All-Star caliber goalie, smothering defense, excellent special teams, or a combination of those strengths.

So when the Blues caught fire for nearly five months following the appointment of Ken Hitchcock (who replaced the overmatched Davis Payne) and finished with 109 points, expectations were reasonably high for the young, but maturing Blues. St. Louis earned its first Central Division title in 12 long years.

After handling the San Jose Sharks in Round 1, the Blues seemed to have a clear path to their first Stanley Cup appearance since the 1960s.

The flawed and aging Detroit Red Wings were ousted by the Nashville Predators. Phoenix knocked out the dangerous Chicago Blackhawks. And in Round 2, the Coyotes were in the process of dispatching the Preds.

Essentially every team in the Western Conference that gave the Blues fits during the regular season was headed for the golf course—if the Blues could just hold up their end of the bargain against the Kings. 

It was billed as a showdown of mirror-image teams—low-scoring, great goaltending, physical hard-checking forwards. But something seemed very wrong about this matchup. How could a team that included Anze Kopitar, Dustins Brown and Penner, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty end up scoring 16 fewer goals than the offensively-challenged Blues?

At the trade deadline, while the Blues stood pat, sitting in first place most of the year (but also handcuffed financially), the Kings were scrambling and addressed their low-scoring ways by picking up Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets which re-united him with former fellow Flyer Richards.

As it turns out, all questions about the Kings (and the Blues) were answered in the playoffs. L.A. never clicked until it brought Carter aboard, who was like a missing piece in a "Where's Waldo" jigsaw puzzle. Apparently the Kings found Waldo just in time.

The Kings, a supremely talented team, had underachieved all year. The St. Louis Blues, by contrast, were finding success by playing a perfect team system brought in by Hitchcock. But that also meant the Blues were walking a fine line with little margin for error, lacking the offense to overcome many mistakes.

When the Kings dominated and eventually swept the wide-eyed Blues in four games, ignorant fans and critics were quick to call the Blues squad a 109-point fraud. When in reality, it was the meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions—both toward who they really were, talent-wise.

And as the Kings have gone up 3-0 in their series with the Phoenix Coyotes, it is all the more confirmation that there is no hotter team in the NHL playoffs than the Kings. They have a world-class goalie in Jonathan Quick, plenty of hard-hitting grit in captain Dustin Brown and defenseman Willie Mitchell, and loads of offensive wizards like the aforementioned Kopitar, Richards and Carter.

Yes, the Blues were a mirror-image of the Kings—just minus all those players mentioned in the previous paragraph.

The Blues had a very successful campaign despite being hit with concussion after concussion to their top contributors, but they persevered. Young guns T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Backes, and David Perron finally have a taste of playoff hockey in their mouths.

We expect they are already looking forward to a second helping in 2013.

Read more St Louis Blues news on BleacherReport.com

Friday Links: Sue, Sous and Sioux Edition

Source: St. Louis Game Time by hartigan

So much, let's just jump in.

Blues News:

Aww, Shattenkirk gets a little hometown love. [Greenwich Post]
The Blues play-by-play men are under contract for next season - discuss your thoughts. [Post Dispatch]

Hockey News:

Another reason minor league sports are great to support. The creativity and FUN they have with things. There are puns that are golden, free stuff for spelling

Blues analysts headed to limbo

Source: STLtoday.com

Contracts expiring for Chase, Pang, Federko.

Kings beat Coyotes, edge closer to Cup finals (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The giant-killing Los Angeles Kings extended their magical playoff run, moving to just one win from their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1993 with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday.

Blues annoucers Chase, Federko, Pang head to limb

Source: STLtoday.com

The Blues play-by-play men are under contract for next season, but the analysts are not.

Renney is out as coach of Oilers

Source: STLtoday.com

The Edmonton Oilers announced on their Twitter feed Thursday that they will not renew the contract of coach Tom Renney.

Kings take 3-0 series lead on Coyotes

Source: STLtoday.com

LOS ANGELES • Dwight King scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Jonathan Quick made 18 saves, and the Los Angeles Kings rolled to the brink of their first Stanley Cup final in 19 y…

Kings beat Coyotes, edge closer to Stanley Cup finals (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The giant-killing Los Angeles Kings extended their magical playoff run, moving to just one win from their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 1993 with a 2-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday. With Dwight King's go-ahead goal 1.47 minutes into the third period breaking the deadlock, the eighth-seeded Kings took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference final. Los Angeles, who crushed the third-seeded Coyotes 4-0 in Phoenix on Tuesday, have now won eight consecutive post-season games. ...

HELP NEEDED

Source: St. Louis Game Time by DESTROYER

HELP NEEDED

in a tough spot financially here right now actually planning on selling alot of my memorabilia here in the next couple weeks. included are a ton of McFarlane figures out of box and in box, gretzky blues in box, ovechkin all star variant still in box, first sydney crosby and ovi in box, plus variant of ovi some team canada as well. MacInnis signed mcfarlane, milan hejduk, paul stastny all signed mcfarlanes, lots of Pujols variants unopened get at me for prices need to raise funds quickly

Grading the 2011-12 Blues – Kris Russell

Source: Frozen Notes by David Rogers

Grading the 2011-12 Blues
Kris Russell 

The fourth installment of the “Grading the 2011-12 Series” features defenseman Kris Russell. Russell began the 2011-12 season skating with the Columbus Blue Jackets only to wind up with the Blues after the team sent Nikita Nikitin packing. Did Russell make a positive impact with the Blues despite limited time with the team?

Previous Grading the Blues Articles

Goaltenders
- Jaroslav Halak -
- Brian Elliott -
Forwards
- Matt D’Agostini -

Prior to 2011-12

Kris Russell emerged on the NHL scene in 2007-08 when he played in 67 games for Columbus. He appeared in 276 games for the Blue Jackets between 2007-08 and 2010-11, scoring 16 goals and 60 assists. Following the 2009-10 season Columbus signed Russell to a three-year, $3.9 million contract.

Regular Season

Russell started the 2011-12 season with Columbus before being involved in a trade that sent him to St. Louis in exchange for fellow defenseman Nikita Nikitin. Russell played in just 12 games for the Blue Jackets prior to the trade, scoring two goals and one assist. It’s tough to analyze his play there further as all of us Blues fans were mostly focused on the uninspired effort the Blues had been putting forth under Davis Payne.

Shortly after Ken Hitchcock was named the new coach of the Blues the team pulled the trigger on a trade to land Russell. Hitchcock was familiar with Russell thanks to his extensive time with Columbus and was so impressed with the defender that he played a role in bringing him to St. Louis.

Russell went on to play in 43 games for the St. Louis Blues, notching four goals and five assists. Russell’s speed became an additional weapon for the Blues on what was already a pretty potent blue line.

However, Russell’s season wasn’t without its faults. He suffered a groin injury in December as well as a concussion in February which forced him to miss time. He also scored just one goal over his last 34 games of the year. It’s possible that he never fully recovered either from his groin injury or concussion but that’s impossible to say with any degree of certainty.

Final numbers: 55 games – 6 goals, 6 assists (12 points) with a +12.

Regular season grade: B

Summarized: Russell was impressive upon arriving in St. Louis but a couple of injuries cut his season short. Russell showed plenty of offensive talent as well as solid defensive play, using his speed to help him make up for his lack of size and strength. Russell rarely made bad passes and rarely lost the puck in his own zone. He was consistently solid which is really all that fans could ask for. At age 25, Russell showed experience and poise that was above his years.

Playoffs

Russell’s play in the playoffs wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great but it certainly wasn’t as poor as some of his teammates. As a matter a fact, Russell was one of few St. Louis Blues skaters that actually found some success against the Los Angeles Kings, recording two assists.

Final numbers: 9 games – 0 goals, 3 assists (3 points) with a +3 rating.

Playoff grade: B

Summarized: Russell’s play in the playoffs closely mimicked his play during the regular season. He wasn’t a shining star but at the same time he wasn’t a glaring weakness. His play was constant and predictable. Where his teammates were making mistakes, Russell played a sharp and solid game. He sacrificed his body, blocking 19 shots over the course of the team’s playoff run. All in all, there was no reason to be disappointed with Russell’s playoff effort.

Looking Forward

The Blues have arguably one of the best young defensive units in the NHL. However, there will be some changes made over the summer as the team contemplates what to do with Barrett Jackman and Carlo Colaiacovo. Russell is signed through 2012-13 but will be up for a new contract after the year expires. His role shouldn’t change much in 2011-12 but his partner at defense might depending what the Blues decide to do with free agency. If he is able to stay healthy in 2012-13 and play like he did when healthy in 2011-12, don’t be surprised to see a new contract offered Russell’s way during the 2012-13 campaign.

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Was The 2011-12 Season A Success For The St. Louis Blues?

Source: St. Louis Game Time by Brad Lee

Finally, we're a little bit removed from the end of the sweep by the Los Angeles Kings. And seeing them rush out to a 2-0 series lead against the Phoenix Coyotes, I'm starting to not feel so bad.

Maybe the Kings are who everyone thought they were in September. Maybe they just needed a new coach with no personality who looks like he has permanent bitter beer face. All I'm trying to say is the Kings are really good and obviously deserved to win that series.

Still, it stings. Expectations are a fluid thing. At the beginning of the year, I think most fans would have been happy with a feisty team

Thursday Links: What is Life With Out Blues Hockey?

Source: St. Louis Game Time by RealBadRobot

My nights are so boring now a days... I have no puck to watch, unless you count the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But honestly I could care less about who is left. No team is really exciting to me and I have no desire to continue watching Quick mind fuck us all... its a wound that is still to fresh.

So that leaves my nights free to wallow away and attempt to fill the empty spot left by the blues with ice cream and an intense Gilmore Girls marathon... its like an intense break up that I am in the early stages of getting over.

Come back to me my dear blues I seriously won't ever hurt you like that again!

Now for the depressed RBR links:

Devils square servies with Rangers

Source: STLtoday.com

NEW YORK • David Clarkson's deflected goal 2:31 into the third period snapped a tie and lifted the New Jersey Devils to a 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers that evened the Eastern Conference fi…

Hanzal suspended one game for hit on Brown

Source: STLtoday.com

The NHL on Wednesday suspended Phoenix Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal one game for a hit on Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown.

Pros and Cons of Vladdy Tarasenko coming to St. Louis

Source: St. Louis Game Time by socityhooligan

According to every scouting report, Vladimir Tarasenko is at least twice as good as Evgeni Malkin. And by scouting report, I mean "comments on Facebook by guys who watched his shootout move on Youtube."

The question on everyone's mind (besides how he can stick handle like he's got the puck on a string) is WHEN. When will Tarasenko come to North America and make Alex Ovechkin look like Vitali Karamnov?

I've stolen a

Ex-Flyer Carter Leads Kings Halfway to Stanley Cup Finals: A Fan's Perspective (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Philadelphia Flyers are having their failure rubbed in their face through these Stanley Cup playoffs. Not only do Flyers fans like myself have to see the New Jersey Devils face the New York Rangers in the Eastern finals, we have seen Ilya Bryzgalov's old team and Mike Richards and Jeff Carter's new team steamroll through the West.

Wednesday Links: Don't Forget to be Awesome!

Source: St. Louis Game Time by RealBadRobot

Flick is off stuck in an endless cycle tending to a boom pole and very little sleep...

That sounds a little wrong... eh.

SO while he is off recording sound on some set that I will never see I am here for you, the people... of Gametime... are we really people here? I ponder these things at very awkward times. I really need to stop doing that... or not.

I now shall move forward cause really this is just starting to sound very rambly and like I have been hit in the head or something of that nature... Seriously is it time for Blues hockey to be back yet???

Onward with the Links of the Robot!

Blues News:

Interesting read on

Kings beat Coyotes, match NHL record

Source: STLtoday.com

GLENDALE, Ariz. • Jeff Carter scored three goals, Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings matched an NHL record with their seventh straight road playoff victory, beating the Phoen…

Blackhawks, prospect agree on contract

Source: STLtoday.com

The Chicago Blackhawks and forward Rob Flick have agreed to terms on a three-year contract.

Beard-a-thon Raises Over 40K for Charity

Source: NHL.com

Doug Rasmussen raised more than $7,000 for charity by doing, well, almost absolutely nothing. Usually clean shaven, Rasmussen stopped shaving and grew a Playoff beard to help support the Blues in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rasmussen joined mo...

Grading the 2011-12 Blues – Matt D’Agostini

Source: Frozen Notes by David Rogers

Grading the 2011-12 Blues
Matt D’Agostini 

The third installment of the “Grading the 2011-12 Blues” series features Matt D’Agostini. The St. Louis forward had a pretty quiet year with an injury playing a fairly major role in his 2011-12 production. Is his injury enough to offset a poor grade? Find out below.

Previous Grading the Blues Articles

- Jaroslav Halak -
- Brian Elliott -

Prior to 2011-12

D’Agostini was one of the best stories for the Blues in the 2010-11 season. Thanks to injuries in the lineup, D’Agostini got plenty of top line minutes in 2010-11 which allowed him to display some of his offensive prowess. He notched 21 goals and 25 assists, both of which were new personal bests. He was easily the best value for the Blues which earned him a new two-year, $3.3 million contract prior to 2011-12.

Regular Season

Expectations weren’t enormous for D’Agostini in 2011-12 but fans were expecting him to be a contributor to the team’s offensive scheme. Things started out fairly well for D’Agostini in the year’s first month where he tallied four goals and two assists. At the time it appeared he was on track to at the very least match his production from 2010-11 despite not having a role on the team’s top scoring lines.

Unfortunately, October was D’Agostini’s best month of the season.

After scoring four times in his first 11 games, D’Agostini was only able to score five times over his next 38 games. To be fair, D’Agostini did suffer from a concussion during the year and upon returning he never really looked like the player we saw in 2010-11.

In 55 games D’Agostini rarely looked like a true threat on the ice. He showed glimpses of his 2010-11 talent but he wasn’t able to sustain pressure consistently. He saw fewer offensive chances due to his role on the team’s third line but still wasn’t able to capitalize even when offered an expanded opportunity.

Final numbers: 55 games – 9 goals, 9 assists (18 points) with a +12.

Regular season grade: C

Summarized: Injuries were a factor in D’Agostini’s 2011-12 season but the fact remains that when he was on the ice he rarely looked like the weapon he was in 2010-11. It’s unclear whether D’Agostini was ever truly in form after the season’s first month or after his concussion. Unfortunately, you can’t give D’Agostini a pass due to his injury as he still appeared in 55 games this season and still had numerous opportunities that ultimately were squandered.

Playoffs

D’Agostini only played in four playoff games for the Blues, one against the San Jose Sharks and three against the Los Angeles Kings. For the most part, D’Agostini’s playoff run mimicked his regular season form. Outside of one moment of pure brilliance, a nice snipe in the team’s 5-2 loss against LA, D’Agostini was quiet. It’s tough to analyze D’Agostini’s playoff form as the entire St. Louis roster was held in check by LA’s formidable defense.

Final numbers: 4 games – 1 goal, 0 assists (1 points) with an Even plus/minus.

Playoff grade: B-

Summarized: D’Agostini was activated in the playoffs in the hopes that he might bring a bit more of an offensive spark to the team’s quiet offense. His play in the playoffs perfectly summarized his year as a whole – one moment of brilliance lost in a sea of uninspired efforts. His snipe on Jonathan Quick was brilliant. Unfortunately, this was the only play made by D’Agostini that lingers in the minds of Blues fans.

Looking Forward

D’Agostini is under contract for 2012-13 in the second year of his two-year, $3.3 million deal. It’s safe to say that he did little in 2011-12 to justify the raise he earned after a strong 2010-11 season. In the final year of his contract, D’Agostini will need another big effort if he hopes to land a new contract with the St. Louis Blues on a roster that could see plenty of change in 2012-13. It’s also critical that he is able to stay healthy throughout the season. In 2012-13 he likely will again spend time on the team’s third line but will need to bring an improved overall effort if he hopes to find additional playing time or a new deal.

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Tarasenko trying to decide on future

Source: STLtoday.com

Blues hope the Russian prospect will be playing for them in the NHL next season.

Weary NY prevails against well-rested foe

Source: STLtoday.com

NEW YORK • Rangers rookie Chris Kreider and defenseman Dan Girardi both had a goal and an assist in the third period, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots for his fifth career playoff shutout, as …

Blues prospect close to deciding on future

Source: STLtoday.com

But there are factors still at work guiding what he will decide, a source told the Post-Dispatch.

Kings-Coyotes Preview (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes survived stretches of playing on their heels in the playoffs' first two rounds, absorbing everything the opponent threw at them before counterpunching with a winning goal.

Kings dominate opener of West final (The Associated Press)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) The Phoenix Coyotes survived stretches of playing on their heels in the playoffs' first two rounds, absorbing everything the opponent threw at them before counterpunching with a winning goal.

Los Angeles Kings Beat Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 in Conference Final Opener: Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

The Los Angeles Kings defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2 to open the Western Conference Final, in the process keeping their record for 2012 playoff road games perfect and setting the stage for what could be a very interesting, heated series--and not just in terms of the weather in both cities.

It's all about winning for controversial Rangers coach John Tortorella (Yahoo! Sports)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Tortorella often comes off as cantankerous and arrogant, but there's more to the New York Rangers coach than meets the eye.

Tarasenko could soon make decision about Blues

Source: STLtoday.com

The 2010 first-round draft pick was left off Russia's roster for the IIHF World Championships.

What We Learned: What to make of this Washington Capitals season? (Puck Daddy)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Hello, this is a feature that will run through the entire season and aims to recap the weekend's events and boils those events down to one admittedly superficial fact or stupid opinion about each team. Feel free to complain about … Continue reading →

New owner is fanatic on Blues, coy about beer

Source: STLtoday.com

Tom Stillman survived being a Miller distributor in an A-B town, but his love for hockey never wavered.

Dustin Brown again saves Kings from a potential momentum-killing defeat in Game 1 (Yahoo! Sports)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

L.A. is still undefeated on the road in the NHL playoffs, and that's in large part due to the play of Brown.

Kings stay perfect on road

Source: STLtoday.com

GLENDALE, Ariz. • Dwight King scored his second goal of the game into an empty net and the Los Angeles Kings opened the Western Conference finals with a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Sund…

King of Kings scores twice as LA beat Phoenix (Reuters)

Source: Yahoo! Sports

(Reuters) - The Los Angeles Kings produced more Stanley Cup playoffs magic on Sunday with a 4-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes in their Western Conference Finals opener. Dustin Brown and Dwight King scored third-period goals to clinch the Game One victory, with the second game of the best-of-seven series set for Tuesday, again in Phoenix. The win continued a fairytale post-season run for the West's eighth seeds, who have won nine of 10 playoff games to eliminate top seeds Vancouver in the opening round then swept the second-seeded St. Louis Blues in the second. ...

Rangers, Devils are ready to go

Source: STLtoday.com

It's been 18 years since Stephane Matteau forever etched his name into hockey history with a wraparound goal that launched the New York Rangers-New Jersey Devils rivalry well beyond just a common b…