Blues News

Stempniak out with knee ailment
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October 12
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"The Blues were forced to break up their most productive line of the young season Saturday because of an injury to left winger Lee Stempniak. Stempniak tweaked his left knee during the first period of Friday's 5-2 win over Nashville and is listed as day to day. In his absence Saturday against the New York Islanders, the Blues kept Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes together, but Paul Kariya was inserted at left wing in Stempniak's spot. The Blues aren't sure if Stempniak will be available for Monday's game in Toronto. His knee remained stiff Saturday, a day after running into a Nashville player awkwardly. "I was getting the puck and just sort of got hit," Stempniak said. "Just a fluky thing. It ..."
Early blitz stops Blues
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October 12
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"The excitement that Blues fans felt during Friday's home opener at Scottrade Center was duplicated Saturday night, but for the other team. The New York Islanders treated their own sellout crowd to a 5-2 triumph at Nassau Coliseum, spoiling the buzz the Blues had created the night before in their win over Nashville. The Blues were looking to start the regular season 2-0 for the first time since 1994, but that became a pipe dream in the first period Saturday when the Islanders put up four goals. Mike Comrie, Trent Hunter and Sean Bergenheim gave New York a 3-0 lead, and although Brad Boyes finally put the Blues on the board, the Islanders' Andy Hilbert scored a short-handed goal. Keith ..."
DiPietro Sits Again But Isles Win 1st
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October 12
New York Post
 
"It was an impressive home opener and a fine first NHL win for new Islander coach Scott Gordon. But it came with a worrisome footnote. The Islanders soared to a three-goal first-period lead last night and were never truly threatened, earning a 5-2 win over the Blues in their home opener at the Coliseum. But franchise goalie Rick DiPietro, coming off hip and knee surgery, sat a second straight game - even if he didn't seem too concerned afterward. "If I wasn't backing up," he said, "there'd be something to talk about." But this is Rick DiPietro, he of the 15-year contract. He was backing up - and it very much is something for Islander fans to talk about. Gordon had said DiPietro would be a ..."
Blues overpower Predators
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October 11
Tennessean
 
"The Predators' big challenge this season was supposed to be scoring goals - not stopping them. So much for conventional thinking. The Predators began the 2008-09 campaign in ugly fashion Friday, surrendering four power-play goals to the team that had the worst power play in the NHL last season. That was the biggest reason the St. Louis Blues cruised to a 5-2 win over the Predators in front of a sellout crowd at Scottrade Center. Nashville plays its home opener tonight against Dallas. The way the Blues won was a bit of a surprise, given that the Predators returned seven of their top eight defensemen from last season and most of the same players who produced the league's third-best ..."
Senior players star for Blues in opener
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October 11
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"The event was First Night for the bundle of new faces, as the Blues debuted a 2008 lineup on Friday that included four rookies and lots of early 20-somethings. But as it turned out, opening night at the Scottrade Center on Friday was an event for the ages. The older ages, that is. Some of the newer faces, such T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund, David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo, got the biggest ovations - even without the urging of Towel Man - when the Blues were introduced to a gathering of 19,150. But the biggest moments of the night belonged to the Blue Note graybeards. Keith Tkachuk, 36, a comparative Methuselah to the 18-year-old Pietrangelo, tied the score in the first period with the ..."
Blues power up in opener
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October 11
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"The rebuilding process may have started two years ago, but the Blues' rebirth began Friday night. After being told by new ownership to hold on and wait, the wait was over for a sold-out crowd of 19,150 at Scottrade Center. Opening the season at home for the first time since 2004, the Blues broke a 10-game winless streak in season openers with a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. The victory Friday certainly doesn't ensure the end of a three-year postseason drought for the Blues. But as the Blues begin to mix their highly touted draft picks into a lineup of capable veterans, the club showed that the results might be more eye-pleasing to fans. T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and Alex ..."
Legace ready to build on All-Star credentials
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October 10
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"Blues goaltender Manny Legace is glad to have the preseason over and the regular season starting tonight. "I hate preseason with a passion," said Legace, who was 3-0-1 with a 2.40 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage in four exhibition games. "I just use the games to get up to speed ... get the timing down. The real games start (today)." Legace, 35, is eager to build on an All-Star season last year, in which he went 27-25-8 with a 2.41 GAA and a .911 save percentage. "You've got to be consistent, that's the only thing I'm looking for," said Legace, who will start tonight's season opener against Nashville. "Come out here every night and be the same person. I think that's key in ..."
Chase fights ailment on brain
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October 10
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"Kelly Chase was one of the tough guys in the NHL through the 1990s, more than holding his own in skirmishes with the league's heavyweights. But he's in a fight now with an unknown foe that already has taken the feeling away from parts of the left side of his body, and he vows to win this battle - the biggest of his life. Chase, a longtime fan favorite since his days with the Blues who now is the outspoken analyst on their radio broadcasts, has a lesion on his brain. He said it hasn't been determined if the spot is cancerous, if it could lead to multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, another disorder or simply be cured. So it's a scary time for Chase, who turns 41 on Oct. 25. "I don't ..."
This needs to be Tkachuk's season
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October 10
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
"The Blues begin a new season tonight, fresh on many levels. While rebirth has been a theme since the present regime took over two years ago, the 2008 roster will be the truest reflection of that. Those deemed most responsible for setting a course when the team opens against Nashville at 7:35 p.m. at Scottrade Center are still cutting their National Hockey League teeth. For a few, such as Alex Pietrangelo, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, this promises to be the opening night of a blossoming Blues career. In the background, no longer prominent in the youth movement, is Blues veteran Keith Tkachuk, who could be playing on his final opening night. The No. 7 jersey has a special pedigree in ..."
It's all on Murray as Blues rebuild
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October 9
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 columnist Jeff Gordon
"Yes, Blues coach Andy Murray is under the gun this season. Last season's second-half collapse was a clear warning sign. The team drifted. Frustrations got the better of the group. Over at th