A season in review: The St. Louis Blues

May 22, 2:09 PMNHL ExaminerChris Morgan

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Chris Mason was the key down the stretch. (Getty Images)

(Note: Here's Friday's playoffs update.)

Finally, it's time to get to the playoff teams in these review pieces. I came to a crossroads when it came to writing these. Would I go by order of seeding, or by order of elimination? Since this is sort of a countdown, or rather a count up, I figured I'd go with the latter. So today it's the St. Louis Blues, who raised the hopes of their fans with a surprise playoffs berth then dashed them quite quickly.

The Gist of it: Nobody expected the Blues to make the playoffs. The talent didn't seem to be there, then there was the injuries. Erik Johnson missed the entire season after a freak golf cart accident, the worst of all cart related accidents. Eric Brewer, Paul Kariya, Andy McDonald, they all missed large swaths of the season. Yet somehow, they made it to the postseason. As a sixth seed, to boot. Their final record was 41-31-10, good for 92 points. Clearly being fans of balance, they finished with both 233 goals for and against, a nice zero on the net goal differential. The Blues also enjoyed a nice run at home, with a 23-13-5 record, and they rode a 8-1-1 home stretch to make the playoffs. However, in said playoffs they were dispatched with by the Vancouver Canucks in four games. Brad Boyes led the team with 72 points (and hopes you don't pay attention to his minus-20 rating) and Chris Mason played the part of hero in goal. He won 27 of the 57 games he played in, posted a 2.41 GAA, a .916 SV%, and six shutouts. However, he was way better down the stretch then he was early. He played big when it counted.

Highlights: Well, for starters they did just so happen to make the playoffs despite all the injuries and nobody thinking they would. That's a pretty big highlight right there. Mason was outstanding in goal during the latter half of the season. A lot of players stepped it up big this season as well, including a couple of rookies. David Backes scored 31 goals and finished with 54 points. David Perron had 50 points, Patrick Berglund scored 47 in 76 games, and T.J. Oshie scored 39 points in 57 games whilst becoming a cult hero in St. Louis as well. Not too shabby.

Lowlights: Obviously, getting swept in the first round is disappointing no matter what your expectations were coming into the season. Additionally, the Blues have to be left wondering what might have been if they were a fully healthy team. Not just in the playoffs, but in terms of perhaps finishing even higher in the standings. Kariya only managed 11 games and Brewer only played in 28. Injuries aside, Manny Legace also helped hinder the team with lousy goaltending before he was waived. In 29 games played, he posted a 3.18 GAA and a .885 SV%. Those numbers simply don't cut it. Additionally, while several players stepped up in scoring, Keith Tkachuk showed that he's clearly on his last legs with a 49 point season. Hey, the guys 37 it's bound to happen.

In Conclusion: All in all, the Blues have to be quite pleased with their season. They are already ahead of the curve, and if they can manage to be healthy next year, who knows how good they can be? There are reasons to be hopeful if you are a Blues fan.

For more information, check out the St. Louis Blues Examiner.