Two days after he delivered perhaps the biggest hit of the Blues鈥 preseason so far, Matthew Kessel could sit in his stall and look more clearly back on his hip check in Columbus on Wednesday that sent Jake Christiansen tumbling to the ice.
鈥淚t鈥檚 probably not the best thing to always do,鈥 Kessel said with a smile. 鈥淭he open ice, you can get caught in some bad areas, obviously. You don鈥檛 see many open-ice hits anymore because I feel like if you miss, it鈥檚 not a good thing.
鈥淗e was alone, coming down on the rush and he was a d-man, and some other guys had some angles on him. I got hit pretty good earlier in the game, and was thinking about that a little bit. I wanted to get someone back, I guess.鈥
Bobby Plager is certainly smiling after seeing that.
鈥 50度灰视频 Blues (@StLouisBlues)
Kessel nailed Christiansen at about the top of the left circle after he entered the Blues zone early in the third period. The play resulted in a pile-up in the corner after Blue Jackets veteran defenseman Erik Gudbranson delivered some justice for Kessel, courtesy of his teammate.
People are also reading…
鈥淭hat was probably deserved,鈥 Kessel said, again with a smile. 鈥淭otally understand why he did that.鈥
Gudbranson earned a two-minute minor for roughing, and Kessel鈥檚 hit put the Blues on the power play while trailing 2-0.
Kessel figures to be on the Blues鈥 third defensive pair this season opposite Ryan Suter, one season after Kessel played 39 games on the right side of the 50度灰视频 defense.
鈥淚 think he looks really good,鈥 Blues coach Drew Bannister said earlier this week. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 someone that鈥檚 ready to take the next step. Right now, with Sutes there, that鈥檚 obviously somebody that鈥檚 a proven NHL player. Been around a long time, been through the ups and downs. For us, I think it鈥檚 a great pairing because we鈥檇 like to see Kess take the next step of consistency in his game. Sutes is a good guy to have help him through that.鈥
While Kessel鈥檚 big hit in Columbus drew some eyeballs, it鈥檚 not indicative of Kessel鈥檚 shift-to-shift style as a hopefully reliable depth defenseman.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 often going for hits, I鈥檓 always getting my hip out there a little bit, not always shoulder but sometimes going in with my side a little bit,鈥 Kessel said. 鈥淕ot him pretty good there, I guess. 鈥 I rely on my skating and my stick beforehand, and I feel like that鈥檚 a smarter, safer play always to do all that.鈥
Odds and ends
- Forward Simon Robertsson missed his second day of practice due to an upper-body injury. On Thursday, Bannister said it was unlikely that Robertsson would play on Saturday against the Blackhawks.
- Blues prospect Lukas Fischer was named the captain of the Sarnia Sting on Friday afternoon, and he became the second 50度灰视频 defenseman in as many days to be named captain of their junior team. On Thursday, Quinton Burns was named captain of the Kingston Frontenacs.
Fischer, a second-round pick this year, could have two years of OHL play remaining before turning professional. He was one of the youngest players drafted over the summer, and just turned 18 on Sept. 9.
- The Blues will hold a pair of pregame tributes ahead of their next two home preseason games.
On Saturday night, the team will honor David Lee, a 50度灰视频 police officer that was killed when he was hit on Interstate-70. The driver, who was out on bond for entering the country illegally, has been charged with DWI death of a law enforcement officer.
On Tuesday against Columbus, the Blues will honor Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, former hockey players that were killed as they rode bikes on the side of the road. The driver has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, and had a blood alcohol level of 0.087.