Blues Must Play Statement Game
It’s all over but the weeping. The Blues are down 0-3 in the best-of-seven series against the highly skilled and experienced Canucks.
They can’t win the series now. But they can still pound out an exciting Game 4 victory, give their fans something to cheer and remind the NHL that they are still on the climb.
Also, they have a chance to bruise give the Canucks a few more bruises. That team loves to talk on and off the ice, so Game 4 gives the Blues a chance to answer with some action.
The Canucks don’t like getting bumped. “Our guys have been [receiving] a lot of cheap shots in this series,” Canuck coach Alain Vigneault complained after Game 3.
Instead of hitting the Canucks for 25 to 30 minutes, the Blues need to hit them for 60 minutes to test their will.
To that end, Hockey Guy enjoyed watching Cam Janssen play. He threw a few huge body checks and had the Canucks on the run.
They weren’t going to fight him, of course, and Cam wasn’t going to take selfish penalties by getting overly aggressive. But he still had an impact.
B.J. Crombeen, on the other hand, let the Canucks goad him into a couple of needless penalties. This was his first rodeo, so he’ll learn from the experience.
The Canucks shrugged off the loss of Mats Sundin to a groin strain, largely because his on-ice impact hasn’t been all that great.
Steve Bernier showed why the Blues made a bid for him last summer. After missing a golden opportunity, he bounced back to score a classic playoff goal.
About the booing…I really don’t care if it was booing or “Blues” as some claim. Neither should be uttered during the Canadian anthem. Either sing along, or show some respect and shut your trap until the song is over. Remember the Golden Rule…how would you feel if the Vancouver fans booed (or yelled anything that sounded like it) during the US anthem?
And btw, I don’t appreciate the ignorant “Bluesier” comments. I was born and raised in Indiana and I still live here, and I found the booing to be disrespectful and downright embarassing. I attend 4-5 Blues games each season and I’m generally thrilled with the fan support, but not in the case of booing O Canada. Face it, people…there are ignorant jerks in every state, so don’t make it sound like the “good” fans are all from StL and the idiots are from backwoods Indiana.
Mr. Jeff Gordon,
To anyone complaining about Murray sending out Crombeen at the end of Game 2: He’s part of our best defensive line that sees about as much ice time as our two scoring lines. the line that alain put out sees maybe 4-5 minutes a game. to even compare hordichuk to crombeen is an insult to a guy who has had a couple of multi-goal games including a hat trick this year. and can someone please explain: (a) how did crombeen receive the only penalty at the end of the 2nd in game 3? (b) when did it become offensive to be within five feet of a vancouver goalie after the puck is frozen?
Mr. Jeff Gordon,
What was the point of this article? Not only were there way too many grammatical errors to be a professionally written, but it was highly upsetting as a hockey fan. Not only are you prematurely eliminating a Blues team that has surprised the hockey world already this year, but you are calling for the to ”give the Canucks a few more bruises”. Who in there right mind would think it is OK to give up and content themselves to trying to hurt the opposing players instead of trying to win a game. It is embracing to know that you that you write for a hometown newspaper, and that Blues fans will be reading this article, like I have, shortly before another exciting game tonight. I hope that you learn from your mistake in writing such a ridiculous article and find another job.
I think all of you that are wining about the so-called disrespect to the Canadien national anthem by the Blues fans should go to or just watch a Chicago Blackhawks game on t.v. Those “hoosiers” as the Blues’ fans have been called never shut up during any of the anthems - they clap and yell and scream during the anthems…those are the people with no class! Like some of the real Blues’ fans who have mentioned, the fans are yelling “BLUES” - not booing. And as for Alain Vigneault, what a big baby…too bad his old guys can’t keep up with the youngsters on the Blues!