The new season wasn’t more than two, three weeks old before some fans began yelping for the dismissal of Blues coach Andy Murray.

There’s a long sheet of schedule ahead of the Blues, and I’m not bashful about getting on coaches and managers, but I can’t imagine why anyone would rip Murray right now.

Murray’s forward lines have been shredded by injuries, but his players continue to battle like crazy.

Tuesday night in Nashville,  the Blues gutted out a 1-0 shootout win over the old tormentors, the Predators. Goaltender Chris Mason was ridiculously good for the third consecutive appearance. He stopped 47 shots in three periods + overtime, then smothered two more in the shootout. In his last three games (two starts), Mason has allowed two goals on 102 shots to raise his season save percentage to .927.  Mason struggled after being sidelined for surgery to remove his appendix, but he’s clearly sharpened into form. It’s been years since the Blues received this kind of stellar play from their No. 2 goalie.

Since Friday, the Blues have defeated Anaheim, Minnesota and Nashville in tough, grinding, low-scoring contests.

Tuesday night, Murray didn’t have these forwards available because of injury:

Andy McDonald

Paul Kariya

Patrik Berglund

T.J. Oshie

Dan Hinote

Also, The Note was down another regular because of the deal that sent Lee Stempniak to Toronto.  The two players obtained by the Blues — center Alex Steen and defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo — are on the way, but weren’t in Tuesday’s lineup.

To fill the voids, Murray plugged in the Peoria platoon … guys who are stepping in, and stepping up, with so many regulars on IR.

Cam Paddock played 11 minutes over 16 shifts.

Chris Porter played 10 minutes over 14 shifts.

Steve Regier played 15 minutes over 19 shifts.

Brad Winchester played 14 minutes over 20 shifts.

B.J. Crombeen played 12 minutes over 16 shifts.

Young veteran Yan Stastny continued to see increased ice time, with 15 minutes over 22 shifts.

Those are the forwards.  We should also mention semi-regular defenseman Jeff Woywitka, who logged 21:45 of ice time in this one.  That’s the most Woywitka has played in a game since joining the Blues in 2005.

And somehow (Mason being the No. 1 reason) the Blues defeated the Predators. The Blues were outplayed, no question. As they should have been, given the talent deficit. Nashville was the superior team and Mason prevented the predictable outcome. But the Blues won on the road in what has been a brutally tough building for them. And the Blues never stopped competing. The fierce OT penalty kill by Jay McKee, Eric Brewer and Jay McClement was inspirational.

Murray is getting the boys to play like maniacs.  He’s taking a terribly thin roster and stretching out, making excellent use of his personnel by going with short, high-energy shifts. The coach clearly has asked more of his players during this time of adversity, and they’ve responded to him. That’s quality leadership.

My point is this: if we’re going to dog Murray for his flaws (real and perceived), then it’s only fair to give the coach a bunch of credit when the Blues overachieve.

And while a 9-8-2 record on the season is no cause for a parade on Clark Avenue, it’s more than satisfactory for a team that’s been ravaged by injuries. Given the circumstances, it’s highly commendable.

One more thing before I close …

I’m scratching my head at some of the criticism of the Stempniak deal.

I understand the risk involved, and I pointed that out in Tuesday’s column.

I also understand that Colaiacovo comes here with some baggage; in Toronto he was at times portrayed as a head case, and someone who didn’t always work to get into the best possible shape. But he also has skill. We’ll see what he does with this fresh start. He’s a fairly mobile defenseman who can move the puck, and that attribute fills a true need.

(BTW … in Toronto, at least one prominent hockey columnist reacted to the trade by blasting the Maple Leafs).

Here’s what I don’t understand: when, exactly, did Stempniak become Mike Bossy, Jarri Kurri … or even Dino Ciccarelli? I must have missed that, so please fill me in.

I know Stempniak had 27 goals two seasons ago, and sure, he could find that touch again. But in his last 97 games as a Blue, STempniak scored 16 goals despite being given the team’s third-highest total of ice time on the power play.

Critics of this trade give the thumbs down because they believe the Blues have exchanged a sniper (Stempniak) for a grinder (Steen).

I guess I’m a little perplexed by that interpretation for several reasons:

* In 233 NHL games, Stempniak has 57 goals.

In 253 games, Steen has 50 goals.

Or, if you want to break it down this way, Stempniak scores 0.24 goals per game … and Steen scores 0.20 goals per game. Am I missing something? Where’s the big difference?

* Stempniak and Steen broke into the NHL the same season, 2005-2006.  Up until the time of the trade, Stempniak had logged about 230 minutes more than Steen on the power play.  And despite the huge gap in ice time given to each player on the power play, they had the same number of PP goals, 16.  Hmmm…

* Steen is also more versatile. Stempniak wasn’t used much as a penalty killer; as a Blue he had about 85 minutes, total, with the team playing shorthanded. As a Maple Leaf,  Steen logged 659 minutes as a penalty killer.

* This season Steen had two goals for the Leafs compared to Stempniak’s three goals for the Blues. And Steen was a checking-line center who ranked No. 2 on Toronto on penaty-kill minutes.  This season Steen’s role was dramatically different than the one Stempniak enjoyed in St. Louis; unlike Stempniak, Steen wasn’t given much of an opportunity to skate on an offensive-oriented line.  And he had one fewer goal than Stempniak. Big deal.

* Steen had more goals than Stempniak last season, 15-13.

* Steen has also won 52. 4 percent of  his faceoffs this season, and that’s a plus for the Blues, who don’t have McDonald, their best faceoff man (at 61.4 percent). With McDonald on the shelf for a long time with a broken leg, the Blues needed to reinforce the center position. Steen should be a legit workhorse, asked to contribute heavily at both ends of the ice.

Again, I like Stempniak. But I just didn’t see Mike Gartner out there, as others apparently did.

Thanks for reading, and indulging…

-B