Just minutes before I was about to post on how the Blues needed to pick up some players before the trade deadline, I found out that we did. Brent Johnson is no longer a Blue. He's been traded to Phoenix for center Mike Sillinger. While I know Johnny wasn't always the most consistent 'tender, I hate to see him leave the team. He does have the potential to be a great goaltender in the right system with the right coaching, but he just wasn't a good fit here. While I'm sure we could have gotten more out of a Johnson trade, Sillinger brings a few things to the table that the Blues are lacking right now. The ability to win faceoffs (he's ranked 12th in the league), he's a nine year veteran forward (most of the Blues forwards have played only two or three years), and he can score (though not very often). I doubt this trade is the one that puts us into the playoffs, but according to what my homeboy Takis tells me, KFNS 590 AM is reporting that the Blues are preparing to make a major acquisition before the trade deadline on Tuesday. I wonder what Pleau has up his sleeve.

As far as our recent gameplay is concerned I have mixed feelings. Games against Calgary and Edmonton are games that are a must win, and we didn't. Two teams hovering right around us in the standings and both searching for the playoffs. We should be taking 4 points out of those two games yet we only get one. On the other hand, since Mike Kitchen took over as coach, our defense has improved drastically, we've been playing with more emotion, we're finishing our checks, and our scoring chances are improving. Now we need to actually put the puck in the back of the net. It was also nice to see Khavanov get his first goal of the season last night on his first game back after injury.

- these thoughts flowed through Jeff's fingers @ 10:49 AM