Cheetos for breakfest.

Cereal for lunch.  This?  This is how I roll.

Moving on.

Since no one else is writing anything about the St. Louis Blues I guess I am going to have to do it.  Holy smokes, is all I really have to say.  After two seasons of really failing to live up to expectations, what with that awesome young core and all, they finally seem to get "it." 

Halak may end up being arguably one of the biggest steals of the last decade if they keep this up, regardless on how the two prospects Montreal got in return turn out. 

That kid is for real, and how Montreal deals him after what he did in the playoffs is absolutely beyond me.  Price isn't a bad goaltender - he is putting up respectable numbers so far.  But when a guy shows up like that in the playoffs the last thing on earth I'd want to do is trade the guy away.  Especially if that clutch dude is between the pipes.

No way.

Side Question before we get back to St. Louis:  Is there something in the water in Canada that makes their GMs so incapable of making good deals and building a hockey team?  Without even running a Google search I can think of several deals off the top of my head that just don't make any damn sense.

The Dion Phaneuf trade was actually terrible for both teams involved, which is something I don't believe has precedent. 

Taking on Scott Gomez and his Brad Richards sized contract for Chris Kunitz numbers is up there as well.  You can't put a price on leadership.  Unless the price is 7.3 million friggin' dollars a year.  I'd stab myself in the foot if my favorite squad did that.  Was Bob Gainey drunk - and I mean really drunk - when he pulled the trigger on that deal or did he lose a bet or what?

The exception I suppose is Vancouver, who I pray ends up meeting the Kings in this years playoffs after their phenomenal series last year.

Back to St. Louis...  (maybe that is why no one can write about them.  Oh look, a butterfly...)

I have not honestly had the chance to sit down and watch an entire Blues game, but I've seen a lot of highlight packages on the NHL Network, and I am under the impression they operate a lot like the successful Buffalo teams from the 90s did.  Roll four lines that are more or less the same, and play solid hockey in front of a good goaltender.

Seems simple enough, but it isn't very often teams can develop that kind of chemistry on four lines.  The Penguins can't even get synergy on their first line.

Looking over their roster, ten players have 5 points through 12 games.  Their top scorer is the gritty TJ Oshie.  I can not wait to see Oshie suit up for the United States for the next three Olympics.

They also only have 3 regulars who are minus players, and they are only -1 a piece.

So I declare the Blues legit.  No one should want any part of them in the playoffs.  They play the kind of hockey that can be very successful come that time of the year.  Responsible, two-way, win games 3-2 kind of hockey.  They can muck it out and have big, physical forwards that have good hands. 

I'm stoked that Tampa Bay is already on the turn around.  I love Steve Yzerman and it makes me happy to see him succeed so quickly.  I know he was handed more or less a full-house hand with guys like Stamkos and Hedman coming into their own, but give the man credit for bringing in good pieces during the summer. 

Early finals prediction? 

Blues vs the Bruins. 

You heard it here first.

-FS