Going into Friday night's game at Scottrade Center, the drowsy Blues had been so lethargic in the first period this season that you half expected old hockey soldier Brian Sutter to show up and pass the ammonia bottle around the locker room.

Generally speaking, hockey and sleep apnea don't make for a winning combination, and we were curious to see if the Blues could get busier sooner against the appealingly convenient Minnesota Wild.

The pulse rate quickened early, when David Perron wheeled and dealed to set up Jay McClement for a 1-0 lead just 56 seconds into the game. And when Perron snapped in a short-handed goal 5:21 into the second period for a 2-0 lead, the Blues appeared to be filled with more pep than a large can of Red Bull.

And then something happened on the way to the blowout; the Blues nodded off again, this time while on the power play. The home team went 0 for five with the man advantage to let the Wild stay on the prowl.

And even though the Blues banked an empty-net goal (hello, Brad Boyes) for a 3-1 victory, at times it appeared the players mistakenly believed their 19,150 fans were chanting "Let's Go Snooze." It's a good thing that goaltender Chris Mason had their backs.

What's going on? Keith Tkachuk is old, and too many of his teammates are playing like it. Various theories are being espoused, most of them representing low-rumble criticism of coach Andy Murray.

— Murray is too cerebral. The players have too much to think about instead of doing what comes naturally.

— Murray works his squad too hard during practices and morning skates and this saps the energy from their legs.

— Murray changes line combinations more than Tony La Russa tweaks the daily lineup card, making it hard to establish an offensive rhythm.

There's only one problem with all of that: Murray is the same guy who guided the vigorous Blues to the playoffs last season to become an NHL coach of the year finalist. Oh, and so he's lost his touch eight games into the new season? Please.

Murray is Murray, a hockey intellectual who can nag like a crotchety professor during his teachings and meetings. But given this team's youth, what's wrong with a quality education? Here's the key issue: The Blues have been hyped in a massive way, and their kids are discovering that it was a lot easier to play as underdogs. The squad has yet to raise its game.

Not that all scrutiny of Murray is off base. A tense team that plays without joy won't be as effective. So perhaps Murray needs to find ways to lighten the mood a bit.

I agree with something Blues President John Davidson said Friday: "The players have to relax and go play. Quit trying too hard. Quit trying to force things. Just go play."

The Dallas Stars are at Scottrade tonight, and the Blues will have another chance to cultivate the spirit that propelled them last season. Murray was their coach back then, even if the critics want to forget that now.

READING TIME, 3 MINUTES

Free Brandon Gibson.

Our prayers and condolences go out to the family of Dawn Walters, who died unexpectedly Oct. 20. The wife of Lafayette HS soccer coach and ex-Steamers forward Tim Walters, Dawn was a passionate supporter of Lancers soccer. And in the 1990s Dawn coached the men's and women's soccer teams at Missouri Baptist College. She was the mother of Cara, Timothy "T", Nina and Zac.

If the Cardinals are going to go into the 2010 season with Ryan Franklin as their closer, they'd better have a backup plan in place in case Franklin fades late in the season. What we saw near the end of the 2009 season wasn't new. In his three seasons as a Cardinals reliever, Franklin's splits are glaring. Before the All-Star break he's had a 1.88 ERA and allowed a batting average of .218 with a .272 onbase percentage and a .340 slugging percentage. But after the All-Star break, Franklin's numbers jump dramatically: 4.10 ERA, .281 batting average, .345 OBP, .433 SLG. Over the last three seasons his ERA after Sept. 1 is 6.08.

Rams defensive end Leonard Little is having a better season than I realized. According to STATS LLC, Little has a combined 15.5 quarterback knockdowns and hurries this season. In the NFL, only Dwight Freeney, James Harrison and Kevin Williams have more. ... Bits contributor Andy Strickland (hockeybuzz.com) tells us that Blues scouting VP Jarmo Kekalainen will be the lead analyst for Finnish television for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Matt Holliday's top six choices on the free-agent market are, in order: Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, Mets, Red Sox and Cardinals. ... If Tony La Russa is coming back to town this weekend to attend Sunday night's Bruce Springsteen concert at Scottrade Center, he might as well stick around to sign a new contract to continue on as Cardinals manager. ... By the way, the real Tony La Russa has started tweeting under his name at Twitter.com

Blues broadcaster Chris Kerber has launched hockeychats.com, which will feature blogs and commentaries from NHL broadcasters including his St. Louis colleagues John Kelly and Darren Pang. ... Rob Rains and Hellen Carpenter will read from and sign their new book, a biography of James Naismith, at the Lee Auditorium at the Missouri History Museum on Sunday at 2 p.m. ... The 2010 NFL draft is being touted as one of the deepest in years, which is why the Rams should have traded more than one player (Will Witherspoon) in exchange for draft picks.

The St. Louis boxing community lost one of its all-time best guys earlier this week with the passing of Jim Hathmann, longtime coach at the South Broadway athletic club who also helped train members of the city police for the annual "Guns & Hoses" boxing fundraiser. Our condolences. ... And congrats to Steve Holley, the local coach and promoter who has been named "Boxing Man of the Year" by South Broadway.

Tom Nütten, who started at guard for the 1999 Super Bowl champion Rams, was inducted into the Western Michigan Sports Hall of Fame last Saturday. Nutten is living in Sarasota, Fla. ... For all the talk of former Rams running back Marshall Faulk joining the group led by Dave Checketts in the attempted purchase of the Rams, Faulk's financial investment would be minor. To this point there have been no discussions between Checketts and Faulk, though that could change.

THE NICE SECTION

Mizzou legend Norm Stewart will be the keynote speaker at the St. Louis Men's Group Against Cancer 40th Annual Dinner on Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Ameristar Casino's Discovery Ballroom. For tickets and information visit stlmensgroup.com or call Margie Price at 314-428-3331.