Well, Some Things Stayed The Same...

Plenty of changes for the NHL and the Blues since the '04 season, but one of the worst things managed to stick around; the Blues still have no idea how to beat the Red Wings. Winless in the last nine meetings, the Blues are clearly snakebitten.

I've got work to do, so here's a quick rundown on things to like and dislike about the Blues' first two games. In no particular order:

Like - Shanahan got his first mouse of the year courtesy of Jamal Mayers.
Like - Matt Walker's nastiness. People are going to hate playing against him if he can keep it up.
Dislike - Lalime gave up 8 goals in his first two games, which was actually over only 4.5 periods.
Like/Dislike - all the penalties. I understand that this is going to take a while, but sheesh it's tough.
Dislike - Detroit's Red Wings. Also, welcome Mike Babcock to the group. I now hate you, too.
Dislike - Tkachuk's groin. Missing camp has some disadvantages, eh?
Like - Mike Sillinger. Is there any doubt that this guy is going to play hard on every shift?
Like - Dougie Weight on the board. We need a giant year from him.

By the way, I'm watching the Kings/Coyotes game as I write this, and I think both of those teams are more talented than the Blues right now. This could be a long year. Let's hope hard work counts for something.