120:52 is an eternity for the St. Louis Blues.

That is how long it has been since the team has lit the lamp, which occurred on October 28th in North Carolina when David Perron added an empty-net goal to seal a 5-2 Blues victory.  The celebration did not seem to last long.

The next night, the Blues threw 32 shots at Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, who stopped every single one in a 2-0 blanking of the Blues.  Long-time Blues-killer Tomas Vokoun displayed a similar achievement two nights later in a 34-save effort en route to the Panthers snubbing the Blues 4-0 at Scottrade Center.  Being shutout two games in a row is not something that Head Coach Andy Murray has expected out of his club.

"All losses look bad," Murray said after the Florida game. "Again, we're down 2-0 in the first period and we're having such a tough time scoring ourselves, and yet we give up two easy goals; very poor coverage decisions in our end and it's 1-0. Again, another goal with poor coverage decisions." 

Continue reading "Bring on the Rivermen!"

Tim Thomas has been the heavy favorite for the starting goaltender position for Team USA in 2010 for quite some time.  But Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller is turning some heads with his strong play to start the 2009-10 campaign.

Heading into the United States Olympic Hockey Camp in July, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas was the clear cut number one guy to lead the USA Men's Ice Hockey Team to a Gold Medal.  But his play suffered early, as his Bruins currently sit at 11th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-7-2 record.  The troublesome stat that may worry Team USA officials is that in his first three games Thomas suffered twelve goals against, also posting a dismal .870 save percentage in that span.  It is just the first three games, but the Olympics are a short two weeks where teams can play up to 8 games in about 11 days.  The Olympic committee will have worries if Thomas cannot handle the pressure of jumping right into a situation on the ice.

Continue reading "Miller and Anderson Making Pitch for Team USA Starting Job"