# 1998–99 St. Louis Blues season

The 1998–99 St. Louis Blues season was the team's 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Despite the loss of Brett Hull during the preceding off-season, the Blues made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 20th-straight season after finishing in second place with a record of 37–32–13.

## Off-season

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.

## Regular season

The Blues made the playoffs for the 20th straight season by finishing in 2nd place with a record of 37–32–13. Al MacInnis won the Norris trophy as the best defenceman in the NHL, while Pavol Demitra scored 37 goals. In the playoffs, the Blues initially trailed the Phoenix Coyotes 3 games to 1. The Blues rallied and took the series in 7 games. However, in the second round, the Blues were knocked off again 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.
The Blues tied the Washington Capitals for the fewest power-play opportunities during the regular season, with just 301. They also tied the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks for the fewest short-handed goals allowed, with 4.

### Season standings

Central Division :
| R | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| 1 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 1202 | 93 |
| 2 | 5 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 1308 | 87 |
| 3 | 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 1807 | 70 |
| 4 | 12 | Nashville Predators | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 1420 | 63 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | PAC | 82 | 51 | 19 | 12 | 236 | 168 | 114 |
| 2 | y – Colorado Avalanche | NW | 82 | 44 | 28 | 10 | 239 | 205 | 98 |
| 3 | y – Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 43 | 32 | 7 | 245 | 202 | 93 |
| 4 | Phoenix Coyotes | PAC | 82 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 205 | 197 | 90 |
| 5 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 37 | 32 | 13 | 237 | 209 | 87 |
| 6 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 35 | 34 | 13 | 215 | 206 | 83 |
| 7 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 31 | 33 | 18 | 196 | 191 | 80 |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | NW | 82 | 33 | 37 | 12 | 230 | 226 | 78 |
| 9 | Calgary Flames | NW | 82 | 30 | 40 | 12 | 211 | 234 | 72 |
| 10 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 29 | 41 | 12 | 202 | 248 | 70 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 32 | 45 | 5 | 189 | 222 | 69 |
| 12 | Nashville Predators | CEN | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 190 | 261 | 63 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | NW | 82 | 23 | 47 | 12 | 192 | 258 | 58 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest
bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1998–99 regular season :
October: 4–3–2 (home: 2–1–1; road: 2–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1TOctober 10, 19983–3 OT@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)0–0–1Recap
2WOctober 12, 19984–2@ New York Rangers (1998–99)1–0–1Recap
3LOctober 16, 19981–4@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)1–1–1Recap
4LOctober 17, 19980–1New York Islanders (1998–99)1–2–1Recap
5WOctober 22, 19985–3@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 24, 19984–3Calgary Flames (1998–99)3–2–1Recap
7LOctober 27, 19981–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)3–3–1Recap
8WOctober 29, 19983–1Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)4–3–1Recap
9TOctober 31, 19982–2 OTMighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)4–3–2Recap :
November: 5–3–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–2–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
10WNovember 4, 19983–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)5–3–2Recap
11TNovember 5, 19982–2 OT@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)5–3–3Recap
12TNovember 7, 19982–2 OT@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)5–3–4Recap
13WNovember 10, 19985–2Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)6–3–4Recap
14LNovember 11, 19982–6@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)6–4–4Recap
15WNovember 14, 19985–1Nashville Predators (1998–99)7–4–4Recap
16LNovember 19, 19982–3@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)7–5–4Recap
17TNovember 21, 19983–3 OTDallas Stars (1998–99)7–5–5Recap
18WNovember 24, 19984–0Nashville Predators (1998–99)8–5–5Recap
19LNovember 27, 19982–4San Jose Sharks (1998–99)8–6–5Recap
20WNovember 28, 19984–2Washington Capitals (1998–99)9–6–5Recap :
December: 3–5–4 (home: 3–2–1; road: 0–3–3)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
21LDecember 4, 19980–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)9–7–5Recap
22LDecember 5, 19981–3Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)9–8–5Recap
23TDecember 8, 19982–2 OTBuffalo Sabres (1998–99)9–8–6Recap
24LDecember 12, 19983–4Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)9–9–6Recap
25TDecember 14, 19980–0 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)9–9–7Recap
26LDecember 15, 19983–7@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)9–10–7Recap
27WDecember 17, 19983–2Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)10–10–7Recap
28WDecember 19, 19985–2Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)11–10–7Recap
29TDecember 22, 19983–3 OT@ New York Islanders (1998–99)11–10–8Recap
30LDecember 23, 19982–4@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)11–11–8Recap
31WDecember 26, 19984–3Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)12–11–8Recap
32TDecember 28, 19984–4 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)12–11–9Recap :
January: 6–7–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–5–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
33WJanuary 1, 19996–5@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)13–11–9Recap
34LJanuary 2, 19990–1New York Rangers (1998–99)13–12–9Recap
35WJanuary 4, 19994–0Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)14–12–9Recap
36WJanuary 7, 19994–2Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)15–12–9Recap
37LJanuary 9, 19991–2@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)15–13–9Recap
38LJanuary 11, 19991–3@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)15–14–9Recap
39WJanuary 13, 19994–2@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)16–14–9Recap
40LJanuary 16, 19990–2@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)16–15–9Recap
41LJanuary 19, 19992–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)16–16–9Recap
42LJanuary 21, 19992–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)16–17–9Recap
43WJanuary 26, 19993–0@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)17–17–9Recap
44WJanuary 28, 19994–2@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)18–17–9Recap
45LJanuary 30, 19993–4@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)18–18–9Recap :
February: 7–6–1 (home: 2–6–1; road: 5–0–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
46WFebruary 1, 19994–3 OT@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)19–18–9Recap
47LFebruary 4, 19990–2New Jersey Devils (1998–99)19–19–9Recap
48LFebruary 6, 19993–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)19–20–9Recap
49WFebruary 8, 19995–4@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)20–20–9Recap
50WFebruary 10, 19995–4@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)21–20–9Recap
51LFebruary 11, 19991–5San Jose Sharks (1998–99)21–21–9Recap
52LFebruary 13, 19992–3Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)21–22–9Recap
53WFebruary 15, 19998–1Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)22–22–9Recap
54TFebruary 18, 19990–0 OTFlorida Panthers (1998–99)22–22–10Recap
55LFebruary 20, 19993–4Nashville Predators (1998–99)22–23–10Recap
56WFebruary 22, 19995–1Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)23–23–10Recap
57LFebruary 24, 19991–3Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)23–24–10Recap
58WFebruary 26, 19994–2@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)24–24–10Recap
59WFebruary 28, 19993–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)25–24–10Recap :
March: 6–7–1 (home: 3–4–1; road: 3–3–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
60WMarch 2, 19995–1@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)26–24–10Recap
61LMarch 4, 19990–4Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)26–25–10Recap
62LMarch 7, 19993–4@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)26–26–10Recap
63LMarch 9, 19994–7Calgary Flames (1998–99)26–27–10Recap
64LMarch 11, 19990–3Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)26–28–10Recap
65WMarch 13, 19996–4Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)27–28–10Recap
66WMarch 14, 19995–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)28–28–10Recap
67WMarch 16, 19995–2Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)29–28–10Recap
68TMarch 18, 19992–2 OTPhoenix Coyotes (1998–99)29–28–11Recap
69LMarch 20, 19992–3Ottawa Senators (1998–99)29–29–11Recap
70WMarch 22, 19995–2Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)30–29–11Recap
71WMarch 25, 19994–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)31–29–11Recap
72LMarch 26, 19991–2@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)31–30–11Recap
73LMarch 28, 19991–3@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)31–31–11Recap :
April: 6–1–2 (home: 2–1–1; road: 4–0–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
74WApril 1, 19993–0Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)32–31–11Recap
75WApril 3, 19995–2Dallas Stars (1998–99)33–31–11Recap
76TApril 5, 19992–2 OT@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)33–31–12Recap
77WApril 7, 19994–2@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)34–31–12Recap
78TApril 9, 19991–1 OTDetroit Red Wings (1998–99)34–31–13Recap
79LApril 11, 19992–4Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)34–32–13Recap
80WApril 14, 19993–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)35–32–13Recap
81WApril 15, 19996–4@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)36–32–13Recap
82WApril 18, 19993–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)37–32–13Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Phoenix Coyotes: Blues win 4–3
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1WApril 22, 19993–1@ Phoenix CoyotesBlues lead 1–0Recap
2LApril 24, 19993–4 OT@ Phoenix CoyotesSeries tied 1–1Recap
3LApril 25, 19994–5Phoenix CoyotesCoyotes lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 27, 19991–2Phoenix CoyotesCoyotes lead 3–1Recap
5WApril 30, 19992–1 OT@ Phoenix CoyotesCoyotes lead 3–2Recap
6WMay 2, 19995–3Phoenix CoyotesSeries tied 3–3Recap
7WMay 4, 19991–0 OT@ Phoenix CoyotesBlues win 4–3Recap :
Western Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Dallas Stars: Stars win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LMay 6, 19990–3@ Dallas StarsStars lead 1–0Recap
2LMay 8, 19994–5 OT@ Dallas StarsStars lead 2–0Recap
3WMay 10, 19993–2 OTDallas StarsStars lead 2–1Recap
4WMay 12, 19993–2 OTDallas StarsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LMay 15, 19991–3@ Dallas StarsStars lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 17, 19991–2 OTDallas StarsStars win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 38 | Pavol Demitra | LW | 82 | 37 | 52 | 89 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 4 |
| 77 | Pierre Turgeon | C | 67 | 31 | 34 | 65 | 4 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Al MacInnis | D | 82 | 20 | 42 | 62 | 33 | 70 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −2 | 20 |
| 48 | Scott Young | RW | 75 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 8 | 27 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 10 |
| 44 | Chris Pronger | D | 67 | 13 | 33 | 46 | 3 | 113 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −2 | 28 |
| 33 | Scott Pellerin | LW | 80 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 1 | 42 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 4 |
| 22 | Craig Conroy | C | 69 | 14 | 25 | 39 | 14 | 38 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −3 | 6 |
| 32 | Mike Eastwood | C | 82 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 6 | 36 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 25 | Pascal Rheaume | C | 60 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 27 | Terry Yake | C | 60 | 9 | 18 | 27 | −9 | 34 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −3 | 14 |
| 10 | Jim Campbell | RW | 55 | 4 | 21 | 25 | −8 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Michel Picard | LW | 45 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 5 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 56 | Lubos Bartecko | LW | 32 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 26 | Michal Handzus | C | 66 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −9 | 30 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Ricard Persson | D | 54 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 4 | 94 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −1 | 17 |
| 14 | Geoff Courtnall | LW | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 28 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −4 | 10 |
| 39 | Kelly Chase | RW | 45 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 143 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 15 | Marty Reasoner | C | 22 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Jamal Mayers | RW | 34 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −3 | 40 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 8 |
| 18 | Tony Twist | LW | 63 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 149 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 |
| 6 | Jamie Rivers | D | 76 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −3 | 47 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| 5 | Todd Gill‡ | D | 28 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 23 | Blair Atcheynum† | RW | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 36 | Bryan Helmer† | D | 29 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | Jeff Finley† | D | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −4 | 8 |
| 4 | Marc Bergevin | D | 52 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −14 | 99 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Chris McAlpine | D | 51 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −10 | 50 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Jim Carey† | G | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42 | Rory Fitzpatrick | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr | G | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 2 |
| 55 | Jochen Hecht | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 1 | Brent Johnson | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Jamie McLennan | G | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 6 |
| 9 | Tyson Nash | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 2 |
| 30 | Rich Parent | G | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Rudy Poeschek | D | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Brad Shaw† | D | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Goaltending

* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 31 | Grant Fuhr | 39 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 827 | 89 | 2.44 | .892 | 2 | 2193 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 305 | 31 | 2.35 | .898 | 1 | 790 |
| 29 | Jamie McLennan | 33 | 13 | 14 | 4 | 640 | 70 | 2.38 | .891 | 3 | 1763 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | 0 | 37 |
| 30 | Rich Parent | 10 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 193 | 22 | 2.54 | .886 | 1 | 519 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1 | Brent Johnson | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 127 | 10 | 2.10 | .921 | 0 | 286 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 35 | Jim Carey† | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 76 | 13 | 3.86 | .829 | 0 | 202 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | James Norris Memorial Trophy | Al MacInnis |
| League (annual) | NHL First All-Star Team | Al MacInnis (Defense) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Pavol Demitra |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Al MacInnis |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Chris Pronger |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Michal Handzus | October 10, 1998 |
| First game | Marty Reasoner | October 10, 1998 |
| First game | Lubos Bartecko | November 28, 1998 |
| First game | Jochen Hecht | January 13, 1999 |
| First game | Brent Johnson | February 15, 1999 |
| First game | Tyson Nash | April 3, 1999 |
| 25th shutout | Grant Fuhr | April 1, 1999 |
| 600th assist | Pierre Turgeon | April 14, 1999 |

## Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 24 | Christian Backman | Sweden | Västra Frölunda HC (Sweden) |
| 2 | 41 | Maxym Linnik | Ukraine | St. Thomas Stars (GOJHL) |
| 3 | 83 | Matt Walker | Canada | Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) |
| 6 | 157 | Brad Voth | Canada | Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL) |
| 6 | 170 | Andrei Troschinsky | Kazakhstan | Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan) |
| 7 | 197 | Brad Twordik | Canada | Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL) |
| 8 | 225 | Yevgeni Pastukh | Ukraine | Khimik Voskresensk (Russia) |
| 9 | 255 | John Pohl | United States | University of Minnesota (CCHA) |