0-0-0 
VS. 
1-0-0
AT
STARTING LINEUPS
BLUES
McDonald - Backes - Langenbrunner
Oshie - Berglund - Stewart
Steen - Arnott - D'Agostini
Sobotka - Nichol - Reaves
Colaiacovo - Pietrangelo
Jackman - Shattenkirk
Nikitin - Polak
Halak
Elliott
PREDATORS
Wilson - Legwand - Smith
Erat - Spaling - Kostitsyn
Tootoo - O'Reilly - Halischuk
Smithson - Geoffion - Hornqvist
Weber - Suter
Klein - Blum
Laakso - Hillen
Rinne
Lindback
TONIGHTS PREVIEW
provided by
http://blues.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2011020015
Season Series: First of six meetings between these Central Division rivals. St. Louis got the best of Nashville last season, winning two of three in both cities, including a 2-0 shutout by Jaroslav Halak in the final game of the regular season for both teams. David Backes had 3 goals and 5 points to lead the Blues, while Cal O'Reilly finished with 1 goal and 4 points to pace the Predators.
Big Story: Every season there seems to be doubt about whether Nashville has what it takes to finish in the top eight of the Western Conference, but come mid-April the Predators have perennially been there. They wrap up a two-games-in-two-nights road trip within the Central to start off the season, facing a St. Louis squad that wants to make noise in a division that only seems to get tougher with Detroit and Chicago still top contenders and Columbus having made offseason improvements.
Team Scope:
Predators: It isn't true that Nashville beats Columbus every time those teams meet, it only seems that way. The Predators improved to 44-14-5 against the Blue Jackets all-time by hanging on for a 3-2 win Friday night. They're also 11-5-2 at Nationwide Arena since the start of the 2006-07 season. Ryan Suter helped silence the crowd early with a power-play goal, Craig Smith and Matt Halischuk also scored and Pekka Rinne began his run at another Vezina Trophy nomination by turning in a 29-save performance.
"It was a good game for us," Rinne said. "It's a big start for the season. It didn't come easy but we played strong. We battled hard. We played with desperation. It was nice to see the young guys stepping up and playing big roles; that's what we need this year."
Blues: Getting off to a fast start wasn't the problem last season -- St. Louis began a franchise-best 9-1-2, only to fade as injuries and inconsistency plagued the team. The Blues went out and added a couple forwards with Stanley Cup experience in Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner, while naming power forward David Backes their new captain. They also expect more out of Halak, who showed flashes of the brilliance he displayed for Montreal in the 2010 playoffs that led St. Louis to trade for him, but alternated with average to below-average performances as well.
"We feel very strongly about Jaro and the work he's put in this summer," coach Davis Payne said. "There's a sense of comfort that is going to come from being able to go through the conference and our division for the second time, so we expect big things out of him."
Who's Hot: Suter showed why he is one of the more underrated defensemen in the game Friday by producing a goal and an assist while logging 26 minutes, 28 seconds of ice time for the Predators. ... Berglund, who posted career highs of 22 goals and 52 points last season and was rewarded with a new contract, scored in two of the Blues' final three preseason games.
Injury Report: Nashville forward Mike Fisher (shoulder) and defenseman Francis Bouillon (concussion) are on injured reserve. ... St. Louis forwards David Perron (post-concussion symptoms) and B.J. Crombeen (broken scapula) are on injured reserve.
Stat Pack: Predators captain Shea Weber picked up an assist, took five shots and was second to Suter with 25:54 of ice time against the Blue Jackets. ... Halak's seven shutouts last season were a career-high and tied him for third in the League with Ilya Bryzgalov.
Puck Drop: Nashville's victory Friday was especially memorable for Smith, a fourth-round pick in 2009 who was making his NHL debut. His goal with 4:04 left in the second period snapped a 1-1 tie and put his team in front to stay.
"I know it's pretty special for some guys to get it on the first night," Smith said. "I was fortunate enough that I got that puck to squeeze through there for me."
JRs Morning Skate
Shortly after their alarm clocks went off this morning, several Blues reached for their smart phones to post their excitement about opening night on Twitter.
Chris Stewart: "I've been waiting six months to tweet this #GAMEDAY"
T.J. Oshie: "It's finally here GAME DAY!!!"
David Perron: "Gonna be tough missing season home opener, good luck to my boys ... place will be rocking."
Many of the Blues players are on Twitter: Stewart (@CStewSTL25), Oshie (@OSH74), Perron (@DP_57), Kevin Shattenkirk(@Shattdeuces), David Backes (@DBackes42),Alex Steen (@Steener20), Ben Bishop (@BenBishop30) and Ian Cole(@ICole28).
The Blues will finally drop the puck on the regular season tonight against Nashville. The game will start at 7:15 p.m., after player introductions and a video tribute to the victims of the Sept. 7 plane crash in Russia, including former Blues Pavol Demitra and Igor Korolev. The team will be wearing a No. 38 decal sticker on their helmets this season, honoring the two.
For those watching at home, Fox Sports Midwest will begin its coverage at 6 p.m., carrying the pre-game pep rally and the in-game ceremony live.
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TONIGHT'S LINEUP
Forwards
Andy McDonald-David Backes-Jamie Langenbrunner
T.J. Oshie-Patrik Berglund-Chris Stewart
Alex Steen-Jason Arnott-Matt D'Agostini
Vladimir Sobotka-Scott Nichol-Ryan Reaves
Defensemen
Carlo Colaiacovo-Alex Pietrangelo
Barret Jackman-Kevin Shattenkirk
Nikita Nikitin-Roman Polak
Goaltender
Jaroslav Halak
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NIKITIN IN, HUSKINS OUT
The Blues' opening-night lineup includes one bit of surprise, as defenseman Nikitin Nikitin has replaced veteran Kent Huskins.
Huskins signed a one-year, $1 million free-agent contract with the Blues this summer, adding experience and depth to the blueline. At one point, he was mentioned as a possible defensive partner for Alex Pietrangelo. Recently, Huskins was practicing in the top six, teamed up withRoman Polak. But it will be Nikitin starting out in that spot tonight.
"I think (Nikitin) is starting to skate," Blues coach Davis Payne said. "Early on in camp, he wasn't playing the kind of game he was playing at the end of last year. He had to get his feet moving, he had to get his body physically involved. A physical statement is one side of the thing and the pace he's playing at is another, and we feel that he's a weapon on the power play.
"He showed that this week in practice, I thought he had a very good (last) preseason game. We feel he can contribute to that group. We knew there were tough decisions out there. This is the first of many."
By going with Nikitin, the Blues will be giving up the option of using Huskins on the penalty kill.
"There's depth throughout," Payne said. "We have (Barret Jackman) and (Roman Polak) ... (CarloColaiacovo) gained some experience on the PK last year when he wasn't generally a PK guy ... and (Alex Pietrangelo) obviously. We feel that we've got numbers there that can deal with that."
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ODDS & ENDS
- Nashville flew into St. Louis last night after edging Columbus 3-2 in the Predators' season opener. Goaltender Pekka Rinne was battling the flu, but made 32 saves in the win. Rinne skated this morning and is expected to start.
- Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak was 4-0-1 with three shutouts in his last five starts against Nashville. He has a 0.60 goals-against average and a .978 save-percentage in that stretch.
- Forward Jamie Langenbrunner begins his first season with the Blues with the third-highest point total among active U.S.-born players with 638. He is trailing the New York Islanders' Brian Rolston (737) and Montreal's Scott Gomez(675).
Read more:
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/hocke...#ixzz1aDQiWqDo
MEDIA
Listen:
http://blues.nhl.com/club/RadioPlayer.htm?id=2011020015
Watch: FOX SPORTS MIDWEST/ Channel Finder:
http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/pages/channelfinder/
Streams: I found a site that claims that they will have a live stream, if u want it let me know and I will send out PMs. Atleast until I leave for the game.
First gameday thread
Did I pass?
I see your new here but over here on this Blues board we like the half assed GDTs. Its good luck.
