2008–09 St. Louis Blues season

2008–09 St. Louis Blues
Division 3rd Central
Conference 6th Western
2008–09 record 41–31–10
Home record 23–13–5
Road record 18–18–5
Goals for 233
Goals against 233
Team information
General Manager Larry Pleau
Coach Andy Murray
Captain Eric Brewer
Alternate captains Barret Jackman
Paul Kariya
Keith Tkachuk
Arena Scottrade Center
Average attendance 18,554 (96.9%)   [41 games; 760,732]   (19,150 max.)
Team leaders
Goals Brad Boyes (33)
Assists Brad Boyes (39)
Points Brad Boyes (72)
Penalties in minutes David Backes (165)
Plus/minus Patrik Berglund (+19)
Wins Chris Mason (27)
Goals against average Chris Mason (2.41)
<2007–08 2009–10>

The 2008–09 St. Louis Blues season, the 42nd season for the NHL franchise in St. Louis, Missouri, resulted in the team returning to the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Schedule and results

Summary

Before the regular season, started the Blues were hit hard with an injury to defenseman Erik Johnson. Johnson suffered a leg injury in a golfing accident that put him out for the season. Despite this the Blues had a good start to the regular season, winning their first opening day game in years, and going 5–3–0, before injuries to Manny Legace and Andy McDonald, coupled with poor defensive play, placed the team in last place in their division at 5–8–1. The Blues would win three games in a row to make their record 9–8–1. On November 24, 2008, Blues President John Davidson announced the Blues had traded Lee Stempniak to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and center Alexander Steen.[1] On November 30, Keith Tkachuk became the sixth American-born hockey player, and 72nd overall, to score 1,000 points in a career. The point came on a goal scored in his 1,077th game. He now has 511 goals and 489 assists. The goal helped the Blues to a 4–2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. It was his 362nd point in a Blues' uniform, ranking him eighth all-time.[2] The Blues would lose their next three games before winning 4–3 over the Phoenix Coyotes. St. Louis would then lose three straight games against teams on the West Coast. The Blues would follow up by losing their next two games to extend their losing streak to five. In that period, defenseman Jay McKee would become another victim of unfortunate injuries for the Blues. The Blues ended the month of December with a poor 4–10–1 record. Just before the All-Star Game break (January 22 to 28), the team gained seven points in their last four games. On February 6, two days after his 36th birthday, goaltender Manny Legace was placed on waivers, and the Blues recalled Chris Holt.[3]

Andy McDonald returned to active status on February 10 after almost three months out with a broken left leg (since November 16) and promptly made his presence felt with an assist on the Blues' first goal, and then later added a goal of his own, against the Vancouver Canucks, although they ultimately lost the game.

A 6–2–4 surge in February pushed the Blues (60 points on Feb. 24) to an even 26–26 (eight overtime loses) record, and to within five points of the eighth and final playoff spot.

In a dramatic and wild 3–1 win, with the final two goals from the youngsters T. J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund late in the wide-open third period, plus 41 saves from Chris Mason, against the Dallas Stars on February 26, pushed the Blues into 12th place in the Western Conference, only three points from a playoff spot and over .500 for the first time since December 8.[4]

A crucial 6–1 run from March 20 to April 2 pushed the Blues into eighth place, capped off by a stunning 5–4 win on April 2 over the Detroit Red Wings, their first victory over Detroit all season. The game was highlighted by David Backes' career-high four-goal night.[5] It was the first four-goal night by any Blues' player since Scott Mellanby did it on March 6, 2003.

A key player in the team's late-season surge was the play of fan favorite T. J. Oshie, who was named NHL Rookie of the Month for March (April 2) after earning 13 points (four goals and nine assists) in 14 games, with the Blues going 9–4–1 in the month.[6] From January 1 through the game on March 29, Oshie scored 11 goals and recorded 20 assists for 31 points in 37 games, leading all rookies, save for Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks, in that span. His play garnered praise from several Bleus veterans, including goaltender Chris Mason: "T. J. is such a tenacious player. In every game he seems to create scoring chances out of nothing."[7] Oshie was also listed #8 on "Hockey's Future Top 50 prospects." [8]

The Blues clinched a playoff spot in their second-to-last game of the season (#81), and their last home game, on April 10, in front of a raucous, standing-room-only crowd of 19,250, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3–1 in their 40th win of the season. The defense was superb, giving up only 17 shots, their lowest of the season. This is the first season since 2003–04 the Blues have made the playoffs. In the 2005–06 season, the Blues were in last place overall, and in 2007–08, they were tied for the fourth-worst record in the NHL.[9] The Blues completed one of the greatest late-season playoff surges in NHL history.[10]

On the same day the Blues clinched a playoff spot, their first-round draft pick in 2008, Alex Pietrangelo, 19, was assigned from the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to the Blues' top minor-league affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League (AHL).[11]

Divisional standings

Standings  

Central Division
GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 y – Detroit Red Wings 82 51 21 10 295 244 112
2 Chicago Blackhawks 82 46 24 12 264 216 104
3 St. Louis Blues 82 41 31 10 233 233 92
4 Columbus Blue Jackets 82 41 31 10 226 230 92
5 Nashville Predators 82 40 34 8 213 233 88

Conference standings

Standings  

Western Conference
R Div GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
1 p – San Jose Sharks PA 82 53 18 11 257 204 117
2 y – Detroit Red Wings CE 82 51 21 10 295 244 112
3 y – Vancouver Canucks NW 82 45 27 10 246 220 100
4 Chicago Blackhawks CE 82 46 24 12 264 216 104
5 Calgary Flames NW 82 46 30 6 254 248 98
6 St. Louis Blues CE 82 41 31 10 233 233 92
7 Columbus Blue Jackets CE 82 41 31 10 226 230 92
8 Anaheim Ducks PA 82 42 33 7 245 238 91
8.5
9 Minnesota Wild NW 82 40 33 9 219 200 89
10 Nashville Predators CE 82 40 34 8 213 233 88
11 Edmonton Oilers NW 82 38 35 9 234 248 85
12 Dallas Stars PA 82 36 35 11 230 257 83
13 Phoenix Coyotes PA 82 36 39 7 208 252 79
14 Los Angeles Kings PA 82 34 37 11 207 234 79
15 Colorado Avalanche NW 82 32 45 5 199 257 69

bold - qualified for playoffs, y – division winner, p – Presidents' Trophy winner
CE - Central Division, NW - Northwest Division, PA - Pacific Division

Schedule and results

2008–09 Game Log

Playoffs

The St. Louis Blues returned to the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2004 with a sixth-place finish in the Western Conference. They were swept in four straight games in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks in large part due to the goaltending of Roberto Luongo. It was the first time the Blues were swept in a playoff series since the Dallas Stars did it to them in 1994[12]

2009 Stanley Cup playoffs

Legend:       Win       Loss

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals 

Regular season
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
Boyes, BradBrad Boyes 82 33 39 72 -20 26
Backes, DavidDavid Backes 82 31 23 54 -3 165
Perron, DavidDavid Perron 81 15 35 50 +13 50
Tkachuk, KeithKeith Tkachuk 79 25 24 49 -11 61
Berglund, PatrikPatrik Berglund 76 21 26 47 +19 16
McDonald, AndyAndy McDonald 46 15 29 44 -13 24
Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 57 14 25 39 +16 30
Colaiacovo, CarloCarlo Colaiacovo† 63 3 26 29 +2 29
McClement, JayJay McClement 82 12 14 26 -10 29
Steen, AlexanderAlexander Steen† 61 6 18 24 -6 24
Jackman, BarretBarret Jackman 82 4 17 21 -17 86
Winchester, BradBrad Winchester 64 13 8 21 -1 89
Woywitka, JeffJeff Woywitka 65 3 15 18 +8 57
Crombeen, B. J.B. J. Crombeen† 66 11 6 17 -8 122
Kariya, PaulPaul Kariya 11 2 13 15 +1 2
Polak, RomanRoman Polak 69 1 14 15 -15 45
Stempniak, LeeLee Stempniak‡ 14 3 10 13 -3 2
McKee, JayJay McKee 69 1 7 8 +11 44
Weaver, MikeMike Weaver 58 0 7 7 -3 12
Stastny, YanYan Stastny 34 3 4 7 -14 20
Brewer, EricEric Brewer 28 1 5 6 -14 24
Hinote, DanDan Hinote 51 1 4 5 -7 64
Janssen, CamCam Janssen 56 1 3 4 -5 131
Regier, SteveSteve Regier 8 3 1 4 -1 4
Wagner, StevenSteven Wagner 22 2 2 4 -5 18
Paddock, CamCam Paddock 16 2 1 3 -4 0
Strachan, TysonTyson Strachan 30 0 3 3 +8 39
Porter, ChrisChris Porter 6 1 1 2 -1 0
Whitfield, TrentTrent Whitfield 3 0 1 1 +2 0
King, D. J.D. J. King 1 0 1 1 0 0
Pietrangelo, AlexAlex Pietrangelo 8 0 1 1 0 2
Koci, DavidDavid Koci‡ 4 0 0 0 -2 9
Wozniewski, AndyAndy Wozniewski‡ 1 0 0 0 0 0
Junland, JonasJonas Junland 1 0 0 0 0 2
Playoffs
Player GP G A Pts +/− PIM
McDonald, AndyAndy McDonald 4 1 3 4 +1 0
Boyes, BradBrad Boyes 4 2 1 3 -1 0
Backes, DavidDavid Backes 4 1 2 3 +1 10
Perron, DavidDavid Perron 4 1 1 2 +3 4
Jackman, BarretBarret Jackman 4 0 1 1 -2 5
Steen, AlexanderAlexander Steen 4 0 1 1 -3 0
Hinote, DanDan Hinote 3 0 0 0 -1 4
McKee, JayJay McKee 4 0 0 0 0 4
Tkachuk, KeithKeith Tkachuk 4 0 0 0 -1 2
Weaver, MikeMike Weaver 4 0 0 0 +1 0
Woywitka, JeffJeff Woywitka 4 0 0 0 -1 0
Colaiacovo, CarloCarlo Colaiacovo 4 0 0 0 0 2
McClement, JayJay McClement 4 0 0 0 -4 4
Winchester, BradBrad Winchester 4 0 0 0 -4 10
Janssen, CamCam Janssen 1 0 0 0 0 0
Polak, RomanRoman Polak 4 0 0 0 -3 0
Berglund, PatrikPatrik Berglund 4 0 0 0 0 2
Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie 4 0 0 0 0 2
Crombeen, B. J.B. J. Crombeen 4 0 0 0 -2 12

Goaltenders

Note:  Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Regular season
Player GP Min W L OT GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Mason, ChrisChris Mason 57 3,214 27 21 7 129 2.41 1,544 1,415 .916 6
Legace, MannyManny Legace 29 1,452 13 9 2   77 3.18   669   592 .885 0
Bishop, BenBen Bishop 6   244 1 1 1   12 2.94   112   100 .893 0
Schwarz, MarekMarek Schwarz 2     15 0 0 0   0 0.00     5     5 1.000 0
Holt, ChrisChris Holt 1     18 0 0 0   0 0.00     3     3 1.000 0
TOTALS 82 4,943 41 31 10 218 2.65 2,333 2,115   .907 6
Playoffs
Player GP Min W L GA GAA SA SV Sv% SO
Mason, ChrisChris Mason 4 256 0 4 10 2.34 119 109 .916 0

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blues. Stats reflect time with Blues only.
‡Traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with Blues only.

Awards and records

Milestones

Regular season
Player Milestone Reached
Alex Pietrangelo 1st NHL Game October 10, 2008[13]
Patrik Berglund 1st NHL Goal October 13, 2008[14]
Keith Tkachuk 1,000th NHL Point (511th Goal) November 30, 2008[2]
Tyson Strachan 1st NHL Game December 18, 2008[15]
Jonas Junland 1st NHL Game December 18, 2008[16]
Roman Polak 1st NHL Goal December 20, 2008[17]
Tyson Strachan 1st NHL Point (Assist) December 21, 2008[18]
Keith Tkachuk 500th NHL Assist (#16) January 19, 2009[19]
Andy Murray (coach) 300th NHL Win February 19, 2009[20][21]
Andy Murray (coach) 100th Blues Win April 10, 2009[22]

Transactions

Trades

June 4, 2008
 To St. Louis Blues
T. J. Fast (D)		 To Los Angeles Kings
5th round draft pick in 2009
June 19, 2008
 To St. Louis Blues
3rd round draft pick (#70) in 2008		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Jamal Mayers (RW)
June 20, 2008
 To St. Louis Blues
Chris Mason (G)[23]		 To Nashville Predators
4th round draft pick in 2008
November 24, 2008
 To St. Louis Blues
Alexander Steen (C), Carlo Colaiacovo (D)[24]		 To Toronto Maple Leafs
Lee Stempniak (RW)
December 19, 2008
 To St. Louis Blues
Jonathan Filewich (RW)[25]		 To Pittsburgh Penguins
6th round draft pick in 2010
March 4, 2009
 To St. Louis Blues
Danny Richmond (D)[26]		 To Pittsburgh Penguins
Andy Wozniewski (D)

Free agents

Player Former team Contract Terms
Mike Weaver Vancouver Canucks ($ unknown) Blues Sign Defenseman Mike Weaver (July 10)
Matt Foy Minnesota Wild ($ unknown) Blues Sign Forward Matt Foy (July 14)
Cam Paddock San Antonio Rampage (AHL) ($ unknown) Blues Sign Forwards Paddock, Regier (July 15)
Steve Regier Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) ($ unknown) Blues Sign Forwards Paddock, Regier (July 15)
Brad Winchester Dallas Stars ($ unknown) Blues Ink Forward Brad Winchester (July 16)
Andy Wozniewski Toronto Maple Leafs ($ unknown) Blues Sign Defenseman Andy Wozniewski (July 17)
Tyson Strachan (D) Peoria Rivermen (AHL) ($ unknown) Blues Sign Free Agent Tyson Strachan (Oct. 9)
Chris Holt New York Rangers ($ unknown) Blues Add Depth, Sign Goalie Chris Holt (Oct. 30)
Player New team
Ryan Johnson Vancouver Canucks (July 2)
Matt Walker Chicago Blackhawks (July 7)
Mike Glumac Montreal Canadiens (July 16)

Claimed from waivers

Player Former team Date claimed off waivers
David Koci (LW) Tampa Bay Lightning October 21[27]
B. J. Crombeen (RW) Dallas Stars November 18[28]

Placed on waivers

Player Waiver Date
Manny Legace February 6[29]

Signed prospects

Player Signing Date
Philip McRae (F) March 12[30]
Anthony Peluso (F) March 12[30]
Brett Sonne (F) March 12[30]
Aaron Palushaj (F) April 3[31]

Contract renewals

Player Contract Terms (yrs, $/yr.)
Yan Stastny 2 yrs. ($ unknown) Blues Sign Stastny to 2-Year Deal (July 3, 2008)
Andy McDonald 4 yrs. ($ 4.7 mil./yr.) Blues Ink McDonald to 4-Year Extension
Blues sign center Andy McDonald to 4-year, $18.8 million contract extension (February 9)
Jay McClement 3 yrs. ($ $1.45 mil./yr.) McClement signs 3-year extension McClement Signs Multi-Year Contract (May 26)
Keith Tkachuk 1 yr. ($ 2.15 mil.) St. Louis Blues sign Keith Tkachuk to one-year, $2.15 million deal (June 19) Blues Re-Sign Keith Tkachuk: 5-Time All-Star returns for 18th NHL season, wanted to remain a Blue

Roster

Updated April 19, 2009. (Roster)

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
42 United States Backes, DavidDavid Backes C R 24 2003 Minneapolis, Minnesota
21 Sweden Berglund, PatrikPatrik Berglund C L 20 2006 Västerås, Sweden
30 United States Bishop, BenBen Bishop G L 22 2005 Des Peres, Missouri
22 Canada Boyes, BradBrad Boyes C R 27 2007 Mississauga, Ontario
4 Canada Brewer, EricEric Brewer (C) D L 30 2005 Vernon, British Columbia
28 Canada Colaiacovo, CarloCarlo Colaiacovo D L 26 2008 Toronto, Ontario
26 United States Crombeen, B. J.B. J. Crombeen RW R 23 2008 Denver, Colorado
13 United States Hinote, DanDan Hinote RW R 32 2006 Leesburg, Florida
5 Canada Jackman, BarretBarret Jackman (A) D L 28 1999 Trail, British Columbia
55 United States Janssen, CamCam Janssen RW R 25 2008 St. Louis, Missouri
9 Canada Kariya, PaulPaul Kariya (A) LW L 34 2007 Vancouver, British Columbia
19 Canada King, D. J.D. J. King LW L 24 2002 Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan
50 Canada Mason, ChrisChris Mason G L 33 2008 Red Deer, Alberta
18 Canada McClement, JayJay McClement C L 26 2001 Kingston, Ontario
10 Canada McDonald, AndyAndy McDonald C L 31 2007 Strathroy, Ontario
77 Canada McKee, JayJay McKee D L 31 2006 Kingston, Ontario
74 United States Oshie, T. J.T. J. Oshie C R 22 2005 Mount Vernon, Washington
57 Canada Perron, DavidDavid Perron LW R 20 2007 Sherbrooke, Quebec
46 Czechoslovakia Polak, RomanRoman Polak D R 22 2004 Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
43 Canada Weaver, MikeMike Weaver D R 30 2007 Bramalea, Ontario
15 United States Winchester, BradBrad Winchester LW L 28 2008 Madison, Wisconsin
29 Canada Woywitka, JeffJeff Woywitka D L 25 2005 Vermilion, Alberta

Draft picks

St. Louis's picks at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft in Ottawa • Ontario, June 20-June 21, 2008.[32]

Round Pick Player Position Shoots Nationality League Birthplace, Date Height, Weight
1     4 Alex Pietrangelo [8][33] D R  Canada Ontario Hockey League King City, ON  January 18, 1990 6' 3", 206 lbs.
2 (from ATL)   33 Philip McRae C L  United States Ontario Hockey League Minneapolis, MN  March 15, 1990 6' 2", 189 lbs.
2   34 Jake Allen G L (gloves)  Canada Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Fredericton, NB  August 7, 1990 6' 2", 175 lbs.
3   65 Jori Lehtera C L  Finland SM-liiga Helsinki, Finland   December 23, 1987 6' 2", 191 lbs.
3 (from FL)   70 James Livingston RW R  Canada Ontario Hockey League Halifax, NS   March 8, 1990 6' 1", 200 lbs.
3 (from SJ)   87 Ian Schultz RW R  Canada Western Hockey League Calgary, AB   March 8, 1990 6' 1", 179 lbs.
4   95 David Warsofsky D L  United States US National Team Development Program U-18 Marshfield, MA   May 30, 1990 5' 8", 160 lbs.
5 125 Kristoffer Berglund D L  Sweden Sweden-2 League Umeå, Sweden   August 12, 1988 5' 10", 180 lbs.
6 155 Anthony Nigro C L  Canada Ontario Hockey League Vaughan, ON   January 11, 1990 6' 0", 189 lbs.
7 185 Paul Karpowich G L (gloves)  Canada Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League Thunder Bay, ON   October 25, 1988 6' 0", 160 lbs.

See also

Farm teams

Peoria Rivermen

The Peoria Rivermen are the Blues American Hockey League affiliate in 2008–09.

Alaska Aces

The Alaska Aces are the Blues affiliate in the ECHL.

References

  1. ↑ StlBlues.com
  2. 1 2 Tkachuk Reaches Another New Milestone, St. Louis Blues, November 30, 2008
  3. ↑ "St. Louis Blues place goalie Manny Legace on waivers". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 2009-02-07. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  4. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: St. Louis @ Dallas, Blues 3, Stars 1 (February 26, 2009)
  5. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: St. Louis @ Detroit, Blues 5, Red Wings 4 (April 2, 2009)
  6. ↑ Oshie Named NHL Rookie of the Month: Blues' rookie helped spark Playoff surge with 13 points in 14 games (Apr. 2)
  7. ↑ Young Blues on Cusp of Playoffs (Apr. 1)
  8. 1 2 Hockey's Future Top 50 prospects, Spring 2009 1-10, (Apr. 9, 2009)
  9. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: Columbus @ St. Louis - 04/10/2009
  10. ↑ Blues Go Marchin' In: St. Louis is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, (Apr. 11, 2009)
  11. ↑ Blues Assign Pietrangelo to Peoria, (Apr. 10)
  12. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: Vancouver @ St. Louis - 04/21/2009
  13. ↑ Rookie will start season on blue line, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 7, 2008
  14. ↑ Blues 5, Maple Leafs 4, SO, St. Louis Blues, October 13, 2008
  15. ↑ Recap Capitals 4, Blues 2
  16. ↑ Blues Assign Bishop, Junland to Peoria
  17. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: Minnesota @ St. Louis (Dec. 20, 2008)
  18. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: Boston @ St. Louis (Dec. 21, 2008)
  19. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: St. Louis @ Boston (Jan. 19, 2009)
  20. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Team - Andy Murray
  21. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: St. Louis @ Nashville (Feb. 19, 2009)
  22. ↑ St. Louis Blues - Recap: Columbus @ St. Louis (Apr. 10, 2009)
  23. ↑ CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Hockey NHL - St Louis - Blues acquire Preds' goalie
  24. ↑ NHL.com - Blues Acquire Steen, Colaiacovo
  25. ↑ NHL.com - Blues Acquire Filewich from Pittsburgh
  26. ↑ "NHL.com - Blues Acquire Richmond from Penguins: Pittsburgh gets defenseman Andy Wozniewski from St. Louis". Archived from the original on 2009-06-06. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  27. ↑ Blues Claim David Koci from Waivers
  28. ↑ Blues Claim B.J. Crombeen from Waivers
  29. ↑ St. Louis Blues place goalie Manny Legace on waivers
  30. 1 2 3 Blues Sign 3 Prospects to Pro Contracts: Philip McRae, Anthony Peluso & Brett Sonne signed contracts on Thursday
  31. ↑ Blues Sign Aaron Palushaj
  32. ↑ 2008 NHL Entry Draft Results Blues Draft History
  33. ↑ Pietrangelo Named Top Prospect: Blues' rookie T.J. Oshie makes Top 10 Prospects at Hockey's Future, (Apr. 9, 2009)

External links


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