ST. LOUIS, MO – The week of March 29 through April 4, 2009 saw a lot of action for the St. Louis Blues. A busy four game set over seven days kept the streaking Blues from catching their breath and to some extents the final playoff position. With wins over Columbus and Detroit, the Blues helped their playoff chances as well as their confidence by beating two teams who have been all but assured playoff positions in the Western Conference. While the Blues did drop two more games to Chicago and Dallas, they did manage to take one point for their efforts in a 5-4 overtime loss to Dallas on Saturday evening. With their success for the week, the Blues have now amassed 86 points, well enough for ninth place with Nashville holding a slight lead due to number of wins (NSH – 39, STL – 38) in a tiebreaking measure.
Weekly Game Results
STL 5 – CLS 2
CHI 3 – STL 1
STL 5 – DET 4
DAL 5 – STL 4
At Columbus
The week started very promising with a 5-2 to win over Columbus on Sunday. Patrik Berglund has three points on the evening with a goal and two assists while T.J. Oshie earned two points for himself with a goal and an assist. Chris Mason continued his tireless effort this season giving up two goals on 28 shots, good enough for his 23rd win of the season.
At Chicago
Wednesday night gave the Blues their first defeat in regulation in almost three weeks. Chicago beat St. Louis at the United Center by a score of 3-1. Jeff Woywitka managed a power play goal at 19:58 in the 3rd period to ruin the shut out for Nikolai Khabibulin.
At Detroit
What may have been the most satisfying part of the week for the Blues came on Thursday evening. Rebounding with a win against arch rival Detroit after a disappointing loss to Chicago gave St. Louis the energy they needed to get back on track. David Backes led the way for the Blues with four goals, which gave him his first career hat trick. Andy McDonald also scored and Chris Mason continued has masterful work stopping 34 of 38 shots.
At Dallas
The second to last stop of their lengthy road trip came Saturday night in Dallas. With Marty Turco out with a lower body injury, and Dallas facing playoff elimination, the Blues had all they should have needed to win their third game of the week. Brad Boyes led the way for St. Louis with two goals and two assists, while Chris Mason allowed four goals in regulation on 28 shots. Trevor Daley would place the lone overtime shot past Mason to sink the Blues in overtime.
Transactions
Signed right wing Aaron Palushaj (2nd round pick in 2007 from University of Michigan) and assigned him to Peoria of the AHL.
Week Ahead
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 @ Phoenix 10:00 EST
St. Louis has not lost a game all season against the Coyotes. Chris Mason is 2-0-0 against Phoenix allowing a 1.00 GAA
Friday, April 10, 2009 vs. Columbus 8:30 EST
Friday night will be the final regular season home game for the Blues. St. Louis has performed well against their division foes compiling a 4-1-0 record. Chris Mason has made all five starts in net against the Jackets this season.
Quote of the week:
Unable to explain his sudden surge against Detroit on 4/2/09, David Backes noted: “I don’t know what happen. It was one of those games where you black out, and suddenly they’re patting you on the back.”
For comments or to contact the author, please e-mail: john.strathman@prohockeynews.com
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