The Blues have a test tonight, but a key offensive player returns to the ice. A former Blues coach is on the hot seat. Linsanity, and NBA picks. Plus, a possible trade option for the Cardinals?
The Blues escaped last night with 2 points despite a mediocre showing on home ice. St. Louis pelted Semyon Varlamov with 41 shots, and it took 63 minutes to saw off a conservative Colorado team playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back.
Ken Hitchcock is concerned about the penalty kill. The Blues have allowed 8 PPG in their last 8 games.
Hitch also believes the 1st period will be a huge test tonight against the rested San Jose Sharks. HC Todd McLellan was in the house last night scouting the Blues.
St. Louis has won both games in the season series. They play the series finale March 3rd in San Jose.
Brian Elliott was fantastic in a 1-0 shutout on December 10th at Scottrade. He stopped all 24 shots, including 2 huge saves in the 3rd period.
The Blues get a lift tonight with the return of Andy McDonald. Andy Mac has missed 51 games with lingering concussions symptoms.
The Chicago Blackhawks can’t buy a win. They have dropped 8 straight, and Joel Quenneville is facing serious heat in Chicago. Their last win was January 20th against Florida. The goaltending is a mess; they have been outscored 24-10 in 5 February games. Wow.
How great is NBC broadcaster Mike “Doc” Emrick?
NBA
Lin finishes a layup
Jeremy Lin has scored 20+ points and dished out 7+ assists in each of his last 5 games. That’s the longest streak by a Knick since Stephon Marbury in the 2004-05 season. Lin has led the Knicks to 5 straight wins, all without Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. If the season ended today, the Knicks own the 8th seed in the playoffs.
Trending up/Last 10 games
Chicago Bulls (7-3)
San Antonio (8-2)
Dallas (6-4)
Trending down/Last 10 games
Denver Nuggets (3-7)
Indiana Pacers (5-5)
Portland Trail Blazers (4-6)
Who I got today?
Chicago (-1.5) @ Boston
Both teams well rested. A chance for Chicago to make a statement.
Miami (3.5) @ Atlanta
Atlanta lost to the Heat playing without LeBron or Wade last month. The Heat have not been great on the road (8-5) but the Hawks are 
scuffling a bit, having lost 3 of 4.
MLB
Reports are surfacing that New York is trying to trade SP A.J. Burnett and Pittsburgh has opened as frontrunners. Depending on the asking price, John Mozeliak should look into this. Obviously NY would need to eat the majority of the $35 million remaining, but he’s a better option than Roy Oswalt.
The Cardinals invited veteran RHP Scott Linebrink to Spring Training on a minor-league deal. Linebrink had a 3.64 in 64 appearances with Atlanta last season.
Thanks for reading.
Daily Grind Sports 