2008 – 09 St . Louis Blues season The 2008 – 09 St . Louis Blues season , the 41st season for the NHL franchise in St . Louis , Missouri , resulted in the team returning to the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2004 . Summary . Before the regular season started the Blues were hit hard with an injury to defenseman Erik Johnson . Johnson suffered a leg injury in a golfing accident that put him out for the season . Despite this the Blues had a good start to the regular season , winning their first opening day game in years , and going 5 - 3 - 0 , before injuries to Manny Legace , Andy McDonald , coupled with poor defensive play , placed the team in last place in their division at 5 - 8 - 1 . The Blues would win 3 games in a row to make their record 9 - 8 - 1 . On November 24 , 2008 , Blues President John Davidson announced the Blues had traded Lee Stempniak to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo and center Alexander Steen . On November 30 , 2008 , Keith Tkachuk became the 6th US - born hockey player and 72nd overall to score 1 , 000 points in a career . The point came on a goal scored in his 1 , 077th game . He now has 511 goals and 489 assists . The goal helped the Blues to a 4 - 2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers . It was his 362nd point in a Blues ' uniform , ranking him eighth all - time . The Blues would lose their next 3 games before winning 4 - 3 over Phoenix . St . Louis would then lose 3 straight games against teams on the west coast . The Blues would follow up by losing their next two games to extend their losing streak to five . In that period Jay McKee would become another victim of unfortunate injuries for the Blues . The Blues ended the month of December with a poor 4 - 10 - 1 record . Just before the All - Star Game break ( Jan . 22 - 28 ) , the team gained seven points in their last four games . On February 6 , two days after his 36th birthday , goalie Manny Legace was placed on waivers , and the Blues recalled Chris Holt . Andy McDonald ( C ) , returned to active status on February 10 after almost three months out with a broken left leg ( Nov . 16 ) , and promptly made his presence felt with an assist on the Blues ' first goal , and then later added a goal of his own against Vancouver , although they eventually lost . A 6 - 2 - 4 surge in February pushed the Blues ( 60 pts . on Feb . 24 ) to an even 26 - 26 ( 8 ties ) record , and to within five points of the 8th and last playoff spot . In a dramatic and wild 3 - 1 win , with the final two goals from the youngsters T . J . Oshie and Patrik Berglund late in the wide - open third period plus 41 saves from Chris Mason ( with the help of four Stars ' shots off the goal posts plus another one off the crossbar ) at Dallas on Feb . 26 , pushed the Blues into 12th place in the Western Conference , only three points from a playoff spot and over . 500 for the first time since December 8 . A big 6 - 1 run from Mar . 20 - Apr . 2 pushed the Blues into an 8th place ranking — and playoff contention with the last playoff spot , just behind the 7th place Anaheim Ducks , with a stunning 5 - 4 win April 2 at Detroit ; their first win over them all season , highlighted by David Backes ' career - high four - goal night . It was the first four - goal night by any Blues ' player since Scott Mellanby did it on March 6 , 2003 . A key player in the team ' s late - season surge has been the exciting play and desperately - needed team offense because of numerous injuries by rookie — and increasingly fan favorite T . J . Oshie , who was named NHL Rookie of the Month for March ( Apr . 2 ) after earning 13 points ( 4 G , 9 A ) in 14 games , with the Blues going 9 - 4 - 1 in the month . From Jan . 1 through the game on March 29 , Oshie has earned 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in those 37 games , leading all rookies but one ( Bobby Ryan of Anaheim ) in that span . Garnering praise from veterans on the Blues are increasingly common , such as this one from goalie Chris Mason : " T . J . is such a tenacious player . In every game he seems to create scoring chances out of nothing . " Oshie was also listed # 8 on " Hockey ' s Future Top 50 prospects . " The Blues clinched a playoff spot in their second - to - last game of the season ( # 81 ) , and last home game on April 10 , in front of a raucous , standing - room - only crowd of 19 , 250 , beating the Columbus Blue Jackets , 3 - 1 , in their 40th win of the season . The defense was superb , giving up only 17 shots — their lowest of the season . This is the first season since 2003 – 04 the Blues have made the playoffs . In the 2005 - 06 season ( first year after the lockout year in 2004 - 05 ) , the Blues were in last place overall , and in 2007 - 08 they were tied for the fourth - worst record in the NHL . The Blues completed one of the greatest late - season playoff surges in NHL history . On the same day the Blues clinched a playoff spot , their first - round draft pick in 2008 , Alex Pietrangelo , 19 , was assigned from the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League to the Blues top minor - league affiliate , the Peoria Rivermen in the AHL . Divisional standings . Standings Conference standings . Standings Playoffs . The St . Louis Blues are returning to the NHL Playoffs for the first time since 2004 with a 6th - place finish . They were swept in four straight in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks due to a hot goaltender , Roberto Luongo . It was the first time the Blues were swept in a playoff series since the Dallas Stars did it to them in 1994 Player stats . Skaters . " Note : GP = Games played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; + / − = Plus / Minus ; PIM = Penalty Minutes " Goaltenders . " Note : GP = Games Played ; TOI = Time On Ice ( minutes ) ; W = Wins ; L = Losses ; OT = Overtime Losses ; GA = Goals Against ; GAA = Goals Against Average ; SA = Shots Against ; SV = Saves ; Sv % = Save Percentage ; SO = Shutouts " Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Blues . Stats reflect time with Blues only . Traded mid - season . Stats reflect time with Blues only . Farm teams . Peoria Rivermen . The Peoria Rivermen are the Blues American Hockey League affiliate in 2008 – 09 . Alaska Aces . The Alaska Aces are the Blues affiliate in the ECHL .