THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: It’s prediction time … The Blues and Canucks will kick off their seven-game series tonight in Vancouver. What do you see being the key areas in how this series plays out, and who comes out on top?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD

There’s a lot of pressure on the Canucks and virtually none on the Blues. Fans in Vancouver are waiting for the big contract given to Mats Sundin to pay off, they’re waiting for the Sedin twins - Henrik and Daniel - to produce in the playoffs and they’re waiting for Roberto Luongo to prove he’s a goalie that can take them deep into the postseason.

Meanwhile, the Blues aren’t supposed to be here. They aren’t Cinderella . . . instead folks should start calling Cinderella “The Blues.” And yet while they’re underdogs, they were 2-2 against the Canucks in the regular season, and that was with Chris Mason not playing as well as he has shown this season. Mason is 1-3 with a 3.44 goals-against average and an .863 save-percentage against the Canucks this year.

The edge may come in the special teams. The Blues have the No. 3-ranked penalty-kill and the No. 8-ranked power-play in the NHL and those categories will become even more important in the playoffs. If the Blues can play physical, continue to get balanced scoring and Mason can come close to matching Luongo, they can beat the Canucks.

Prediction: Blues in six.

DAN O’NEILL

For the Blues, the key areas will be stopping those darn Sedin twins, pounding on 38-year-old Mats Sundin and scoring ugly goals against elite goaltender Roberto Luongo.

To that end, the Blues have to win the special teams battle. They were better than Vancouver with both the penalty kill and the power play units during the regular season, and that must hold true. Obviously, Chris Mason has to make big saves and bail the team out when the opposition pressures. And it wouldn’t hurt to have Brad Boyes get hot.

For the Canucks, the biggest key is Vlade Divac look-alike Luongo. He has been outstanding since returning from an injury and he can win a series single-handedly. At the same time, Vancouver has to get balanced scoring from its forwards. During the regular season, five different Vancouver players scored 20-or-more goals, with the emerging Alex Burrows scoring 28 to compliment Daniel Sedin’s team-leading total of 31.

Prediction: This is truly a toss-up, but Canucks in seven.

JEFF GORDON

The Blues have tons of momentum coming into this series. Sadly, the Canucks are rolling, too. Vancouver has the edge in goal, with Roberto Luongo, and on defense, where the Canucks are highly skilled. Vancouver also has the home-ice advantage.

So the Canucks ought to win in six games. But . . . I’ve picked against the Blues down the stretch and they kept winning. So maybe this continued negativity is good Karma.

Prediction: Canucks in six.

ROGER HENSLEY

Let’s keep this simple and take the emotion out of it. The Blues are the better team right now. As Bill Parcells is fond of saying, “You are who your record says you are.” And the Blues record since January says they are ready to compete and win this postseason. I say they steal one game in Vancouver and win all three while playing to the crowd at Scottrade. A tall order? Maybe. But using that math it adds up to …

Prediction: Blues in six.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)

Three days ago on the Blues post-game show, right after the 1-0 win in Colorado, a caller asked me if I thought the Blues were going to beat the Canucks. While allowing for a change of heart after a few days of consideration, I said I thought Vancouver would probably win.

Well, I’ve had a change of heart.

The Blues are loose, playing better hockey than anyone in the NHL over the last 40 games - and the last 10 games for that matter - and the weight of the world is on the shoulders of the Canucks. The tension here in Vancouver is palpable. There are questions about key Canucks’ players, like the Sedin Twins and Mats Sundin, and whether or not they’re “playoff tough.”

Plus, Vancouver is Canada’s great hope for the 2009 playoffs. It’s been 16 years since Lord Stanley’s Cup made it’s home in Canada (1992-93 Canadiens) and the pressure is clearly on this Vancouver team. It all adds up to a Blues series win to me.

Prediction: Blues in six.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)

First off, how great is it to once again be breaking down the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Only if my dog didn’t chew up my passport I’d be in Vancouver!

Just because it’s the playoffs doesn’t mean you are forced to change your game. You want to continue to do the things that got you here. Obviously if you see something Vancouver is doing on the PP or PK you may be forced to make an in-game adjustment, but besides that, the Blues don’t need to worry about changing what they do.

It is important however that the Blues get to the Canucks “D” on the forecheck. Vancouver’s D-men are all mobile skaters who have the ability to move the puck quickly. The Blues need to prevent guys like Ohlund, Edler, Bieksa, and Salo from making their usual long stretch passes through the middle of the ice. The Blues will try to make Vancouver go D to D and force them to go up the boards when they are leaving the zone.

My point here is that a strong forecheck will cause problems, create turnovers, and allow St. Louis to spend a lot of time in the offensive zone. My other point is that everything needs to be taken to the net hard. Don’t pass up chances to shoot the puck and it’s important the Blues forwards drive hard and makes things as difficult as possible for Vancouver all-world goaltender Roberto Luongo.

It goes without saying the Blues checkers need to be successful in keeping Vancouver’s top offensive players off the score sheet. This is no different than any other game, but the Jay McClements of the world have an opportunity to create a strong reputation as quality NHL shutdown players.

It’s going to be a long, physical series and the Blues need to make life miserable for the Sedins, Sundins, Keslers, and Demitras of the world. If the Blues can do this they can win the series, and I think they will. It’s critical they get a split in the first two games.

Enjoy the playoffs Everybody.

Prediction: Blues in six.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Nashville’s come-from-behind shootout victory over the Red Wings Thursday night has made tonight’s Blues-Columbus game all the more important. The Blues need a win. Assuming the Note can pull this one out, who needs to be the team’s three stars tonight and why?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD

Keith Tkachuk: A lot of eyes will be on ‘Big Walt’ tonight, and I am talking about guys in the locker room, not fans. The target of much postseason criticism, Tkachuk must be a leader tonight in a pressure-packed situation. He may not finish with two goals and two assists but his presence better be felt.

T.J. Oshie: You could pick any one of the three kids, but I picked Oshie because of the way the crowd feeds off him. If the “kid line” has success, the Blues will have success.

Chris Mason: Simple … if Mason isn’t one of the Blues’ 3 stars, the team’s chances of winning are tremendously diminished.

BERNIE MIKLASZ

Chris Mason: Do we really need to explain why? The goaltender has been the Blues’ firewall during the team’s comeback charge, starting 31 consecutive games and posting a .916 save percentage through that stretch. He’s 3-1 vs. the Blue Jackets since taking over as STL’s No. 1 goalie. Mason has to be stingy tonight.

David Backes: For as well as he’s played, Backes has missed a chance to really shine against the Blue Jackets this season. He has one goal and is a minus-2 against them in five games. The thing is, Backes has had plenty of scoring opportunities against Columbus; his 17 shots on goal are the most by a Blues player vs. the CBJ this season. Backes has to cash in tonight. When he scores goals, the impact is obvious; the Blues are 15-6-6 this season when they get a goal from their future captain.

Jay McClement: He’s probably the most underrated Blue. Usually assigned to shadow the other team’s top line, McClement has done a fine job of limiting the potential damage inflicted by the top guns. He’s played well against CBJ this season. It’s imperative that the Blues get a stellar performance from the McClement, Alex Steen and B.J. Crombeen checking line.

There’s also that Oshie fellow. Rick Nash has heard of him.

DAN O’NEILL

Chris Mason needs to be the No. 1 star because, bottom line, the Blues can’t win without stout goaltending. Mason bounced back with a good performance against Phoenix, but he has been a little vulnerable to the soft goal in recent games.

T.J. Oshie needs to be the No. 2 star because he simply has been the team’s best player for the past several games. Oshie is the straw the stirs the drink, to put it in Reggie Jackson terms.

Jay McClement needs to be the No. 3 star. The McClement line was the Blues’ best in Phoenix and McClement has been a two-way star down the stretch. He will need to win key faceoffs and keep the Rick Nash-Manny Malhotra line under wraps.

JEFF GORDON

Chris Mason needs to be the first star, obviously. Goaltending is everything at this time of year. Mason sprung a few leaks in recent games, but now it’s time to get into playoff form. This game offers that opportunity.

The atmosphere at Scottrade will be highly charged. Since Barret Jackman figures to be on the ice against Rick Nash much of the night, he needs to be a star.

And T.J. Oshie will have a target on his back, again, so he must be ready to play a great (and alert) game.

TOM TIMMERMANN

Repeating a theme, the Blues can’t have a bad game by Chris Mason. In a game like this, you need your goalie to be your best player.

As for the other two people who need to step up …

A good game for Brad Boyes, who despite having three goals and two assists for the Blues against Columbus is even in plus-minus, would bode well for here and down the line.

And another big game for David Backes would mean he’s staying hot. The Blues caught a break that Columbus clinched its playoff spot the other night. This would be a much tougher game if Columbus was playing to clinch its first playoff spot. Now the Blues will have a big edge in emotion.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)

I’m not sure if this will be as adventurous as when they actually pick the three stars down at the Scotttrade Center, but I‘ll give it a try.

My gut tells me to pick Cam Janssen only because that would mean he’s in the lineup — but we know that’s not going to happen. The team shouldn’t need him to get the building rocking tonight anyway. With the way the Blues have lacked intensity in the opening period of recent games though, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to throw him in there.

Since he’s excluded here’s my 3 stars for tonight. Maybe a little off the cuff, but c’mon, I can’t be that predictable.

Carlo Colaiacovo: I have a felling this guy will have a strong game tonight and will bury at least one PP goal. He’s rested after sitting out practice yesterday and I know he’s fired up to be in this position. This kid is driven and I expect him to deliver this evening.

Keith Tkachuk: As the leader of the Blues he needs to step up tonight and do just that … Lead! The playoffs are so close to being a reality for this club and I feel it would only be fitting if it was Big Walt who stepped up and had his biggest game of the year in the most important game. Wait, didn’t we say the last game was the most important? And the one before that?

Patrik Berglund: He’s due! The trend as of late is that Berglund shows up big once every four or five nights. Something tells me he’s in for a big game. The Blues will ask the youth to rise up and I have a feeling the Friday Night Lights will shine the brightest on this kid. Wasn’t it Columbus netminder Steve Mason who stole this kid’s Calder Trophy?

Bonus Round … T.J. Oshie gets the Hard Hat!

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)

The first name that comes to mind is Chris Mason. The team’s surge in the standings has directly coincided with his taking over as the #1 goalie, so it is impossible to overstate how important his play is to the team. The Blues need him to come up big again tonight.

You know T.J. Oshie will have a great big bullseye on his back tonight as Rick Nash will certainly try to get some payback for Oshie’s big hits on him in the last two games between these teams. The Blue Jackets might be better off just not going there because Oshie feeds off that kind of stuff. He’ll have a big game on both sides of the ice tonight.

David Backes needs to be the Blues’ version of Rick Nash tonight, providing consistent offensive pressure against Jackets’ goalie Steve Mason and bringing a physical presence, as well. He’s been amazing down the stretch and, like Oshie, he feeds on these big moments.

Columbus can lock up the 6th spot in the West with a win tonight and the Blues can clinch a playoff spot with a win and some help from Minnesota in their game against Nashville, so both teams will be breathing fire when they hit the ice. Game on.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: The Blues are riding a five-game winning streak and currently sit in the eighth and final playoff spot. What do you think the keys to this late-season push have been?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
You can point to many stats, but in my mind, the Blues are in the eighth spot in the Western Conference today for two reasons:

No. 1 — Preparation: This is Andy Murray’s top trait, and he gets a lot of help from assistants Brad Shaw, Ray Bennett, Rick Wamsley and Scott Masters (video). The Blues go into each game like a high school student taking a test with a cheat sheet. Their detailed preparation gives them a better chance of executing with less talent.

No. 2 — Team chemistry: The Blues have had decent team chemistry the past few seasons, but nothing like this season. The players in the Blues’ locker room genuinely care for each other and each other’s success on the ice. The Blues are one unit taking the ice each night, not 20 talented individuals with varying agendas.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
Obviously, it starts with Chris Mason in goal. The Blues have the NHL’s best winning percentage since Jan. 3 and it’s no coincidence that Mason is No. 1 in the league in save percentage during that time (.925). The Kid Line has been incredibly effective; the star power of T.J. Oshie, David Perron and Patrik Berglund is shining through, just as Blues’ management predicted.

But there are other important factors. Defenseman Jay McKee is a +14 since Jan. 3 and has really stepped up his play. The return of Andy McDonald and defenseman Roman Polak from injuries has been a big help. Defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo has sharpened the Blues’ passing out of their zone, and he’s been a positive presence at the point on the power play. And while Brad Boyes is a minus-20 for the season, he’s a +1 since Jan. 3. And Boyes’ timing is good; when he scores a goal the Blues are 9-2 since Jan. 9.

Let’s not forget center Jay McClement, who is playing the best hockey of his career. McClement is often on the ice against the other team’s top line, but since Jan. 3 he’s at even in the plus-minus, is winning more than 50 percent of his faceoffs, and has nine goals and four assists. McClement is probably the team’s most unsung contributor.

And kudos to coach Andy Murray for holding this team together during the blitz of injuries.

JEFF GORDON
No. 1: Goaltending. This has been the team’s Achilles heel for some time. Chris Mason has been awesome. It all starts there.

No. 2: The kids are producing. Patrik Berglund got his second wind. T.J. Oshie is crushing people. David Perron is scoring big goals. The future is bright, yes, but the kids are good right now. Their recent play has been remarkable.

No. 3: The makeshift has held up, against all odds. Mike Weaver is playing great. Jay McKee has made himself a plus. Barret Jackman is holding up against top lines. Roman Polak is showing great poise for a young player. Give all these guys credit for pulling it together.

DAN O’NEILL
The key to any success in hockey starts with, and most heavily depends upon, goaltending. Like pitching in baseball, like quarterbacking in football, goaltending is the cure for any problem, the problem in any cure.

Chris Mason has given up some soft goals of late (follow the bouncing puck), but he has continued to make numerous clutch saves and give the Blues a chance. While Mason plays well, the Blues have to be effective on the power play. Special teams are crucial. For that to happen, they need more frequent contributions from their veterans, i.e. Brad Boyes and Keith Tkachuk.

Last but not least, they need T.J. Oshie and David Perron to keep taking whatever vitamins they have been taking, and share them with the rest of their teammates. They have been terrific over the last couple of weeks.

TOM TIMMERMANN
Chris Mason. 4-0-0 in the past four, 1.72 GAA, .930 save percentage. You can point at some other things, but without Mason, the Blues are cooked. Goalie play is a fickle matter, but you’ve got to give the Blues management credit for farming Manny Legace out and riding Mason. Talk about making the right choice.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
The biggest key of all in the Blues’ 5-game winning streak is that every single player on the team is contributing. That’s a little broad in scope, so I’ll narrow it down a bit below, but it is absolutely true. Everyone is pulling their weight.

As Bernie Miklasz noted in his “5 Minutes for Blogging” entry today, the offensive re-emergence of the “Kid Line” has been a driving force in this late-season push. T.J. Oshie has been leading the way with dynamic offensive play, gritty corner work and an amazing physical presence (Paging Mr. Nash, Mr. Rick Nash. Please come pick up your pride at the customer service counter.) Patrik Berglund and David Perron have elevated their games right alongside Oshie and it’s been a thing of beauty to watch.

It should also be pointed out that goalie Chris Mason continues to play at an elite level. Even though he’s not getting any rest, Mason is still carrying the mail. In this 5-game winning streak he’s stopped 126 of 135 shots (.933 save percentage) and made some absolutely huge saves, including in the shootout against Columbus with the game on the line.

Finally, the defensemen need to be recognized for the consistency of their play. They’ve been rolling with the same 6-man unit for a while now and they’re doing a solid job night in and night out. It may be an unofficial St. Louis pastime to find some poor defenseman and nitpick his every move, but right now there isn’t much to complain about.

It’s great to see it all come together, isn’t it?

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, Team 1380)
There has been an absolute revival of Blues hockey in St. Louis and it has been pretty amazing to get an up-close and personal view of what has taken place. There are several keys that have allowed the Blues to skate their way back into contention.

First off, head coach Andy Murray doesn’t let these guys off the hook when they make a mistake. He holds them accountable and doesn’t allow them to become complacent or satisfied.

Since the turn of the New Year the Blues have been one of the top hockey clubs in the NHL. You can’t be a playoff team in this league without goaltending and quality special teams. The Blues rank in the top ten in both power play and penalty killing percentage. Thanks to the consistent play of goaltender Chris Mason, the Blues also have climbed all the way into the top ten in goals against average. It wasn’t too long ago the team was ranked 26th in the league in GAA.

The team is playing their system almost to a “T.” How good is this team playing defensively? The Blues have done an outstanding job of controlling their scoring chances against. They don’t give up many chances, which allows the team to be in virtually every game. How many odd-man rushes or breakaways do you see the Blues allowing from game to game? (The goal by Antoinne Vermette the other night for Columbus was a player showing incredible explosiveness and beating two guys to a loose puck.)

The Blues have the ability to counter and score better than we’ve seen in recent seasons. When they create a turnover or force a mistake they have skilled players who can make you pay offensively.

The Blues became a bigger team by adding guys like B.J. Crombeen and Brad Winchester and they use their size very well. Management deserves some credit here, as well, for pulling off a two-for-one trade in which they’ve added two professionals in Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. This move was a major turning point for the season.

The bottom line is this team was picked to finish last at the start of the year and have used the underdog role as motivation. Throughout the last 30 games the Blues and coaches have maintained a level headed approach which has their focus where it needs to be.

Did I mention Oshie, Perron, and Berglund?