St. Louis Blues Back in Playoff Spotlight

Entering the 2008-09 season, not much was expected from the St. Louis Blues. Most people recognized their talented young core, but few, if any, were predicting a trip to the playoffs. With just 13 games remaining on their schedule, the Blues enter Tuesday's game in Edmonton just two points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, and have an opportunity to move into a tie for the No. 8 spot with a win (and a Dallas loss). So, how did they get here?

From the start of the season, it was almost as if the hockey gods were looking to derail this team by any means necessary. It began when prized defenseman, 20-year-old Erik Johnson, was lost for the season with a torn ACL suffered in a golf cart accident. Veterans Paul Kariya, Eric Brewer and Andy McDonald soon followed, while goalie Manny Legace continued the string of bad luck when he injured his ankle tripping on Sarah Palin's red carpet prior to a game.

As the injuries mounted, so did the losses, and on January 17, the Blues found themselves with a disappointing, but not unexpected, 17-23-4 record following a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Since then? It's been a completely different team, as the Blues have been one of the hottest clubs in the NHL.

What's changed?

Well, for starters, they've been riding goaltender Chris Mason, as the 32-year-old veteran has appeared in 25 consecutive games, putting up a .924 save percentage as the Blues have posted a 15-6-4 record. Acquired from Nashville for a fourth-round pick this offseason, Mason has taken over the No. 1 job from Legace, who now finds himself playing for Peoria of the American Hockey League.

The Blues have also received point-per-game play from McDonald (17 points in 17 games) since he returned from his broken leg. They've also seen rapid development from youngsters David Perron, David Backes and Patrik Berglund.

When the Blues play in Edmonton tonight, they'll be opening a three-game road trip through Western Canada, while the schedule may be the biggest obstacle they face in their quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2003-04.

Of their 13 remaining games, five are against Columbus (three) and Vancouver (two), while they also have games with Detroit, Chicago and Calgary. Brutal.

Even worse, nine of the games are on the road, where the Blues have posted a 13-16-3 record on the season. Of course, during their recent hot streak beginning in late January, the Blues have shown considerable improvement away from home, posting a 7-2-2 record.

They've come a long way from when head coach Andy Murray was publicly calling out the roster, one name at a time, for not playing well earlier in the season.