THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Erik Johnson is getting close to receiving full clearance on his injured right knee and should return to the ice 100 percent very soon. In the brief time you’ve been able to see Johnson play, what impact do you think his return will have on the Blues next season, both offensively and defensively? And, do you believe Johnson will someday live up to his No. 1 overall draft status?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
Johnson’s return should have a significant impact on the Blues’ defense. He’s exactly what they were missing last season, a defenseman who could naturally move the puck and also tee off from the point. As a rookie in 2007-08, Johnson led the defense with 33 points and he was only getting better at the end of the season. The year off because of the knee injury was terrible, but Johnson said Tuesday that he’s used the time to build up his body. He played at 222 as a rookie, got up to 240 a few months ago and said he plans to be 227 by training camp. He never would have had that time without the injury. Johnson also said Tuesday that he’s VERY motivated by people saying the “lost” year will hurt his development. So he’s healthy and all of the ingredients are there for him to get back in the picture.

As far as living up to his No. 1 draft status, I’m of the belief that unless you’ve shown that you can’t be that type of player, then there’s still a chance he can live up to it. In the time he’s been on the ice, he’s not shown anything to make people think otherwise.

BERNIE MIKLASZ
Erik Johnson will be a great player, a true cornerstone defenseman. He can do it all. He’s tough. He has excellent mobility for a big man. He’s an accurate passer. He’s smart and can read the ice. He has the kind of shot you want on the point from the power play. The knee inury was a setback, but he’ll benefit from the adversity. He used the time to build himself up and become bigger and stronger. The time away from the ice made him realize how much he loves hockey, so in that regard he’ll be even more devoted to the quest of maximizing his talent to have a sensational career. When I talked to Johnson the other day, I was just very impressed by his maturity level. He’s still a young man, but he really grew up during his time off. This will be a very hungry and determined hockey player when the Blues gather for training camp in several months.

TOM TIMMERMANN
I think it’s tough for any defenseman to live up to a No. 1 overall status. As a top pick you’re judged by the people you were chosen ahead of, which in Johnson’s case is Jordan Staal, Jonathan Toews, Nicklas Backstrom and Phil Kessel. One of those guys may well help a team to a Stanley Cup before Johnson does. If you think of a No. 1 pick as being a franchise-changing, best guy in the league, well, the hockey cognoscenti may appreciate defensemen, but not Jacques Q. Public, which means it will be tough to live up to that status. In Johnson’s lifetime, one defensman has been an MVP, Chris Pronger. In my slightly longer lifetime, there have been two, Pronger and Bobby Orr.

But Johnson can be very, very good and his impact will be large because he bumps everyone down. What would he have meant this season? It means that in the series with the Canucks, the Blues wouldn’t have been playing Mike Weaver or Jay McKee. (Probably Weaver.) Erik Johnson would be out there for 20+ minutes a night. He would get time on the power play, which obviously killed the team in the playoffs. He would get time on the PK. They will score more goals. They will allow fewer. I wish he played this season to get the playoff experience that all the other kids did.

DAN O’NEILL
I don’t think we have seen enough of Johnson to be able to predict whether he will live up to his status as the No. 1 overall pick the draft. I think he showed enough in the second half of his initial season (2007-08) to suggest he will be a solid NHL defenseman, but whether he will be the second coming of Al MacInnis remains to be seen.

That said, he addresses exactly what the Blues need, a big defenseman with offensive transition skills and a hard shot. He certainly should help the power play. But I think a lot of people are assuming Johnson is going to pick up where he left off, I doubt that. I think he faces a significant transition period, just from a physical standpoint. On top of that, he still needs experience and time to develop. To be honest, it’s difficult to say exactly what people can expect to get from Johnson when he returns.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Assuming he stays healthy, Johnson will easily be the best offensive defensman on the Blues squad next season. Unless they make a trade for someone like, oh I don’t know, Chris Pronger. Johnson scored 33 points in 69 games in 2007-2008 despite the fact that he didn’t turn 20 until the end of March that season. That, by the way, led all Blues defensemen that year and would have led all Blues defensemen this past season too.

Once he’s back to 100 percent as a player, not just the health of his knee, he’ll be a major force as a guy who can move the puck two ways: passing it and skating with it. During our post-game shows late in Johnson’s rookie season Kelly Chase would marvel at how the kid just skated away from opposing forwards while bringing the puck out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone.

Barring further injury there is no doubt in my mind that E.J. will live up to the hype and become an All-Star.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
The Blues getting a healthy Erik Johnson in the lineup will be huge. Most Blues fans have yet to see why this kid was chosen 1st overall back in 2006. We all know the Blues biggest weakness is on the back end and having a guy who can flat-out skate, shoot, and lug the puck up ice will do wonders for a team with lots of skill up front. Plus EJ is  the closest thing to Al Macinnis when it comes to possessing high-end vision in the offensive end. The Blues need a major upgrade when it comes to D-men who can make direct plays with the puck. Johnson will provide a lift especially in the offensive end.

Now with this being said, it would be foolish to assume he won’t be affected by missing an entire season after tearing his ACL. We can only assume he will rebound fine physically but losing a full year of maturation on the ice will take time to overcome.

In terms of him living up to his first overall status, this one is tough. In order to do this Johnson will have to prove he is the best player to be drafted in 2006. This won’t be easy considering Jonathan Toews, Jordan Staal, Nicklas Backstrom, Phil Kessel, Bryan Little, and Milan Lucic are each part of this terrific draft class. Johnson will be right there, but I just listed off some elite NHL players who should continue to be great for the next 10-15 years. It’s hard to say who will have the best career. We live in a Monday morning QB world so it’s easy to second guess, but people need to remember EJ was the consensus No. 1 pick heading into his draft year. As long as he stays determined and committed to being great, the Blues and their fans will be very happy with No. 6 for the next decade.

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?