No Tomorrow.

The word around St. Louis from some is that the Blues' season has been a success: a division title, third in the NHL, and the first playoff series win in ten years.

Reading a forum on stltoday.com entitled "What do you consider a successful season for the Blues?", many suggested simply winning a playoff series was the goal and anything else is considered gravy.

I hope the players think like myself.

I believe, when you make the playoffs, anything else than raising the Stanley Cup is a failure.

With the Western Conference so wide open, why should the Blues not expect to reach hockey's holy grail? I'll be damned if I am going to watch Phoenix, Arizona or Nashville, Tennessee have a cup parade before us.

Not one team in the Western Conference has ever won the cup. In my opinion, the West is far and away the stronger conference even if the "experts" don't agree (Of course they picked the Pens and Canucks to win it all).

Looking at the East, not one team is strong defensively. There are no stand-out goalies like the West contains. Come Thursday, seeds five through eight could be all that are left. In my honest opinion, most of the Eastern Conference's elite would have struggled to even make the playoffs in the West.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The West is were the Blues will really be tested. Nashville and St. Louis have to be the favorites to come out of their conference. Both have strong goaltending, play well defensively, and can score as needed.

Once again, let's not jump over Los Angeles, which will be a real test for the Blues. The number eight seed just took down Vancouver in a physical series where Jonathan Quick was lights-out.

Everyone around town is saying that Los Angeles and Nashville are scary match-ups for the Blues. I have news for you, they are all going to be scary from here on out, it's the Stanley Cup playoffs!

And why should the Blues be scared? To me, if I was another team, I would be afraid to face the Note:

• a red-hot power play.
• a red-hot McDonald (who has a history of being a red-hot playoff scorer on a cup-winner).
• red-hot goaltending.
• Great leadership, from the Captain to Vets like Langenbrunner, Arnott, and McDonald.
• we've been good all season long, never faultering under Hitchcock.
• Oh yeah, experienced coaching, who put in a system that has worked wonders and put belief in some underachieving players (See Oshie, Berglund). And...he's won a cup before.

I know I am looking through biased eyes while writing this, but to me, the Blues have to be favorites, especially if they can get out of the extremely tough Western Conference.

These opportunities are fleeting, fellow Blues fans, and our mantra does not need to be "We'll be good years to come, it's been a success, let's win it next year when we'll be even better." Look how tough the league is, look how tough the West is, and look how tough the Central is. You can bet that early exits by Detroit and Chicago are going to spark change in those organizations to make them competitive next season. Nashville will be back with virtual the same team, and Columbus will  be on the rise someday.

The parody in the NHL is remarkable. A cup contender one year can miss the playoffs the next. There has not been a repeat cup winner since 1998 (Detroit). The Blues were poised in 2009 to break out and be a perennial playoff team. They missed the playoffs for the next two seasons.

There are no guarantees to make it to the playoffs, and once you're there the goal is to win the cup.

"Think how good we'll be next year" is a phrase Blues fans need to lose. The time is now. The opportunity is right in front of this team, and it is time they seize it and not hope for a better tomorrow. There should be no tomorrow in the locker room or the expectations.

Shooting Stars

The Blues moved into a tie for first in the NHL with Monday's win over Dallas.

The Blues beat the Stars 1-0 Monday night at the Scotty. The win gave them 60 points, and put them in a tie with the Rangers and Blackhawks for first place in the entire NHL. It has been a dozen years since the Blues have been at that spot this late in the season.

Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for his third shutout of the season. He is 9-0-3 in his last 12 starts.

At the start of the third, T.J. Oshie was placed on a line with David Backes and Perron. The move paid off late in the game, Oshie scored a highlight goal on a great feed from Perron.

That was all the tight-checking Blues would need. They are defining their game as a team that plays a tight checking, defensive game, but has the skill to score when need be.

The young stars are beginning to shine, and the sky is the limit for this first place team.


Highlights:

Blues Stop Landslide

The Avalanche were one of the hottest teams in the league until they stepped onto Scottrade Center ice last night.



The Blues dominated the Avalanche and cruised to a 4-0, league-leading 17th home ice win Saturday. They scored two power play goals, and jumped into first in the Central Division. It was their first win against the Aves this season.

The first place spot will be relinquished when Detroit and Chicago meet up Sunday, but it is a testament to how well the Blues have been playing and how competitive the best division in hockey is.

Brain Elliot gained his fifth shutout of the season, facing only 15 shots. The Blues played most of the game in Colorado's end, including scoring two power play goals and being just one second shy of adding a third.

Patrik Berglund opened the scoring when T.J. Oshie banged a shot off his leg and past J.S. Giguere. Kevin Shattenkirk remained hot against his old club, scoring on a point shot. In the second, Jason Arnott, our power play savior, scored his team-leading fourth power play goal. Not to be outdone, Captain David Backes added his fourth PPG in the third to cap off a 4-0 route of the Aves.

The Blues are 24-12-5 at the midway point of the season and own first place in the Central Division this late in the season for the first time since January 2001.


Highlights:



Notes:

Elliott gained his fifth shutout of the season. Per Hitchcock's policy, he should get the start Tuesday against Montreal. That will not happen though, given that it is Halak's return to the city. I am not one for conspiracy theories, but it seems like the Blues are always finding excuses to play Halak over the hotter Elliott. Just a thought. ($$$$$$$)

T.J. Oshie was all over the ice. He was hitting and making plays offensively. He is becoming that player that everyone has thought he was been the last few seasons. This is how it should be.

David Backes: what a captain, what a leader.

Arnott: what a pick-up by Army. Think where the PP would be without him.

The Blues are doing all this without Steen, McDonald, Kris Russell, and Kent Huskins (who is set to return soon). They are proving their depth.

Blues Begin 2012 with a Win

The Blues halted their longest winless streak at three games by defeating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 at home last night.

Christ Stewart is quietly heating up and scored the first goal of the game. Jamie Langenbrunner added a goal in the first on a tip in from Barret Jackman's shot from the point. Phoenix scored late on a power play making the score 2-1 at the end of one. Speaking of things heating up as of late, T.J. Oshie scored on the power play in the Second on a nice neutral zone transition. Berglund added an empty netter to close out the game's scoring.

Jaroslav Halak made 33 saves and was the games number one star. David Perron and Alex Pietrangelo both had 2 assists. Jackman had a notably strong game on defense, which is significant since the Blues are shorthanded in that department due to injuries and suspensions.

The Note improved to 15-3-2 at home, and have nabbed 32 of a possible 40 points. The Blues have become one of the league's best home teams, which should come in handy during January when they play 9 of 11 at Scottrade. In February and March the team goes on the road for 19 of 30. They were in playoff contention last year until an awful January. This team looks to have a great January and rack up the points at home.

Highlights:

Oshie Grows Up, and Busts Out

T.J. Oshie may be the most popular Blue, but perceptive fans have been a little hesitant to go "all-in" when supporting him.

There is no question that Oshie plays the game hard and with skill, but in the past his numbers and inconsistency restrained him from breaking out as one of the elite stars in the NHL. He was often  justly ridiculed for being "too cute" with the puck, providing more flash than productivity.

Oshie is dropping the flash in 11-12, and raising his productivity by shooting more and dumping the puck in, rather than trying to dangle around several defenders.

In simple terms, the kid's growing up.

Many point to Hitchchock's arrival as the turning point, or maybe wake-up point for Oshie. The winger has six goals and 11 assist under Hitchcock and is a plus-5.

Hitchcock, an avid hockey viewer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch what he remembered about Oshie’s play before he became his coach. “It’s like he was playing weird. I don’t know another way to describe it. He was playing sideways. Whereas he’s a straight-ahead player.”

And of his recent play: “This is kind of what I thought he was supposed to be.”

Oshie agreed about his poor performance early in the season and recent resurrection. “I think I was trying to do too much, getting a little frustrated. I think a couple of times I got maybe short-shifted for making a play I thought was right. But most of all, it’s been a chance for me to relax and regroup,” he told the Post-Dispatch.

Blues fans are happy he decided to relax and regroup, hopefully a sign of his maturing. He is becoming one of the top two-way players in the game, and that is really giving Blues fans something to cheer about.

Blues Marvel in D.C.

The Blues beat the Capitals 2-1 in Washington last night. It was their fourth straight win and propelled them to 4th place in the Western Conference.

After falling behind 1-0, T.J. Oshie scored late in the first with a dazzling goal, batting the puck out of mid air. Matt D'Agostini scored his sixth goal on a wraparound in the second, and Halak stopped the rest of the pucks that came his way.

The Blues' next game is Friday night at Colorado. It is the first meeting of the season for the two teams. Colorado has had the note's number in recent years.

Highlights: