In Manny Legace’s last four games, he has a record of 1-3 with a 4.04 goals-against average and an .871 save percentage.

The Blues have a young and inexperienced defense, but Legace has not played at the level he was last season. Legace’s numbers from 2007-08, when he was an All-Star, were 27-25 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .911 save-percentage. Through Tuesday’s 4-3 loss against Detroit, Legace is 10-8-1, which is not a bad record for a team that’s 14-20-3. But his GAA is 3.30 and his save-percentage is .887.

Though Chris Mason hasn’t been lighting the world on fire either, the Blues have decided to give Mason the start tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Mason is 0-2 in his last four games with a 4.76 GAA and an .831 save-percentage in his last three games. Overall, he’s 3-11-1 with a 3.22 GAA and a .899 save-percentage.

“A big part of our success is going to be our goaltending to win hockey games, pick up the guys when they need a save,” Mason said. “I know myself, I don’t feel that I’ve played bad, but at the same time, I don’t feel I’ve played to the level that I need to be at to get points and win hockey games. So, I think I’ve been average and basically that’s not good enough. You have to be above average to give the guys a chance to win. That’s what they expect and that’s what I expect of myself.”

Mason said he doesn’t feel his 3-11-1 record is reflective of how he’s played.

“That’s terrible, it’s unacceptable . . . I need to pick up my game,” Mason said. “I don’t feel that (his record is indicative), but the only thing that matters is winning. I can care less if I led the league in shutouts and had a below-.500 record. I just want to win, you’ve just got to get it done. I’ve got a lot of season left to improve that and I intend to do that . . . hopefully I can start tonight.”

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The Blues’ forward combinations should look the same tonight:

T.J. Oshie-Keith Tkachuk-David Backes

David Perron-Patrik Berglund-Brad Boyes

Alex Steen-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen

Brad Winchester-Dan Hinote-Cam Janssen

The only other lineup change from Tuesday’s loss to New Jersey may be Yan Stastny back in for Janssen.

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Boyes plus-minus ratio was -22 before Tuesday’s loss, when playing on a line with Berglund and Perron he was a plus-2.

Boyes’ defensive ability has been questioned since he arrived in St. Louis, and he is aware of it. Blues coach Andy Murray said recently that Boyes perhaps beats himself up too much about the issue. Nonetheless, both Murray and Boyes felt he was better all-around Tuesday night.

“I felt good,” Boyes said. “The biggest thing is coming back hard. I wasn’t watching the puck as much and I was more aware of what’s around me. That stat sometimes doesn’t reflect things, just like you can’t say you’re good defensively because you’re a plus. Guys make great defensive plays and get minuses. I just felt good. I wasn’t overcommitting. I was trying to come back hard. It was a better one for me, I’ve just got to build on it.”

It’ll be interesting to see how playing with Berglund and Perron might help Boyes. Berglund is a +13 (tops on the team) and Perron is a +2.

“With Bergy and David, the two of them love to control the puck,” Boyes said. “I think David played one of his best games the last game, he was awesome. Those guys have great vision too, so you just have to work to get open. The puck will come to you.”

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Speaking of plus-minus, has anyone seen that former Blue Rod Brind’Amour is a minus-26 for the Carolina Hurricanes. Here’s a link to a story today on Newsobserver.com

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I’m headed into a chat right now if anyone has Blues questions . . .

Thanks,

JR