 At one point in time, not too long ago, the St. Louis Blues were the most consistent team in all of professional sports. The Blues hold the NHL record for the longest consecutive stretch of playoff appearances, having made the postseason 24 years in a row, from 1980 to 2004. Can they start a new streak this season? The St. Louis Blues came out of the gates slowly last season, but then made a miraculous turnaround and rode a late season hot streak all the way to a 41-31-10 record, and a spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately the Blues were swept by the Canucks in the first round, but even in defeat, the team played with a huge amount of fire and passion, giving just cause for higher expectations coming into the 2009-2010 season. The Blues have always been a team built from within, and management seemingly decided to stick with that same structure this past offseason. St. Louis' only major departure was defenseman Jay McKee, whose high salary was bought out. Meanwhile, they definitely upgraded the team with the acquisition of star backup goalkeeper Ty Conklin, who has been the backup for the last two Stanley Cup runner ups. St. Louis seems to feel that many of their shortcomings from last season were due to a number of players missing serious time due to injury, most notably the former overall first draft pick, Erik Johnson. Feeling that with everyone healthy they have the right parts in place, the philosophy of the Blues is to play with what they have, and let their young talent develop along the way. As a pleasant surprise, the Blues found scoring in a lot of unexpected places last season, most notably from rookies T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, and considering that longtime veterans Paul Kariya and Andy McDonald both missed a ton of time due to injury, their goal output was still impressive. Additionally, both Brad Boyes and youngster David Backes topped the 30-goal mark, while the ageless Keith Tkachuk contributed 25 more. With Kariya and McDonald returning completely healthy, there should be even more scoring up front this season. The St. Louis defense also appears to be improved for this season. Eric Johnson had an impressive camp and seems prepared to finally show his enormous potential. Captain, Eric Brewer, is currently recovering from injury but is one of the most consistent blue line players in the league, and along with defensive stalwarts Barrett Jackman and Carlo Colaiacovo, there are definitely some positive pieces in place for a solid group, especially once Brewer is back. In goal, Chris Mason rebounded from a poor start to play like an All-Star down the stretch, and after having entered last year as the expected backup, he'll be counted on as the man this season. Along with newly acquired backup Ty Conklin, St. Louis seems to be set at in the net, and ready to make a run, especially if Mason is once again the impenetrable barrier he was down the stretch last year. The St. Louis Blues are definitely prepared to make another solid run into the playoffs this year. How long will their new streak be? If you are not sure, get your St. Louis Blues tickets now and show up at the Scottrade Center to find out. Be there as the Blues fight for position in the very tough Central Division.
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