Blues back-up goaltender Hannu Toivonen needs to stop some pucks. So a stint with the streaking Rivermen of the AHL ought to help him regain his lost form.

He is a much, much better netminder than he showed in Columbus. As I noted in my live chat, Hannu appeared stunned every time the Blue Jackets shot the puck at him.

With the Blues currently in a less-strenuous stretch of their schedule, Manny Legace can handle the workload and Marek Schwarz can fill in during an emergency. Toivonen needs to get work, and lots of it, to get ready for the hectic stretch run.

If he doesn’t respond well to this assignment, the Blues may have to add a veteran to provide more insurance. There are plenty of spare goaltenders available at modest cost.

This brings us to old friend Curtis Joseph, who signed with Calgary as a free agent after spurning an offer from the Rangers. The move reunites him with his old tormentor, Mike Keenan, and it gives Iron Mike further opportunity to torture struggling starter Miikka Kiprusoff.

Hockey Guy can’t wait to see how that plays out . . .