Who knew the Mayoral race in good old O’Fallon, Missouri would be so interesting!
Recently during the Election for Mayor in O’fallon, Missouri a Blues fan wrote in T.J. Oshie’s name on the ballot which is not a crime that will get you two and a ten in the penalty box.
Or jail for that matter.
Taking a picture of your ballot is against the law which evidently is what the Blues fan did.
Within the last few days a story broke explaining how Rich Chrismer, Director of Elections for St. Charles County, was looking to prosecute the individual who photographed his ballot.
I spoke to Chrismer today who tells me he never had any intention of handing this situation over to the prosecuting office and in no way is he searching for the individual who committed this offense.
“I never said I wanted to prosecute”.
Chrismer explained to me that all he wants is for his voters to know their privacy is being protected and he wouldn’t mind a chance to speak to the individual who took the photo. The St. Charles Director of Elections for the past seven years tells me he never once suggested to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was taking a hard stance and looking to prosecute this individual.
According to Chrismer, the comments attributed to him in the Post-Dispatch are a “Complete Fabrication” and he would never suggest the individual be prosecuted because the offense wasn’t done in malice.
In the meantime, the story has received national attention. Chrismer tells me he has received calls from several states including Tennessee, Maine, and North and South Carolina.
Cell phones are not permitted inside Election polling places for this reason. Failing to follow this law is considered a misdemeanor offense according to statute 115.637.14.
It may not be a bad idea to change the statute number to just 74.
On to the Playoffs......
Outside of the outcome the Blues have little reason to be upset with their overall play following game vs. Vancouver.
Is there a need to make adjustments? The obvious answer is yes, but Vancouver will likely make a few adjustments as well even though they were victorious.
The Blues played fine in the first two periods before watching Vancouver carry the play in the final session. The Blues will need to find a way to take their game to a higher level as the game progresses like the Canucks were able to do Wednesday night.
That’s how you win in the playoffs.
The Blues had only one or two scoring chances in the third period Wednesday night.
The Blues will look for positives to take into game two and the fact they were in the game until the final buzzer is a good sign.
Under the Bar from Scoops!
I thought the Blues responded to the physicality of the Canucks right off the bat which allowed them to carry the play at times early.
Blues must do a better job of getting out of their zone. Too often Wednesday night the Blues were scrambling in their own end and their D-men were eating glass as a result.
The Blues can’t allow the Sedin twins to be the most dominant players on the ice. That won’t spell good news for St. Louis if this continues.
It goes without saying the Blues need to score when they get the glorious opportunity of a 5-3 advantage.
It’s easy to say McDonald needs to get the puck off the ice on his one time chance early in the game. It’s not as easy as it looks to direct a 100 mph pass and tuck it under the bar. All McDonald is trying to do is slam it home in that situation. It’s probably a goal on 90% of the goalies in the NHL.
It was a great pass from Brad Boyes by the way.
Ryan Kesler did a great job for Vancouver of playing Boyes tight on the 5-3 and not allowing the Blues leading scorer to get away his shot.
McDonald needs to look for his shot on the PP. I thought the Blues were too predictable and it was obvious they were only looking to set Boyes up for the one time.
McDonald is a natural shooter and needs to look to get his shot off and not just focus on distributing.
St. Louis had the 8th best PP in the lague for a reason and you won’t see them panicing this early in the series.
Chris Mason was good Wednesday night but Luongo was just better.
Luongo’s ability to anticipate is as good as any goaltender in the world. He’s always under control and makes just about everything look routine.
It would help if the Blues hit the net a little more. Luongo’s presence in net had a little something to do with that.
Vancouver won just about every race to loose pucks especially inside the Blues end. Winning battles along the boards and playing a little hungrier on the puck is something the Blues need to improve on.
I know it’s hard, but the Blues need to be smarter than they were in game one. Be disciplined is a must.
Patrik Berglund’s lack of ice time was acoach’s decision and has nthing to do with any injury.
The Blues got through the game fine and suffered no injuries.
David Perron, who needs to settle down just a bit, is fine after suffering a head-to-head collision with a Vancouver player.
Rink Rats!
Look for Avalanche forward Cody Mcleod to receive a nice raise this summer after leading the team in hits and increasing his goal totoal to 15 compared to 5 the season before.
Heard Colorado pro scout Brad Smith could be a candidate for the vacant GM position there although I would be shocked if this happened. He is very respected in the organization though.
St. Louis product John Ramage, ranked in the top 100 on the central scouting list, is representing USA in the U-18 World Championships.
Speaking of St. Louis kids, how good is Buffalo D-man Chris Butler? Word is he was dominant for Rochester on Wednesday night.
Blues Clues!
Owen Sound Attack Head Coach Mark Reeds will join me tonight at Johnny Mac’s from 6-7 to break down game one and also discuss the various NHL prospects sprinkled throughout the OHL. The show can be hears on 590 the fan in St. Louis or www.kfns.com
I will also be hosting a special playoff edition of Blues Buzz Friday afternoon from 2-3 on 590 as well. Bob McKenzie will be my featured guest.
Only standing room tix remain for game three and four in St. Louis, but there are a select number of seats remaining for those who purchase 2009-2010 season tickets.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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