Grabovski gives the linesman a shoveski, gets some time offski...

Pardon the pun... As if to but a big handful of candy sprinkles on the steaming turd that has been the Leafs season, Mikhail Grabovski was handed a 3 game suspension for abuse of an official after shoving linesman Scott Cherrey during an altercation with Sergei Kostitsyn in the 3rd period of last night's game against Les Canadiens. This one is intriguing, as the two are former friends who have been at each other twice this season now, and Grabovski insists it isn't over. "I think he is not Belarussian now, he is French because I never fight with Belarussian guys," Grabovski said. "I don't know why he wants to fight with me. If he wants to fight, we'll go in the street and every minute of every day I'll wait for him and we'll fight", said Grabovski. Kostitsyn shed some light on the feud, saying "He talks too much in the Russian papers about me and my brother". As long as he doesn't fight like Alexander Semin, it's all good...

The Canucks are home to the lowly (yeah, I said it...) St. Louis Blues. I find it pretty amazing that Chicago has managed to improve after years of being crappy, yet with all those high draft picks the Blues continue to hoover away at the bottom of the NHL standings. There is a huge buzz on this game obviously, as Mats Sundin makes his debut in front of the hometown crowd. You can expect a playoff-like atmosphere at least as far as the Canucks are concerned. The Blues may as well enjoy it, as this is the closest they will get to the post-season this year. CDC reports LaBarbera should get the start tonight, but I won't be surprised to see Sanford go tonight against his old squad, with LaBarbera getting the nod against the Sharks tomorrow. The Canucks will have Ryan Johnson back in the lineup tonight, and have sent Alexander Bolduc back to Manitoba which means Jannik Hansen is back in the fold, I bet we see him with a lot more energy now that he has been shown he must earn his spot every night. The Blues are led by Brad Boyes, who somehow leads the team in scoring with 34 points while being a -22. Wow. Keith Tkachuk is having a decent season for an old bastard, and rookie Patrik Berglund has 25 points thus far, being one of their few bright spots. The Blues haven't played since Saturday so this long layoff may actually hurt more than help. While the Canucks have struggled against the Blues over the years (Sanford had a big role in that) expect them to steamroll St. Louis tonight as Sundin reminds Vancouver why he is still a dominant player in the NHL at age 38.