Pre-Season: Wild vs. St. Louis 9-24-2009 game preview

"Its 206 miles to Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, a half of a pack of cigarettes and its dark and we're wearing sunglasses....HIT IT!" I am not precisely sure why, but that is what I think of when I think of the St. Louis Blues. Either that, or sound of the organ playing When the Saints Go Marching In everytime the Blues score a goal. Names like Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Red Berenson, and Tony Twist pop into my head as I think about the Blues' storied history. With Team President John Robinson, General Manager Larry Pleau and the scouting of Jarmo Kekalainen more or less calling the shots, the Blues have recreated themseles into a young, dynamic team that is quickly climbing up the Western Conference ladder and that is no easy task. With a team showcasing relative young talent in former Maple Leafs' first rounder Brad Boyes and playmaker Andy McDonald; as well as a bevy of others like Spring Lake Park's David Backes, Bloomington's Erik Johnson, and Warroad's TJ Oshie the Blues are a great showcase of Minnesota-raised talent. The roster is being trimmed and the team is readying itself for the rigors of the regular season. On Tuesday, the Wild sent down a few more players down to its American Hockey League affiliate in Houston; Justin Falk, Jon DiSalvatore, Petr Kalus, Duncan Milroy, Wade Dubielewicz, Anton Khudobin, and youngster Tyler Cuma was sent back to his junior team in Ottawa. For Cuma, he will likely be disappointed but he had a solid pre-season where he showed many glimpses of great skill giving Wild fans reasons to be excited about where he could be in a few seasons. He missed most of last season due to a knee injury he sustained while trying out for Team Canada's U-20 squad, so a season with the Ottawa 67's will probably serve him well. Petr Kalus is another player who certainly made an impression at training camp as demonstrated tremendous speed as well as a willingness to dish out the hits even it came at the expense of getting his own teammates a bit worked up at times. I have a feeling that Kalus could end up being an early call up if injuries occur, that is if he stays and plays in the AHL in the meantime instead of going across the pond to play in Europe like he did last season. The Wild are coming off a rather embarrassing 5-1 rout at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Yes, the Wild put a team full of youngsters and AHL journeyman against Columbus who mainly suited their better NHL talent but Minnesota did not execute very well and that more or less left Josh Harding fending for himself all too often. The team hopes to rally back tonight at the friendly confines of the Xcel Energy Center against the St. Louis Blues. Coached by former North Stars assistant coach Andy Murray the Blues are a hard-charging, physical team that likes to grind along the boards that could be a lot to handle. The Wild are dressing a "B+" calibre team tonight and hope that infusion of skill can help it avoid another lopsided loss. Here is the lineup tonight according to wild.comGoaltending:Niklas Backstrom (expected to play the whole game)Josh HardingForward lines (left wing-center-right wing):Martin Havlat-Eric Belanger-Antti MiettinenCal Clutterbuck-James Sheppard-Owen NolanMatt Kassian-Nathan Smith-Danny IrmenColton Gillies-Andy Hilbert-Robbie EarlDefensive Pairs:Nick Schultz-Kim JohnssonGreg Zanon-Brent BurnsJohn Scott-Jaime SifersThe Wild are still a bit banged up as Derek Boogaard is battling through a concussion he recieved in the aforementioned rout by the Blue Jackets, and Shane Hnidy and Benoit Pouliot who are apparently having groin issues. It wouldn't be pre-season without at least some groin issues, right? Petr Sykora, Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, Kyle Brodziak and Craig Weller are for the most part healthy but they will be taking it easy tonight. The Blues on the other hand have also been trimming down closer to a 23-man roster; as they sent down former Minnesota Golden Gopher Barry Tallackson and Yan Stastny (the son of NHL legend Petr Stastny) were sent down to the Blues' AHL affiliate in Peoria, Illinois. Using a similar lineup that they recently used against the Blue Jackets, the Wild were defeated 3-1 by the Blues so there is an element of revenge in place for this game. According to stlouisblues.com, the Blues' lineup will resemble a regular season roster so it could be a good challege for the Wild's cast of NHL'ers. Especially for 3rd and 4th liners like Danny Irmen, Robbie Earl, and Nathan Smith a good showing could be critical as they go against an NHL-heavy Blues' lineup. It should be a great game, with an excellent turnout. To quote St. Paul, Minnesota-native and hockey coaching legend "Badger" Bob Johnson, "its a great day to play hockey!" Wild Notes:~ A special note to James Sheppard who might need a lesson in NHL Geography. When asked at a recent Wild Unplugged event, he was asked what team would he like to face in the Stanley Cup Finals. His Unplugged teammate, Josh Harding responded that he'd like to see Carolina Hurricanes because a good friend of his plays goal for them (most likely Carolina's Cam Ward). So when Sheppard finally gave his answer, the Detroit Red Wings it was blatantly obvious he thought they were in the Eastern Conference. Funny, I thought that James Sheppard had known the game of hockey since he was 3, so how could he not know that Detroit is in the Western Conference? You could even tell the crowd was a bit dumbfounded by the sheer stupidity of his answer. Yet, it was James who insisted he had "nothing" to really learn from former Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. Really James, REALLY?