Blues Rising to the Occasion

Barclay Poole
Apr 30, 2001

Fifteen years is a long time to wait in between conference finals appearances. Heck, even the league's last place New York Islanders visited such an event only 8 years ago.

But the current St. Louis Blues roster seems very unconcerned about years past. They have the upper hand on the Dallas Stars and are within reach of visiting their first conference final since 1986.

It is not like the Blues' 15-year drought has seen bad teams. In fact, they have made the playoffs in each of the past 15 seasons. But when each season ends prematurely in the first or second round, it makes things a little tough to swallow.

Probably the biggest blow to the Blues organization came last year when they were ousted from the playoffs by the San Jose Sharks in the first round. The Blues were ranked first overall in the league and seemed to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

So is this year any different?

Possibly. There are a few common characteristics that successful playoff teams generally possess. So far in the playoffs, the Blues have been lucky enough to encounter all of them.

First, the injury bug has been virtually non-existent. Except for the absence of regular season casualties Tyson Nash and Jeff Finley, the Blues playoff roster has gone relatively unscathed.

The Blues opponents have not faired so well. The opening shift of the first round saw the San Jose Sharks lose powerplay specialist Gary Suter to a concussion. Bryan Marchment, Marcus Ragnarsson and Evgeni Nabokov, all major players in the Sharks lineup, also missed time against the Blues due to injury.

The Dallas Stars are not having any better luck. Superstar Mike Modano was injured in game one of their series with the Blues and the date of his return remains in question.

Second, the Blues have been able to keep their composure and remain focussed on winning. Last year, the Sharks got underneath the Blues skin. They banged and crashed the Blues every chance they got, focussing on Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Turned out to be a pretty smart move as Pronger spent a great deal of time in the penalty box.

This year Pronger seems to be on a mission. His ability to control games defensively obviously makes him the key to the Blues' success. Last year's series taught him a great deal about the dedication it takes to be a winner. Though his stick-swingin' style of play will always yield penalties, both the Sharks and Stars have been unable to take him off his game.

Third, the Blues have been able to utilize their depth. Trade deadline moves enabled GM Larry Pleau to put together two strong scoring lines, making the Blues a much harder team to defend than last year. Production has even come from unexpected sources. Marty Reasoner had 3 goals in the first two games against Dallas.

Maybe the biggest area where depth has benefited is in the "grit" department. After being pushed around by the Sharks in last season's playoffs, Keith Tkachuk, Scott Mellanby and Dallas Drake were all acquired to beef up the team's toughness.

Lastly, the Blues have been able to get past their biggest question mark - goaltending. Roman Turek will certainly never be confused with Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy, but he has been able to keep his Blues in every playoff game so far.

Turek has been the biggest benefactor of the Blues' health. When Pronger and MacInnis were down with injuries in the regular season, Turek was very average. His success lies in the Blues ability to limit not so much shots on goal, but scoring opportunities. With Pronger and MacInnis on defense, this task becomes much easier.

We have all seen the importance of great goaltending in the playoffs. Ed Belfour, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy have proved to us time and time again that the quest for the cup begins in net. Whether or not Turek is in that class remains to be seen.

The Blues seem like they are on their way to lifting a huge monkey off their back. An appearance in the conference final would do wonders for an organization knee deep in frustration. A grumpy Dallas Stars team will certainly not roll over, but the promised land is certainly within range.

What remains to be seen is whether or not the Blues can continue their focus, stay healthy and receive solid goaltending from Roman Turek. From here on out these variables will separate legitimate Stanley Cup contenders from pretenders.

Your own opinions can be expressed in the message forums.

Editorials are opinions of the author, not this website, the owner of this website or any of its members.