St. Louis Blues Team Report at：2009-05-12 22:45:02 Click: 0 The Blues were disappointed, of course, when they were swept by the Vancouver Canucks i

The Blues were disappointed, of course, when they were swept by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of the playoffs, but the fact that they were in the postseason showed the strides the organization is making. The Blues ended a three-year playoff drought by finishing the regular season with a record of 41-31-10. "That's the way the Blues play," coach Andy Murray said. "We set a standard this year for the way we work, for how hard we play, for how hard we compete. I think we put hockey on the market here in St. Louis. People outside of St. Louis have a great appreciation for what we've done here, too. It's our responsibility that we uphold that standard next year." But the Canucks' four-game sweep of the Blues in Round 1 also shows that the team has some adjustments to make. While the team's power-play unit ranked eighth in the NHL in the regular season, it was just 1-for-24 in the Vancouver series. "The only way that we got exposed was our power play didn't score," Blues president John Davidson said. "Other than that, we were pretty good. When we look forward with Paul (Kariya) here next year, and Erik Johnson here next year, those are things that make power plays better." Some would argue, however, that the inability of the Blues' defense to move the puck and score points also has hurt the team. Defenseman Erik Johnson will be a big help after missing the 2008-09 season with a knee injury. "I think E.J. is going to be a huge boost," defenseman Jay McKee said. "Obviously, we found a way to be successful without having any real big names. Carlo (Colaiacovo) put up 20-something points on the power play, which was a huge help. But E.J., he was the first overall pick for a reason. Right there is going to be a huge boost for the back end." Davidson added: "If (2008 No. 4 overall draft pick Alex) Pietrangelo is good enough to play here, that's going to help us, too." SEASON HIGHLIGHT: The Blues couldn't have scripted the night of April 10 any better. In order to make the playoffs that night, the Blues needed their third straight win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in 14 days, and they needed Minnesota to knock off the Nashville Predators. As the Blues were capping off a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jackets, it was announced on the Jumbo-Tron at Scottrade Center that Minnesota had demolished Nashville 8-4. The sold-out crowd in St. Louis went berserk as the Blues ended a three-year playoff drought. TURNING POINT: The Blues had a record of 17-23-4 heading into their game at Boston on Jan. 19. In a wild affair, the Blues led 2-1 with less than five minutes left in regulation, but trailed 4-2 with 1 1/2 minutes to play. RW David Perron scored a power-play goal with 1:20 left, and then C David Backes scored with one second left in regulation, tying the score 4-4. After a scoreless overtime, former Bruin Brad Boyes helped the Blues to a 5-4 victory in a shootout. Starting with that victory, the Blues finished the regular season 24-8-6 and qualified as the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. NOTES, QUOTESThe Blues finished with a record of 25-9-7, the second-best winning-percentage (.695) over the final 41 games in team history. Even though the Blues were swept in four games by the Vancouver Canucks, their fight to get into the playoffs and the experience they gained in the postseason were invaluable. "We worked hard for this," Blues goaltender Chris Mason said. "You could say it was like playoffs the last half of the season, but the reality is this is different. I think now we have a taste of it. Obviously, our expectations are going to be higher next year, and we'll know a little bit better if we're going into this situation again."The Blues have 19 players under contract for next season, including LW Andy McDonald, who signed a four-year, $18.8 million extension during the season. McDonald was one of the Blues' best players during the postseason, with a team-high four points against the Canucks in the first-round series loss. "People are going to ask, 'What are you going to do July 1?'" Blues president John Davidson said. "We've already signed Andy McDonald. That's a big key for us. You saw the way he elevated in the playoffs. If we would have lost Andy, it would have been a very different world for us."QUOTE TO NOTE: "It was even harder than I thought it was going to be to get in because there's so many good teams in this conference. And these teams are going to be even better next year. It's going to be even harder to get in next year. That's how good this conference is." Blues president John Davidson on his club squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in 2008-09.ROSTER REPORT MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: G Chris Mason, acquired in a trade with Nashville last summer, went from being a potential bust in St. Louis to being the team's MVP in 2008-09. Without Mason, who started the season 3-13-1 but finished 27-21-7, the Blues had no chance of making the playoffs in the second half of the season. Mason finished the year with a 2.34 goals-against average and a .916 save-percentage, and while he was 0-4 in the playoffs, his individual numbers were similar in the first-round loss to Vancouver. MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: G Manny Legace had a record of 13-9-2 through January with the Blues. But in early February, the club put him on waivers because of off-the-ice issues they had with the goalie. Legace cleared waivers and was assigned to the Blues' American Hockey League affiliate, the Peoria (Ill.) Rivermen. Legace was a model teammate in the AHL and helped lead the Rivermen into the playoffs, but his