Really quickly before I hit the sack.

I'll blog about the two games from tonight tomorrow (congrats to Paul Kariya on goal 400, though - imagine how that would have felt if you would have scored it at home), but NHL.com has a great interview with Keith Tkachuk up, in which they try to pry out of him his decision for playing next season. He, as well as management, give the usual nebulous answer, but this quote at the end says a lot:

"I have learned a lot from a great organization. I have been through some ups and downs here. When I first got here it was automatic, it was win now, win now, and then we went through some tough years and some changes. The bottom line is I didn't want to play anywhere else."

Walt agreed to be traded to the Thrashers for the good of the Blues' franchise and to aid the rebuild, and then he promptly returned. His family has made it his home, and he has always made it perfectly clear that not only does he want to stay in St. Louis, he'd like to retire a Blue. He's earned that right. He's been a great leader for the team on and off the ice, and while this season hasn't exactly been a career year for him, he's been a constant on this team for 9 years and is a solid part of the St. Louis community. His contributions and dedication to the team are very, very much appreciated by Blues fans.

Even if we are calling him Puddin'.