1998–99 St. Louis Blues season

1998–99 St. Louis Blues
Division	2nd Central
Conference	5th Western
1998–99 record	37–32–13
Home record	18–17–6
Road record	19–15–7
Goals for	237
Goals against	209
Team information
General manager	Larry Pleau
Coach	Joel Quenneville
Captain	Chris Pronger
Arena	Kiel Center
Team leaders
Goals	Pavol Demitra
Assists	Pavol Demitra
Points	Pavol Demitra

Despite the loss of Brett Hull the Blues made the playoffs for the 20th straight season by finishing in 2nd place with a record of 37–32–13.

Offseason

Realignment came, as the NHL went from four to six divisions. Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Washington were grouped in the Eastern Conference's new Southeast Division and Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton and Vancouver moved into the new Northwest Division in the Western Conference.

Blues captain Chris Pronger was in midseason form during one of the team's voluntary scrimmages in late August. After 90 minutes of exhausting four-on-four hockey with only eight players per team, Pronger was campaigning to prolong the game.

The sentiment was nothing new for a man who logged more ice time per game (30:37) than any other player in the league last season. And when Pronger wasn't on the ice, it seemed that Norris Trophy winner Al MacInnis was. At 35, MacInnis had the finest season of his outstanding 16-year career. He led NHL defensemen in scoring with 62 points, averaged more than 29 minutes per game (fourth in the league) and was +33 on a team whose next-highest mark in that category was center Craig Conroy's +14. The problem for the Blues was finding four other defensemen they wanted to put on the ice.

In training camp the Blues were getting ready for the regular-season wars. During intrasquad games MacInnis and Pronger exchanged slashes -- MacInnis called them "love taps" -- and Pronger fought rookie forward Brandon Sugden and had a nasty mid-ice collision with defenceman Jamie Rivers, who was subsequently lost in the waiver draft. That ill-tempered defense will help goalie Roman Turek, who had sparkling numbers (16–3–3, 2.08 goals-against average) as Ed Belfour's backup in Dallas last season. Turek, 29, will get his first crack at being a No. 1 goalie now that Grant Fuhr has been shipped to Calgary. Netminding was a problem for the Blues in 1998–99: St. Louis allowed the fewest shots of any team in the league, but its goals-against average ranked only 14th.

The scoring load will fall to 24-year-old forward Pavol Demitra, who broke out last season and led the team with 37 goals and 89 points. His 10 game-winning goals were one behind league-leader Brett Hull of the Stars. Crafty center Pierre Turgeon had a strong postseason (13 points in 13 games) and a solid training camp. The rookie to watch is 22-year-old forward Jochen Hecht, a German who had two goals in five playoff games after a late-season call-up. He has outstanding size (6 ft 3 in, 200 pounds) and skill and is versatile enough to play any position up front.

The Blues are a team with a scrappy attitude, a handful of stars -- count 41-year-old coach Joel Quenneville among them -- and a future among the Western Conference's elite teams.

Regular season

Despite the loss of Brett Hull the Blues made the playoffs for the 20th straight season by finishing in 2nd place with a record of 37–32–13. Helping to keep the Blues playoff streak alive was Al MacInnis who won the Norris trophy as the best defenceman in the NHL, while Pavol Demitra provided the scoring touch with 37 goals. In the playoffs the Blues would find themselves in a quick hole as they trailed the Phoenix Coyotes 3 games to 1. However the Blues would rally and take the series in 7 games. However, in the 2nd round the Bleus would be knocked off again as they are beaten by the Dallas Stars led by Brett Hull in 6 games. Hull would go on to score the Stanley Cup Clinching goal for the Stars.

• Bright spots

1. Chris Pronger is poised to become THE defenceman in the NHL, if he's not already.
2. Everybody wondered who would step up to replace Brett Hull's goals and, poof, here comes Pavol Demitra with 37.
3. LW Jochen Hecht is turning heads and should make the team.

• Gray areas

1. Geoff Courtnall missed 58 games with a concussion, but has looked good as new in camp. Still, those head injuries are tricky.
2. Everybody likes Roman Turek's potential.
3. Jury still out on young guns like Michal Handzus, Jamal Mayers, Tyson Nash and Lubos Bartecko.

Season standings

Central Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Detroit Red Wings	82	43	32	7	93	245	202	1202
St. Louis Blues	82	37	32	13	87	237	209	1308
Chicago Blackhawks	82	29	41	12	70	202	248	1807
Nashville Predators	82	28	47	7	63	190	261	1420

Game log

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	T	October 10, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	0–0–1
2	W	October 12, 1998	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	1–0–1
3	L	October 16, 1998	1–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	1–1–1
4	L	October 17, 1998	0–1	New York Islanders (1998–99)	1–2–1
5	W	October 22, 1998	5–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	2–2–1
6	W	October 24, 1998	4–3	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	3–2–1
7	L	October 27, 1998	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	3–3–1
8	W	October 29, 1998	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	4–3–1
9	T	October 31, 1998	2–2 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	4–3–2
10	W	November 4, 1998	3–1	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	5–3–2
11	T	November 5, 1998	2–2 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	5–3–3
12	T	November 7, 1998	2–2 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	5–3–4
13	W	November 10, 1998	5–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	6–3–4
14	L	November 11, 1998	2–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	6–4–4
15	W	November 14, 1998	5–1	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	7–4–4
16	L	November 19, 1998	2–3	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	7–5–4
17	T	November 21, 1998	3–3 OT	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	7–5–5
18	W	November 24, 1998	4–0	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	8–5–5
19	L	November 27, 1998	2–4	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	8–6–5
20	W	November 28, 1998	4–2	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	9–6–5
21	L	December 4, 1998	0–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–7–5
22	L	December 5, 1998	1–3	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–8–5
23	T	December 8, 1998	2–2 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	9–8–6
24	L	December 12, 1998	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	9–9–6
25	T	December 14, 1998	0–0 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–9–7
26	L	December 15, 1998	3–7	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	9–10–7
27	W	December 17, 1998	3–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	10–10–7
28	W	December 19, 1998	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	11–10–7
29	T	December 22, 1998	3–3 OT	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	11–10–8
30	L	December 23, 1998	2–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	11–11–8
31	W	December 26, 1998	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	12–11–8
32	T	December 28, 1998	4–4 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	12–11–9
33	W	January 1, 1999	6–5	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	13–11–9
34	L	January 2, 1999	0–1	New York Rangers (1998–99)	13–12–9
35	W	January 4, 1999	4–0	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	14–12–9
36	W	January 7, 1999	4–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	15–12–9
37	L	January 9, 1999	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	15–13–9
38	L	January 11, 1999	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	15–14–9
39	W	January 13, 1999	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	16–14–9
40	L	January 16, 1999	0–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	16–15–9
41	L	January 19, 1999	2–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	16–16–9
42	L	January 21, 1999	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	16–17–9
43	W	January 26, 1999	3–0	@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	17–17–9
44	W	January 28, 1999	4–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	18–17–9
45	L	January 30, 1999	3–4	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	18–18–9
46	W	February 1, 1999	4–3 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	19–18–9
47	L	February 4, 1999	0–2	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	19–19–9
48	L	February 6, 1999	3–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	19–20–9
49	W	February 8, 1999	5–4	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	20–20–9
50	W	February 10, 1999	5–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	21–20–9
51	L	February 11, 1999	1–5	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	21–21–9
52	L	February 13, 1999	2–3	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	21–22–9
53	W	February 15, 1999	8–1	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	22–22–9
54	T	February 18, 1999	0–0 OT	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	22–22–10
55	L	February 20, 1999	3–4	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	22–23–10
56	W	February 22, 1999	5–1	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	23–23–10
57	L	February 24, 1999	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	23–24–10
58	W	February 26, 1999	4–2	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	24–24–10
59	W	February 28, 1999	3–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	25–24–10
60	W	March 2, 1999	5–1	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	26–24–10
61	L	March 4, 1999	0–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	26–25–10
62	L	March 7, 1999	3–4	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	26–26–10
63	L	March 9, 1999	4–7	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	26–27–10
64	L	March 11, 1999	0–3	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	26–28–10
65	W	March 13, 1999	6–4	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	27–28–10
66	W	March 14, 1999	5–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	28–28–10
67	W	March 16, 1999	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	29–28–10
68	T	March 18, 1999	2–2 OT	Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	29–28–11
69	L	March 20, 1999	2–3	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	29–29–11
70	W	March 22, 1999	5–2	Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	30–29–11
71	W	March 25, 1999	4–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	31–29–11
72	L	March 26, 1999	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	31–30–11
73	L	March 28, 1999	1–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	31–31–11
74	W	April 1, 1999	3–0	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	32–31–11
75	W	April 3, 1999	5–2	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	33–31–11
76	T	April 5, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	33–31–12
77	W	April 7, 1999	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	34–31–12
78	T	April 9, 1999	1–1 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	34–31–13
79	L	April 11, 1999	2–4	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	34–32–13
80	W	April 14, 1999	3–1	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	35–32–13
81	W	April 15, 1999	6–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	36–32–13
82	W	April 18, 1999	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	37–32–13

Playoffs

Conference Quarter-finals

Conference Semi-finals

Conference Finals

Stanley Cup Finals

E1

Penguins

4

E2

Devils

3

E5

Sabres

4

E3

Bruins

2

E7

Maple Leafs

4

E8

Philadelphia Flyers

2

E7

Maple Leafs

1

Eastern Conference

E5

Sabres

4

E3

Bruins

4

E4

Hurricanes

2

E1

Penguins

2

E7

Maple Leafs

4

E5

Sabres

4

E6

Senators

0

E5

Sabres

2

W1

Stars

4

W7

Blues

4

W8

Coyotes

3

W6

Avalanche

4

W3

Red Wings

1

W5

Sharks

2

W6

Avalanche

4

W6

Avalanche

3

Western Conference

W1

Stars

4

W1

Stars

4

W2

Oilers

0

W1

Stars

4

W7

Blues

2

W3

Red Wings

4

W4

Mighty Ducks

0

The Stanley Cup

Player stats

Regular season

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Demitra, PavolPavol Demitra	LW	82	37	52	89	16	13	14	0	10
Turgeon, PierrePierre Turgeon	C	67	31	34	65	36	4	10	0	5
MacInnis, AlAl MacInnis	D	82	20	42	62	70	33	11	1	2
Young, ScottScott Young	RW	75	24	28	52	27	8	8	0	4
Pronger, ChrisChris Pronger	D	67	13	33	46	113	3	8	0	0
Pellerin, ScottScott Pellerin	LW	80	20	21	41	42	1	0	5	4
Conroy, CraigCraig Conroy	C	69	14	25	39	38	14	0	1	1
Eastwood, MikeMike Eastwood	C	82	9	21	30	36	6	0	0	0
Rheaume, PascalPascal Rheaume	C	60	9	18	27	24	10	2	0	0
Yake, TerryTerry Yake	C	60	9	18	27	34	-9	3	0	4
Campbell, JimJim Campbell	RW	55	4	21	25	41	-8	1	0	0
Picard, MichelMichel Picard	LW	45	11	11	22	16	5	0	0	2
Bartecko, LubosLubos Bartecko	LW	32	5	11	16	6	4	0	0	1
Handzus, MichalMichal Handzus	C	66	4	12	16	30	-9	0	0	0
Persson, RicardRicard Persson	D	54	1	12	13	94	4	0	0	0
Courtnall, GeoffGeoff Courtnall	LW	24	5	7	12	28	2	1	0	2
Chase, KellyKelly Chase	RW	45	3	7	10	143	2	0	0	1
Reasoner, MartyMarty Reasoner	C	22	3	7	10	8	2	1	0	0
Mayers, JamalJamal Mayers	RW	34	4	5	9	40	-3	0	0	0
Twist, TonyTony Twist	LW	63	2	6	8	149	0	0	0	0
Rivers, JamieJamie Rivers	D	76	2	5	7	47	-3	1	0	0
Gill, ToddTodd Gill	D	28	2	3	5	16	-6	1	0	0
Atcheynum, BlairBlair Atcheynum	RW	12	2	2	4	2	2	0	0	1
Helmer, BryanBryan Helmer	D	29	0	4	4	19	3	0	0	0
Finley, JeffJeff Finley	D	30	1	2	3	20	12	0	0	0
Bergevin, MarcMarc Bergevin	D	52	1	1	2	99	-14	0	0	0
McAlpine, ChrisChris McAlpine	D	51	1	1	2	50	-10	0	0	0
Carey, JimJim Carey	G	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Fitzpatrick, RoryRory Fitzpatrick	D	1	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
Fuhr, GrantGrant Fuhr	G	39	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	0
Hecht, JochenJochen Hecht	LW	3	0	0	0	0	-2	0	0	0
Johnson, BrentBrent Johnson	G	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
McLennan, JamieJamie McLennan	G	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nash, TysonTyson Nash	LW	2	0	0	0	5	-1	0	0	0
Parent, RichRich Parent	G	10	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
Poeschek, RudyRudy Poeschek	RW/D	16	0	0	0	33	0	0	0	0
Shaw, BradBrad Shaw	D	12	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	T	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Fuhr, GrantGrant Fuhr	2193	39	16	11	8	89	2.44	2	827	738	.892
McLennan, JamieJamie McLennan	1763	33	13	14	4	70	2.38	3	640	570	.891
Parent, RichRich Parent	519	10	4	3	1	22	2.54	1	193	171	.886
Johnson, BrentBrent Johnson	286	6	3	2	0	10	2.10	0	127	117	.921
Carey, JimJim Carey	202	4	1	2	0	13	3.86	0	76	63	.829
Team:	4963	82	37	32	13	204	2.47	6	1863	1659	.890

Playoffs

Scoring

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
Turgeon, PierrePierre Turgeon	C	13	4	9	13	6	3	0	0	2
MacInnis, AlAl MacInnis	D	13	4	8	12	20	-2	2	0	0
Young, ScottScott Young	RW	13	4	7	11	10	2	1	0	1
Demitra, PavolPavol Demitra	LW	13	5	4	9	4	-5	3	0	1
Courtnall, GeoffGeoff Courtnall	LW	13	2	4	6	10	-4	2	0	0
Pronger, ChrisChris Pronger	D	13	1	4	5	28	-2	1	0	0
Atcheynum, BlairBlair Atcheynum	RW	13	1	3	4	6	2	0	0	0
Conroy, CraigCraig Conroy	C	13	2	1	3	6	-3	0	0	0
Finley, JeffJeff Finley	D	13	1	2	3	8	-4	0	0	1
Yake, TerryTerry Yake	C	13	1	2	3	14	-3	1	0	0
Persson, RicardRicard Persson	D	13	0	3	3	17	-1	0	0	0
Hecht, JochenJochen Hecht	LW	5	2	0	2	0	4	0	0	0
Eastwood, MikeMike Eastwood	C	13	1	1	2	6	2	0	0	0
Rivers, JamieJamie Rivers	D	9	1	1	2	2	-2	1	0	1
Handzus, MichalMichal Handzus	C	11	0	2	2	8	0	0	0	0
Pellerin, ScottScott Pellerin	LW	8	1	0	1	4	-2	0	0	0
Rheaume, PascalPascal Rheaume	C	5	1	0	1	4	1	0	0	0
Fuhr, GrantGrant Fuhr	G	13	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0
Mayers, JamalJamal Mayers	RW	11	0	1	1	8	-2	0	0	0
Bartecko, LubosLubos Bartecko	LW	5	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
McAlpine, ChrisChris McAlpine	D	13	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
McLennan, JamieJamie McLennan	G	1	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0
Nash, TysonTyson Nash	LW	1	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
Picard, MichelMichel Picard	LW	5	0	0	0	2	-3	0	0	0
Shaw, BradBrad Shaw	D	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
Twist, TonyTony Twist	LW	1	0	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0

Goaltending

Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA	SO	SA	SV	SV%
Fuhr, GrantGrant Fuhr	790	13	6	6	31	2.35	1	305	274	.898
McLennan, JamieJamie McLennan	37	1	0	1	0	0.00	0	7	7	1.000
Team:	827	13	6	7	31	2.25	1	312	281	.901

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records

• Norris Trophy - Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues

All-Star teams

• First team - Al MacInnis, St. Louis Blues

See also

• List of Stanley Cup champions
• 1998 NHL Entry Draft
• 46th National Hockey League All-Star Game
• National Hockey League All-Star Game
• NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1998 in sports

External links

• Hickok Sports
• CNN/SI
• The National Hockey League Web Site
• Official website of the St. Louis Blues
• St. Louis Blues Website
• Blues on Hockey Database