Power Rankings: A sweet song

St. Louis goalie Chris Mason has the Blues looking for their first playoff berth in three season. Chris Mason #50 of the St. Louis Blues waits for a faceoff in his game against the New York Islanders on October 11, 2008 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Ryan Dixon
2009-03-30 12:39:00

Are we witnessing the start of a new St. Louis streak?

The Blues made the playoffs every year from 1979-80 through 2003-04. And while none of those berths resulted in so much as a trip to the Cup final, it’s still a stretch worth saluting.

Of course, St. Louis has yet to see springtime hockey in three post-lockout years – a run of futility that appeared destined to endure until the Blues started playing like a team possessed in the second half of the year.

They work hard under coach Andy Murray, get good goaltending from Chris Mason and are being driven by young kids like David Perron, David Backes, Patrick Berglund and T.J. Oshie.

They’ve got a tough end to the season with five of six on the road, but St. Louis sure has the look of a playoff team right now.

THE HOCKEY NEWS POWER RANKINGS
RK.	TEAM	LW	OVERALL	L10	THE SCOOP
1		5	42-28-7	7-1-2	Won six straight and beat the Devils twice in that stretch
2		7	41-27-8	7-1-2	Top three point totals on the Pens go 107 (Malkin), 97 (Crosby), 45 (Sykora)
3		4	41-25-9	7-2-1	Great chance this team will open Round 1 on home ice, where it is very good
4		3	49-15-11	6-3-1	Devin Setoguchi is on fire with five goals and 10 points over his last six games
5		10	48-17-10	6-3-1	On the rebound just in time for the playoffs?
6		1	49-18-9	6-3-1	With 57 points in 75 games, slick defenseman Brian Rafalski has set a new career high
7		2	47-24-4	5-4-1	Are we in for another first round series with Sean Avery on the lip of Martin Brodeur's crease?
8		14	37-30-9	7-2-1	Rookie T.J. Oshie really pitching in with 11 points in his last nine games
9		13	38-30-8	5-1-4	Have at least one point in each of their last eight games
10		9	46-23-7	6-2-2	Ovie hits 50 goals and 100 points in three of his first four NHL seasons
11		12	43-26-6	4-6-0	Todd Bertuzzi is back and more secondary scoring will arrive if Rene Bourque can return from an ankle injury in time for the playoffs
12		17	38-32-6	7-3-0	Have been hot, but also have two wins apiece against Phoenix and Colorado recently
13		6	39-29-8	6-2-2	Rostislav Klesla is out with an upper-body injury, no surprise considering he hasn't played more than 11 consecutive games this year due to a variety of injuries
14		11	41-24-10	5-5-0	Mike Knuble's career-long perseverance and dedication to the game has earned him a Bill Masterton nomination
15		15	40-23-11	4-4-2	Jonathan Toews hits 30-goal barrier as a sophomore
16		16	33-32-10	7-3-0	Will the summer be more of a re-tool than rebuild?
17		18	37-28-11	3-4-3	Craig Anderson rides back to the rescue, sparking one last playoff push by the Cats
18		23	37-30-8	4-5-1	Can Ryan Miller's return save the season? Their final seven games will be played over just 11 days
19		8	39-28-9	5-4-1	Don't have the breathing room to absorb any more of a slip
20		20	36-32-8	4-4-2	Golden oldie Owen Nolan doing his part with three goals and seven points in his last five contests
21		26	38-27-10	4-3-3	Chris Higgins showing some signs of life lately
22		19	36-31-9	4-4-2	Staring three straight non-playoff years in the face after going to Game 7 of the '06 final
23		21	32-38-6	7-3-0	After enduring a bit of a sophomore jinx, blueliner Tobias Enstrom gets hot with two goals and 12 points over his last nine games
24		22	31-32-13	5-5-0	Justin Pogge gets lit up again; what's this guy's future with the Leafs?
25		25	31-33-11	3-5-2	Now six seasons and counting without a post-season berth
26		27	25-41-9	4-4-2	Make it 16 years since the Isles have won a playoff series. Ouch.
27		29	31-37-7	3-5-2	Getting some points now that they're out of contention, which could be construed as promise or salt in the wound
28		28	24-35-17	3-3-4	Word is Vincent Lecavalier is being bothered by a wrist injury, but continues to play through it
29		24	33-33-9	2-7-1	Season is officially sinking into oblivion
30		30	31-43-2	2-7-1	Calls starting to trickle in for GM Francois Giguere's head