1998–99 St. Louis Blues 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.
==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.CNN/SI
==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
# Chris Pronger is poised to become THE defenceman in the NHL, if he's not already.
# Everybody wondered who would step up to replace Brett Hull's goals and, poof, here comes Pavol Demitra with 37.
# LW Jochen Hecht is turning heads and should make the team.
* Gray areas
# Geoff Courtnall missed 58 games with a concussion, but has looked good as new in camp. Still, those head injuries are tricky.
# Everybody likes Roman Turek's potential.
# Jury still out on young guns like Michal Handzus, Jamal Mayers, Tyson Nash and Lubos Bartecko.
===Season standings===
===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==
==Player stats==
===Regular season===
;Scoring
Player	Pos 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM	+/-	PPG	SHG	GWG
 	LW 	82	37	52	89 	16 	13 	14 	0 	10
 	C 	67	31	34	65 	36 	4 	10 	0 	5
 	D 	82	20	42	62 	70 	33 	11 	1 	2
 	RW 	75	24	28	52 	27 	8 	8 	0 	4
 	D 	67	13	33	46 	113	3 	8 	0 	0
 	LW 	80	20	21	41 	42 	1 	0 	5 	4
 	C 	69	14	25	39 	38 	14 	0 	1 	1
 	C 	82	9 	21	30 	36 	6 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	60	9 	18	27 	24 	10 	2 	0 	0
 	C 	60	9 	18	27 	34 	-9 	3 	0 	4
 	RW 	55	4 	21	25 	41 	-8 	1 	0 	0
 	LW 	45	11	11	22 	16 	5 	0 	0 	2
 	LW 	32	5 	11	16 	6 	4 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	66	4 	12	16 	30 	-9 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	54	1 	12	13 	94 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	24	5 	7 	12 	28 	2 	1 	0 	2
 	RW 	45	3 	7 	10 	143	2 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	22	3 	7 	10 	8 	2 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	34	4 	5 	9 	40 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	63	2 	6 	8 	149	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	76	2 	5 	7 	47 	-3 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	28	2 	3 	5 	16 	-6 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	12	2 	2 	4 	2 	2 	0 	0 	1
 	D 	29	0 	4 	4 	19 	3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	30	1 	2 	3 	20 	12 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	52	1 	1 	2 	99 	-14	0 	0 	0
 	D 	51	1 	1 	2 	50 	-10	0 	0 	0
 	G 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	1 	0 	0 	0 	2 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	39	0 	0 	0 	12 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	33	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	2 	0 	0 	0 	5 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	10	0 	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW/D	16	0 	0 	0 	33 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	12	0 	0 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN 	GP	W 	L 	T 	GA 	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	2193	39	16	11	8 	89 	2.44	2 	827 	738 	.892
 	1763	33	13	14	4 	70 	2.38	3 	640 	570 	.891
 	519 	10	4 	3 	1 	22 	2.54	1 	193 	171 	.886
 	286 	6 	3 	2 	0 	10 	2.10	0 	127 	117 	.921
 	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
 	C 	13	4	9	13 	6 	3 	0 	0 	2
 	D 	13	4	8	12 	20 	-2 	2 	0 	0
 	RW 	13	4	7	11 	10 	2 	1 	0 	1
 	LW 	13	5	4	9 	4 	-5 	3 	0 	1
 	LW 	13	2	4	6 	10 	-4 	2 	0 	0
 	D 	13	1	4	5 	28 	-2 	1 	0 	0
 	RW 	13	1	3	4 	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	2	1	3 	6 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	13	1	2	3 	8 	-4 	0 	0 	1
 	C 	13	1	2	3 	14 	-3 	1 	0 	0
 	D 	13	0	3	3 	17 	-1 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	2	0	2 	0 	4 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	13	1	1	2 	6 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	9 	1	1	2 	2 	-2 	1 	0 	1
 	C 	11	0	2	2 	8 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	8 	1	0	1 	4 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	C 	5 	1	0	1 	4 	1 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	13	0	1	1 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	RW 	11	0	1	1 	8 	-2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	2 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	13	0	0	0 	2 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	G 	1 	0	0	0 	6 	0 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0	0	0 	2 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	5 	0	0	0 	2 	-3 	0 	0 	0
 	D 	4 	0	0	0 	0 	2 	0 	0 	0
 	LW 	1 	0	0	0 	0 	-1 	0 	0 	0
;Goaltending
Player	MIN	GP	W	L	GA	GAA 	SO	SA 	SV 	SV%
 	790	13	6	6	31	2.35	1 	305	274	.898
 	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
==Transactions==
==Roster==
	
Center
* Pavol Demitra
* Pierre Turgeon
* Craig Conroy
* Mike Eastwood
* Pascal Rheaume
* Terry Yake
* Michal Handzus
* Marty Reasoner
* Jochen Hecht		
Right wing
* Scott Young
* Jim Campbell
* Lubos Bartecko
* Kelly Chase
* Jamal Mayers
* Blair Atcheynum		
Left wing
* Scott Pellerin
* Michel Picard
* Geoff Courtnall
* Tony Twist
* Tyson Nash		
Defense
* Al MacInnis
* Chris Pronger
* Ricard Persson
* Jamie Rivers
* Todd Gill
* Bryan Helmer
* Jeff Finley
* Chris McAlpine
* Marc Bergevin
* Rory Fitzpatrick
* Brad Shaw
* Rudy Poeschek		
Goalie
* Brent Johnson
* Jamie McLennan
* Grant Fuhr
* Rich Parent
* Jim Carey
*GM: Larry Pleau
*Coach: Joel Quenneville
==Draft picks==
==Farm teams==
==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
==References==
==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
St. Louis Blues season, 1998–99
St. Louis Blues season, 1998–99
Category:St. Louis Blues seasons