THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Last season’s late playoff push got Blues fans excited in a major way for this season. Then there was the dramatic trip to Sweden that brought two victories over the Red Wings. Lost in the excitement is the underlying fact that the Blues are still young and relatively inexperienced. Do you think fan expecations for this team are too high right now?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
This is a tough call, but, yes, expectations are probably too high. You have to look at what those expectations are based on: a playoff appearance last year, the potential of young players like T.J Oshie, David Perron and Patrik Berglund, and the return of injured players like Paul Kariya and Erik Johnson. Although the Blues deserve a ton of credit for their second half, and they were in every playoff game against Vancouver, the postseason ended in a sweep. Moving on, no one can guarantee the youngsters will turn into the stars most think they will be. And meanwhile, Kariya and Johnson have some rust to knock off. The Blues should be a playoff team and those expectations are legitimate, but some folks have the incorrect impression that they should be a dominant club right out of the hop.

JEFF GORDON
With the return of Erik Johnson and Paul Kariya and the addition of Ty Conklin and Darryl Sydor, this team has an excellent talent base. I like this mix of young players and battle-tested veterans. This team has experience, leadership AND young legs. There are several helpful players at Peoria, too, which protects this team from major injury concerns. For a big chunk of Thursday’s game, we saw, again, what this team is capable of.

DAN O’NEILL
There is no question that fan expectation is too high right now. It’s simple mathematics. The fans expect the Blues to be a playoff team, maybe even one that goes deep into postseason play. In contrast, the Blues have won two of their first five games, a pace that definitely will not make the playoffs. So, you have a square peg and a round hole. But it is five games into the season, much too early to judge the Blues as underachievers. Players like Erik Johnson and Paul Kariya need time to find their game after missing an entire year. T.J. Oshie, Brad Boyes and David Backes are not rolling yet. Give it time.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
When you win expectations are increased. It’s a fact of life. There is no reason for Blues fans not to have placed heavy expectations on this club heading into the season. The Blues as an organization earned high expectations with their performance last season. It’s a new world for the Blues regime and this hockey team. No longer are the Blues able to rest on the idea that they are rebuilding. Keith Tkachuk told me prior to the season the team expects to contend. I’m not ready to categorize them as a Cup contender just yet, but if they were to fail to make the playoffs it would be a drastic step in the wrong direction. The Blues should be held to a high standard because they have good players and coaches they can win with. It’s perfectly acceptable for fans to expect this team to win a fair amount of hockey games. The days of the  Blues being just a feel-good story are in the rearview mirror.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: As the Blues get set to hit the ice this weekend for the start of training camp, are there any particular players you are eager to see in terms of maturation, added size/muscle, return from injury, etc?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
There are obvious players that everyone is eager to see in training camp. Erik Johnson and Paul Kariya fit in that category. Johnson, who has a toned up physique, will finally have a chance to show folks how special he is.

But I’ll go in a different direction today. I can’t wait to see T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund. Both are now aware of the rigors of the NHL and both had an entire offseason to use that knowledge in their training. Oshie and Berglund are capable of scoring 25 goals each, and that production could take the Blues to the next level.

I also think David Perron is geared up for a big year. He was one of the Blues’ best players in the playoffs, and after a great summer of training, he looks the part of an NHL player.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
Having seen Erik Johnson, Patrik Berglund and a few others out at some of our summer Blues broadcasts (Chris Mason joins us tonight from 6-7 at the Sheraton across from Scottrade) I’ll go with two guys I haven’t seen yet. To me, the most intriguing guy entering camp is Paul Kariya. He says he hasn’t felt this good in years, he’s in a contract year and he’ll be surrounded by some outstanding talent. Should be interesting. I’m also interested in seeing if there is a noticeable difference in the look and performance of Alex Pietrangelo. A little added strength could be the difference between Petro being a part of the team rather than just a part of the future.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
For good reasons the obvious person to watch come training camp/preseason is Erik Johnson, just to see where his game is at after missing an entire year. Same can be said for Paul Kariya, who missed almost all of last season. Is Kariya still worthy of playing on the top line? Can he make others around him better? This season will determine whether his three-year, $18 million contract was money well spent or not.

Besides those guys I want to see if former 4th overall pick Alex Pietrangelo is ready to be a full time NHL D-man? The Blues will have a tough decision to make on whether or not to ship him back to the OHL if this kid doesn’t show the necessary improvement the club expects.

Others to watch are D-man Tyson Strachan, who has shown the ability to dominate the AHL. He may not be a big name but he’s a big body who’s tough and moves the puck well. And last but not least is rookie Aaron Palushaj who may be the Blues most skilled prospect they have in the organization who’s yet to play an NHL game. He still needs to add strength but he isn’t far away from playing in the show. How will he fare against the big Boys? Lars Eller is right there as well.

DAN O’NEILL
I am anxious to see Alex Pietrangelo, to see if he has matured some physically and see if he is ready to play in the NHL this season. The Blues have a definite need on the blue line and Pietrangelo could have a significant impact if he has progressed from last fall. And, of course, everyone is anxious to see Erik Johnson and whether he is ready to pick up where he left off late in his rookie season.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Is there a specific area of need you think the Blues should address in the weekend’s draft, or do they just take the best available player at No. 17 overall?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
The Blues have the No. 17 pick, but they believe they’ll get a player on their Top 10 list. That’s not an uncommon feeling heading into a draft. When the Blues drafted Patrik Berglund No. 25 overall in 2006, they felt they could get a player who was in their Top 15. They had to move up from No. 30 to do so, but they did it. Every team has a different list, so players you don’t expect to be available sometimes are.

The Blues don’t have a No. 1 (Erik Johnson) or a No. 4 (Alex Pietrangelo) draft selection like they’ve had in recent years, but they’ll get a good player at No. 17 . . . assuming they stand pat. Remember, T.J. Oshie went No. 24, Berglund went No. 25, David Perron went No. 26 in their respective drafts. Those three make up the youthful core of the team.

As far as this year’s draft, I believe the Blues will take the best player available, but they’re probably hoping its a forward. At some point, the Blues are going to trade one of their young forwards (not saying Perron, Berglund or Oshie, but somebody), and they’re going to have to keep the cupboard filled. So listen for names like RW Jordan Schroeder, C Scott Glennie or C Louis Leblanc at No. 17.

JEFF GORDON
They need to draft a forward. Which one . . . well, that is a toss-up, since nobody can predict how the draft will unfold after the first three picks. I’ve seen at least a half-dozen forward prospects linked to the Blues. Scorers, power forwards, skilled two-way centers — every description has been mentioned as possibilities for this team. Adding talent in any of these categories would be nice.

TOM TIMMERMANN
It’s unlikely they’ll get anyone who can make an immediate impact that far down, so I think it’s wrong to draft for immediate need. That being said, if there’s someone out there who has any kind of potential as a goalscorer, I say grab him. While Larry Pleau has told me one million times you can never have too many defensemen, if you can develop your own goalscorers, you save a bunch of cash and a lot of headaches on the free agency market. I say: Go for the offense.

DAN O’NEILL
Drafting at 17th, the Blues can’t approach things committed to filling a specific need. They have young forwards, they have young defensemen and they have young goaltenders. At the same time, they are a team that was eliminated in four games in the playoffs, so they can use help everywhere. I would be thinking forward, but I would be looking for the best player available.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Last week at this time hope sprang eternal as the Blues were about to kick off their first postseason series since 2004. One week later the team finds itself in a 3-0 hole facing Vancouver tonight in an elimination game. Has anything that has transpired in the past week changed your thoughts on this team overall? Have the playoffs revealed any major areas of need that the return of injured players next season cannot resolve?

JEREMY RUTHERFORD
Even though I predicted the Blues to win the series, I don’t think any differently about this team than I did a week ago. Vancouver has played great hockey and the Canuck players, with a ton of pressure on them, have silenced their critics. Meanwhile, no one could have predicted the Blues special teams would collapse and that’s what has happened. The one glaring hole on the Blues side has been their ineffectiveness to get the puck out of the zone. You can see by watching Vancouver how important good transition is. Next year, Erik johnson will be a big lift in that area.

JEFF GORDON
The big Blues weakness is the lack of offense on defense. This team lacks scoring threats from the point. The Blue seldom make the home-run outlet pass and rushing the puck out of their zone against good fore-checking is difficult. The return of Erik Johnson will help fix this. If Eric Brewer makes it back from his neck injury, that will help too. So will the development of 2008 top pick Alex Pietrangelo.

TOM TIMMERMANN
Coming in, I saw this series as a bonus, a chance for the Blues kids to get their feet wet in the postseason, but not much else. Vancouver was a hot team and just a bad matchup. This was not a Blues team that had the look of one making a long postseason run. So T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund and David Backes and all those guys can get the feel for the postseason and get those jitters out of the way. Next year, if they make the playoffs, it will be familiar for them. Better to have the team do an early playoff exit this year than next year, when the team should be substantially better. The Canucks series hasn’t changed my thoughts on the team, but reinforced them: This is a young inexperienced team that needs to learn some lessons. They are being learned.

KEVIN WHEELER (Host of “Sports Open Line” on KMOX)
After they closed out the regular season on such a strong note I thought for sure the Blues would make a strong showing in this series. The frustrating thing is that this young team hasn’t played nearly as well as it can and yet the club has still been right there in every game. Close but no cigar.

What this series has done is put a spotlight on something most people following the Blues have talked about for a couple of years now — they don’t have enough skilled, puck-moving defensemen. That will eventually change with the return of Erik Johnson and the development of Alex Pietrangelo, but for now it’s just not there.

With a little more maturity and development from the young guys, and clean bills of health for EJ and Paul Kariya, the Blues should be just fine going forward. I don’t see any “major” areas of weakness going forward, just areas that will improve with time and experience.

ANDY STRICKLAND (Hockeybuzz.com, KFNS)
We all know the Blues have been a great story here in 2009. It wasn’t too long ago that nobody, including the media, cared about pucks. So at the very least the Blues have put themselves back on the map in terms of relevance and there’s something to be said for that. The reality is the regular season is done and a new season has begun.

This is not the time to sit around and pat the Blues on the back for taking the city on a joyful 12-week ride. That time will come once the club has cleaned out their stalls. In the meantime the Blues have been disappointing to date in the playoffs. This doesn’t mean we turn our backs on what took place during the regular season. The goal in the playoffs though is to win and the Blues haven’t gotten the job done. The Canucks have more players on their bench who have elevated their game this series compared to St. Louis.

Sure having Erik Johnson and Paul Kariya would help, that’s obvious, but the Blues — in my opinion — don’t have enough natural scoring and that area could use some upgrading. The defense has been exposed for what it is and will be better adding Johnson, Eric Brewer, and potentially Alex Pietrangelo. In reality this is a learning process for the Blues and this playoff experience will only help them moving forward. In the meantime Blues fans deserve better than what they’ve seen this playoff series.

A look at one Vancouver columnist’s take on Game 1:

By Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun

Horns and rock music blared outside the arena an hour before faceoff. There was a deafening ovation when the Vancouver Canucks skated on to the ice and a choir of 18,000 belted out O Canada.

It was a playoff atmosphere and playoff hockey. Game 1 playoff hockey. The Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 2-1 to open the Stanley Cup tournament.

“You can’t beat this,” former Blue Ryan Johnson said after his first playoff game in Vancouver. “When I came out before the game and everyone was standing and waving towels, I said to myself: This is why you play the game, right here.”

The Canucks looked nervous at the start, overwound at times and occasionally undisciplined. And they were the more “experienced” playoff team, as 11 of 18 skaters on the Blues had never set foot in the National Hockey League playoffs until Wednesday.

Friday, they’ll double their playoff experience in Game 2, trailing 1-0.

The Canucks got better as the game went on, dominated the third period and won 2-1 to move within 15 wins of the Stanley Cup.

Okay, let’s not get carried away. The Canucks did what they had to do, making the Blues’ young stars disappear, limiting St. Louis scoring chances and surviving seven disadvantages well enough to win.

“It’s hard work and winning one-on-one battles,” Canuck Henrik Sedin said. “I thought we played really well. You always like to start well in the playoffs. You get on a roll. . . and we know what confidence can do.”

The process hardly matters now. After listening to daily sermons from coaches all season about systems and execution and preparedness, the process is suddenly secondary to the score. Just win.

There are no points for beauty, no pictures on the scorecard. Doesn’t matter how or by how much. Doesn’t matter whether it was earned or stolen. Just win. Worry about the flaws another day.

The Canucks can play a lot better than they did Wednesday. So, too, it’s safe to say, can the Blues.

The St. Louis organization, in the post-season for the first time since 2004, has been reborn under coach Andy Murray and president John Davidson. But the baby Blues weren’t very good in Game 1.

David Backes was dropped from the first line, replaced by veteran warhorse Keith Tkachuk. T.J. Oshie had only fleeting glimpses of the flair he displayed against the Canucks two weeks ago. Patrik Berglund was invisible, and so was David Perron except when he was taking penalties.

As St. Louis pressed in the final minute for a tying goal, still only one down because netminder Chris Mason elevated his game in the final period, it was the more experienced Blues who were on the ice: Tkachuk, Andy McDonald, Brad Boyes and Alex Steen.

The Canucks were better. Henrik and Daniel Sedin were able to create chances with Alex Burrows. Ryan Kesler was effective. Pavol Demitra and Kyle Wellwood delivered body checks. On purpose.

The Canuck defence was solid and unspectacular, as usual. Mats Sundin was terrible, but that happens some nights. Maybe he’ll be great on Friday.

“It’s not pretty, but we get a lot of wins playing this way,” Wellwood said. “It’s just nice that we played well. We didn’t have to rely too much on Louie. Our style is to play good defensively.”

Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo stopped 25 of 26 shots, but except for a couple of power-play saves against McDonald, was not required to be spectacular. He did, however, have to be alert.

On their first shift, Canuck defencemen Shane O’Brien and Kevin Bieksa, without pressure, managed to squeeze the puck dangerously across the Vancouver goalmouth.

That was indicative of the jitters coursing through players on both teams in the playoff-opener. Even the referees looked nervous, as veteran Dan O’Halloran and junior partner Chris Lee seemed determined to put their stamp on the game. There were 13 power plays.

The Blues scored on one of their seven, but were blanked during a two-man advantage that lasted 1:39 in the first period. Canuck Ryan Kesler blocked a pair of shots by Brad Boyes.

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” Kesler said.

Mission accomplished. Hopefully that slogan won’t haunt the Canucks the way it did George Bush.

“It’s going to be a tough series,” Henrik Sedin said. “It’s 1-0. Nothing’s over.”

As promised … our friends from Vancouver have weighed in with a prediction of their own on the Blues-Canucks series. (I left it unedited because I like the way Canadiens use a “c” instead of an “s” in words … like “defencemen.”) Here you go:

Elliott Pap, Vancouver Sun

The teams split their four-game season series and were among the best in hockey since January. For the Canucks, the turnaround coincided with the return of goalie Roberto Luongo. The Blues performed a second-half miracle playing without top-four defencemen Eric Brewer and Erik Johnson.

On offence, the Canucks have a balanced attack, with five players hitting the 20-goal mark and another, Kyle Wellwood, at 18, but the Sedin twins are still the main cogs and key to the offence and will be under pressure to perform. On defence, the Canucks have a nice blend of size and experience. The only thing lacking is a puck-rushing/power play quarterback.

The Blues have a Stanley Cup winner in centre Andy McDonald, while warhorse Keith Tkachuk will be on a mission in perhaps his last chance to win a Cup. They’re complimented by a group of dangerous young forwards in David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and David Perron. Brad Boyes is dynamite on the power play with 16 goals.

In goal, Luongo has a great regular-season resume but his playoff portfolio is reed-thin. Chris Mason’s playoff resume is even lighter than Luongo’s: one win in five games. So who wins? The Blues could, if they pressure the Canuck defence with a heavy forecheck and create turnovers that turn into scoring chances. But the Canucks should, especially if Luongo performs like the elite goaltender he’s been in the regular season.

Prediction: Canucks in seven.

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?

OK, I’ll admit I’m having a little Bernie Miklasz syndrome tonight; I’m up writing a blog at an ungodly hour. But unpleasant dreams woke me up at 2 a.m., I tossed and turned for an hour trying to get back to sleep, so I just decided to come downstairs, get on the computer and let my mind cool off awhile before heading back to bed.

So … in that time, I decided to do a little research on a topic that I’ve been wondering about — when on the ice, which St. Louis Blues players have been most productive in scoring points? Sure, there are many more variables that figure into what makes a valuable hockey player than just points, but that’s the specific thing I wanted to know … who’s putting the most points on the board with the time they are given on the ice (TOI)?

Here’s the methodology I used. First, I looked at the top 8 scorers on the team. They were all forwards with the exception of Carlo Colaiacovo, but since his TOI included a considerable portion of the season with Toronto, I removed him from the equation and focused on the seven forwards.

How I did the equation: First, I looked up each player’s average TOI per game (I took the liberty of rounding off the number of seconds … e.g. 9.4 seconds or below rounded off to to 9; 9.5 seconds or above rounded off to 10 seconds. Not scientifically exact, but we’re talking milliseconds here. I did NOT round off minutes.) I then multiplied that individual average ice time per game by the numbers of games each forward had played to give me their total time on the ice this season. After that it was easy, I just took that total ice time and divided it by the number of points each player has on the season.

This equation allowed me to figure out how much ice time it has taken our top seven forwards to score a point. Here are the results, in descending order:

1. Andy McDonald averages a point every 18:20 of ice time

2. Brad Boyes averages a point every 22:30.

3. (Tie) Patrik Berglund and David Perron average a point every 23:55.

5. T.J. Oshie averages a point every 28:20.

6. David Backes averages a point every 29:20.

7. Keith Tkachuk averages a point every 29:40

These numbers in no way indicate the overall value of a player. Like I said earlier, there are many variables that go into the value of player … faceoffs won, situational defense even from forwards, the ability and willingness to work the boards and venture into the dark corners, etc. But what I believe it does clearly illustrate is who the most prolific point-scorers are on this team at this time.

Do with this information what you will. The question had just been nagging at me given all of the discussion about David Perron not getting enough ice time (his 14:53 minute average per game was the lowest of all seven of these players, though his scoring touch ranked in the top 3.) I don’t know that this means Perron deserves more ice time, perhaps the coach believes he doesn’t provide enough in other areas. I don’t know, I’m not a coach. But it does tell me that if this team needs a point in any given game, Perron should be shuttling in regularly.

The biggest surprise for me? Andy McDonald scoring a point in four minutes less ice time, on average, than any other player. Kudos to the club for re-signing McDonald, keeping him around for awhile.

Well there you have it. I hope the number-crunching wasn’t a terrible bore.

THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Do you think Missouri or Illinois has the better chance of winning its conference tournament this weekend?

VAHE GREGORIAN

I think Illinois has a better chance of getting to championship game, and if so anything can happen there. Still, can’t quite see the Illini getting by Michigan State if that’s their opponent. Meanwhile, just hard to believe MU can beat Oklahoma for a second time — in Oklahoma City — and then beat Kansas again. 

BRYAN BURWELL

Both Missouri and Illinois will face a tough challenge winning their respective conference tournaments, but I give the edge to Illinois for one reason: In order for the Tigers to win the Big 12, they will likely face Oklahoma in the semifinals and that will essentially be a home game for the Sooners in Oklahoma City.

STU DURANDO

Missouri already has beaten the two biggest threats in Kansas and Oklahoma and that could give the Tigers a mental edge. But the possibility of having to beat those teams on consecutive days might be too much to ask. Illinois has proven capable of beating most anyone in the Big Ten but was not up to the task against Michigan State, either at home or on the road. So, I don’t see either team winning their tournament.

TOM TIMMERMANN

I think Missouri has a better shot. They have shown they can beat the top teams in the Big 12 and I think it’s more likely to see top teams cleared out of the way in the Big 12. Mizzou might only have to play one of the league’s heavyweights. (Of course, they could also lose their first game, but we’re dealing with percentages here.) Meanwhile, Illinois fails my 35-point test: No team can win its conference tournament if it scores less than 35 points in a game.

JEFF GORDON

Neither is a great candidate to win their conference tournament. But Illinois has to have a better chance because Missouri can REALLY struggle away from home. The Tigers are totally different outside of Mizzou Arena. At home, the Tigers feed off their crowd and exploit that advantage. On the road, their opponents do a much better job keeping their composure in the face of pressure. At a neutral site, I don’t see the Tigers beating Oklahoma or Kansas.

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MIDDAY NEWS AND THOUGHTS

GIVE ME THE FRENCH-CANADIAN: It’s definitely true that sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make. And I think the Blues made the right decision not packaging David Perron in any trade deadline deals. And this is not a knee-jerk reaction to the kid’s two goals last night. It’s based on what I see his long-term potential being for this club.

Let’s face it, the Blues currently are not ready for an open-ice style of play, which is a style that will work to Perron’s benefit someday. There’s just too much inexperience (youth) among the forwards and the club does not currently have its full arsenal of puck-moving defensemen to consistently start clean breaks out of their zone.

But it’s coming. Carlo Colaiacovo has shown he’s got very good offensive skills for a defenseman (a trade well made), and Roman Polak has surprised most of us with what he’s brought to the parent club this year. And next year, of course, the Blues will welcome back “The Franchise,” defenseman Erik Johnson, who may develop into one of the top puck-moving defensemen in the league.

Furthermore, next season David Backes becomes a de facto veteran and one that has shown a very good all-around game this year. Jay McClement has the speed to move and offers just enough of a threat to keep team’s honest. Alex Steen is showing promise. And, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund will be a year older and a year better. That’s a pretty good corps to build a team that offers more speed, without giving up any real grit.

Which brings me back to David Perron. This kid may be the best stick handler on the team. He’s got mad moves and a nose for the net. With so many other weapons more seasoned and gelling next season, I would expect Perron to lift his game to another level. (Not that his 11 goals and 29 assists are anything to scoff at.)

Keep in mind Perron is just 20 years old. There is a lot of room for growth remaining for this guy. I would expect a closer correlation of goals-to-assists in the near future. Is he a bit cocky? Sure. But I like it. He knows he can play. As long as Perron doesn’t become a divisive presence on the team (which there’s been no indication of), he can be as cock-sure as his stick will allow him, in my opinion.

Last night’s first goal by Perron showed a kid who is growing up. The play not only had sizzle, but the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Perron also showed his heart, outmuscling (yeah, I said it, Perron outmuscled) 6-3, 214-pound Nicklas Grossman around the corner before moving the puck to his forehand and banging home a top-shelfer.

The St. Louis Blues have asked fans this year to “Come Grow With Us.” The fans have complied and bought in. Dealing away a young asset like Perron would have sent the wrong message. Sit back and enjoy watching him grow up … along with a host of other young talents on this team. When Perron hits 22, 23, 24 years old, if he’s playing in any sweater not displaying the Blue Note, fans here will be sorry.

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SOMETHING TO PONDER

THIS BILLS FAN HAS HAD ENOUGH: Everyone has got their own opinion about Terrell Owens joining the Buffalo Bills, but this video someone sent me from the Dallas Morning News website takes the cake. Be forewarned, it’s a little off-color, but as long as you’re not too easily offended, it’s hilarious. Check it out.

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DID YOU KNOW?

HOCKEY WITHOUT ICE: Octopush is an underwater hockey game that was introduced in South Africa in the 1960. The players wear skin-diving equipment, use mini-hockey sticks and a regular puck. Other than that, they follow all the rules of hockey … on the floor of a pool.