Campbell Out for Season
The injury bug continues to bite the Blues.
Right winger Jim Campbell, a finalist for the Calder Trophy in 1997,
will miss the rest of regular season after he elected to have
surgery to repair his athletic pubalgia. Campbell's injury is
comparable to the common hernia. The 6-3, 204-pounder will undergo
the procedure April 9 at the University of Massachusetts Medical
Center in Worcester.
Campbell only has four goals and 21 assists in 55 games this year, a
significant drop-off from the 23 and 22 goals he tallied in his
previous two seasons, respectively. Campbell's availability for the
playoffs is uncertain and depends upon his recovery.
Uh...huh...huh...huh...Extend
I guess letting go of Brett Hull wasn't that big of a deal after
all.
St. Louis Blues CEO and President Mark Sauer announced on April 3
that general manager/senior vice president Larry Pleau and
assistant general manager John Ferguson, Jr. would get another year
extended to their contracts, extending them through the 2001-2002.
Of course, the length of their contracts depends on whether or not
they are fired before the deal ends, but, if you listen to Sauer,
that may not happen.
"Under Pleau the Blues hockey operations have taken the necessary
steps to achieve our long-term goal, which is to stock our
organization with a strong talent base, while we also seek
near-term success. These contract extensions will ensure Larry
Pleau and his staff will continue to lead our hockey club in those
directions", said Sauer.
Both Pleau and Ferguson joined the Blues in the summer of 1997.
Pellerin Up for Trophy
Scott Pellerin, the Blues' lastest scoring machine, has been
nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy by the St. Louis Chapter of
the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Pellerin has given
his time and energy to many charities, including "Pelly's Pets," an
organization that features local animal shelters. Information on
"Pelly's Pets" can be found on the Blues web site.
The Games
The Great Northwest???
The St. Louis Blues had beaten the Vancouver Canucks the previous
eight times the two sides met.
Make it nine.
Even though Canuck Bryan McCabe opened the scoring 6:17 into the
game, the Blues scored four straight goals to down the Canucks 4-1,
winning the season series 4-0 thanks, in large part, to a scoring
margin of 20-4.
Scott Pellerin tied the game at 1-1 3:23 after McCabe's opening
goal. The Blues took the lead for good 6:36 later on a
controversial goal. Scott Young had the puck at the top of the zone
when Vancouver defenseman Mattias Ohlund pushed Pierre Turgeon into
Canuck netminder Kevin Weekes. Young fired the disk between Weekes'
legs while he was off-balance for a 2-1 lead. Michel Picard and
Pierre Turgeon added the other two tallies for the Blues during a
1:27- span early in the second stanza.
Blues' goalie Grant Fuhr stopped 19 of the 20 pieces of rubber that
flew in his direction for his 11th win of the season.
A Fight with Edmonton
The Blues are in the playoffs.
They have been pretty much assured of a spot in the Stanley Cup
tournament since around the All-Star Break; they've just been
waiting for mathematics to assure them of it.
While all the Blues have to fight for is positioning in the
postseason, the Edmonton Oilers have to fight for a spot, the
eighth spot in the West, with their inter-provincial rival Calgary.
So, you'd understand why the Oilers may fight a little bit harder
than the Blues.
So, you'd understand why luck may be on their side.
Rem Murray used Lady Luck 11:34 into the second. On the power play,
a shot from defensman Tom Poti actually hit Murray in the neck and
deflected into the St. Louis goal for a 1-0 Oiler lead. Murray used
luck again 2:44 later. After Doug Weight passed the puck over the
St. Louis net, Bill Guerin flipped a pass to Murray who batted the
disk out of the air and behind Grant Fuhr to give Edmonton a 2-0
lead.
That's all they needed. Scott Young did score with 51 seconds left
in regulation, but that only served to spoil Tommy Salo's shut out
as the Oilers beat the Blues 2-1. Salo, a trade-deadline
acquisition for the New York Islanders, stopped 21 of 22 for the
win. Fuhr stopped 23 of 25 in a losing effort.
Damn Hawks
If you're the St. Louis Blues, a game with Norris Division rival
Chicago doesn't look to be a difficult one.
That's true unless Tony Amonte's on his game.
Amonte scored three times, all three goals the Blackhawks scored as
they beat they the Blues 3-1.
Pierre Turgeon scored the lone Blues goal on a power play 7:24 into
the second. Although the Blues scored only once the entire game, it
looked like they would make a game out of it the entire night.
"It kept looking like we were going to get (a goal) and turn it
around," said Blues coach Joel Quenneville. "We need better
penetration to the slot. Usually it's where you get tips, screens
and rebounds."
The Blues outshot Chicago 37-16 on the game. Grant Fuhr only stopped
13 shots in the loss.
They're always Good for a Win
When Brett Hull left St. Louis to sign as a free agent with Dallas
this past off-season, there were questions about where the goals
would come from. Pavol Demitra and Al MacInnis were the two obvious
choices to step up, and they did.
But Scott Pellerin???
Pellerin scored twice, including his career-high 19th, and Grant
Fuhr earned his 25th career shut out as the Blues ended a two-game
losing skid with a 3-0 victory over Tampa Bay.
Pellerin opened the scoring 5:31 into the first when, while killing
a Mike Eastwood obstruction-holding penalty, Blair Atcheynum broke
on a 2-on-1 with Pellerin. Atcheynum passed to Pellerin who beat
Kevin Hodson for a 1-0 lead. The goal tied Pellerin with Colorado's
Joe Sakic for the league lead in short-handed goals. Both men have
five. Pellerin finished his scoring 8:54 into the second when he
deflected in a Jamal Mayers shot for a 2-0 lead.
"It's funny," Pellerin said. "You're just trying to play well and
play consistent. I've been fortunate enough to play on some good
lines with some good people who have gotten me the puck."
Mayers finished the St. Louis scoring with 3:36 left in regulation.
Grant Fuhr was a wall in between the pipes. He stopped every one of
the 27 shots the Lightning fired at him.
"It was nice to see Grant play well and get the shutout and get us
the win," Blues coach Joel Quenneville said. "This was one of those
games where you look over the season you hope your goaltender can
steal you a game. Tonight, he got it for us."
He Baaaaaack... Finally
November 21 was a date that many St. Louis Blues fans circled on the
calendar. That was the day the Dallas Stars were coming to town. That
was the day Brett Hull was to return to the ice at the Kiel Center.
But Hull elected to stay in Dallas, not fearing the wrath of the
fans, but nursing a bruised kidney. So, Blues fans erased or
crossed out that circle and placed another one around April 3 - the
next time the Stars came to town.
This time Brett Hull showed up, but he was showed up by Pavol
Demitra.
Demitra, who has picked up much of the scoring for the offense,
picked up four points on the night, from two assists and two goals
on his only two shots, as the Blues downed the Western Conference
champion Stars 5-2.
Hull did score. His goal came 1:49 into the second to tie the game
at one.
Chris Pronger opened the scoring 13:21 into the game when he
deflected Demitra's shot past Stars' goalie Roman Turek for a
power-play goal and a 1-0 lead. After Hull tied the game at 1-1,
Turek stopped Jamal Mayers' hard shot, but couldn't control the
rebound. Scott Pellerin controlled it, and beat Turek for his
career-high 20th goal and a 2-1 lead. Tony Hrkac tied the game at 2
at 3:29 of the second period, but the Blues came back to score
three unanswered goals, including Demitra's 35th and 36th on the
season.
Grant Fuhr stopped 19 of 21 shots for the win, his 13th this season.
This Ain't The Gardens
The Blues had a lead. They held it for a while. Then, they lost it.
Sounds familiar, eh?
The Blues went up 2-0 on Toronto at 5:39 of the first thanks to a
Lubos Bartecko goal just 50 seconds in and Pierre Turgeon's 30th of
the season. They held that lead for the rest of the first and the
duration of the second. 2:05 into the third, Leaf captain Mats
Sundin brought his club within one at 2-1. 2:11 later, the Blues
lost their lead thanks to Bryan Berard, who tied the game at 2-2.
That's how it ended.
Grant Fuhr stopped 29 of 31 shots, and former-Blues netminder Curtis
Joseph halted 26 of 28 in the tie. The match was the third straight
game the Blues failed to outshoot their opponents.
