Legace, Rucinsky Undergo Surgery

Manny Legace and Martin Rucinsky both underwent surgery this week to repair nagging injuries and will be out for an extended amount of time.

Legace had arthroscopic surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his knee and will be out for at least two weeks. He has played in 45 games this season and has a record of 23-15-5. He has not played since last Tuesday when he defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout.

Rucinsky had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and will be re-evaluated next week to see how much time he will miss. He has played in 52 games this season and has recorded 12 goals and 21 assists. He has not seen action since February 6th when the Blues lost 2-1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Weight, Blues Take Care of Canucks

Doug Weight scored two goals and David Backes added another as the Blues defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 Tuesday night at the Scottrade Center.

Backes started off the scoring at 11:55 of the second period on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Radek Dvorak to give the Blues the 1-0 lead. The goal was Backes' 8th of th year. Vancouver countered 1:05 later on a controversial goal by Daniel Sedin. Sedin tried a wraparound attempt and appeared to be stopped by Blues goalie Curtis Sanford as the play was whisteled dead. They went to video replay and concluded that while the puck could not be seen crossing the goal line when play stopped, when Sanford raised his body after the play was over the puck was clearly across the goal line. In the third period, Doug Weight scored his 7th of the season at 9:21 on a breakaway attempt. Weight added his 9th of the year late in the game on a power play. Sanford stopped 25 out of 26 shots to earn his 4th victory of the season.


The Blues are off until Thursday night when they travel to Long Island to take on the New York Islanders. The game starts at 6:30 P.M. CT.


Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Sign Mayers to Extension

The Blues announced Tuesday that they have re-signed winger Jamal Mayers to a three-year contract extension worth $1.3 million per season.

Mayers has played his entire career with the Blues, and is the longest-tenured Blue, being here since 1996. He has registered seven goals and nine assists with the Blues this season in 60 games. In his career, he has 58 goals and 67 assists for 125 points, along with 644 penalty minutes.

Blues Trade Wideman to Boston for Boyes

The Blues announced Tuesday that they have traded defenseman Dennis Wideman to the Boston Bruins for center Brad Boyes.

WIdeman has played 55 games for the Blues, registering five goals and 17 assists for a defensive-high 22 points. Wideman was third in ice time for defenseman as well, logging 20:12 on the ice per-game.

Boyes has played 62 games for Boston, scoring 13 goals and 21 assists this season. He has 39 goals and 64 assists in his career with the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins.

Blues Send Guerin to Sharks for Nieminen, Pick, Prospect

The Blues announced Tuesday that they have traded winger Bill Guerin to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for winger Ville Nieminen, a conditional 2007 1st round draft pick, and prospect Jay Barribal.

Guerin had a team-high 28 goals this season and was one of the leaders on the squad. President John Davidson said that he wanted to trade Guerin to a Stanley Cup contender so that he would get the chance to win the cup.

Nieminen has played 30 games for the Sharks this season, recording one goal and one assist. Barribal is the leading scorer for the University of Minnesota as a freshman with 16 goals and 30 assists.

Blues Get Throttled By Blackhawks

The Blackhawks scored three goals in the first period as they lambasted the Blues 5-1 Sunday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago.

Backup goalie Curtis Sanford started for the Blues because Manny Legace was sidelined with a lower body injury. His day did not go so well. Duncan Keith, Adrian Aucoin, and Bryan Smolinski all scored for the Hawks in the first period, and Martin Havlat recorded a goal of his own before Sanford was pulled in favor of Jason Bacashihua at the start of the third period. The only goal for the Blues came off the stick of Lee Stempniak in the second. It was his 19th goal of the season.

The Blues are now one game under .500 with a record of 26-27-9 going into Tuesday night's game at home against the Vancouver Cenucks. The puck drops at 7:05 P.M.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Trade Tkachuk to Atlanta for Three Picks, Metropolit

The Blues announced today that they have traded LW/ Keith Tkachuk to the Atlanta Thrashers for a 1st and 3rd round pick in 2007, a 2nd round pick in 2008, and C/ Glen Metropolit.

Tkachuk spent six seasons in St. Louis, posting 143 goals and 145 assists. This season with the Blues he tallied 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points. If the Thrashers re-sign Tkachuk after this season, then the Blues would receive another 1st round pick in 2008.

Metropolit has played 57 games for the Thrashers this season. scoring 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points.

Brewer, Legace Sign Contract Extensions

The Blues announced today that they have signed defenseman Eric Brewer to a four-year contract extension, and goaltender Manny Legace to a two-year contract extension.

Brewer's four-year contract is worth $17 million and includes a no-trade clause. This year, he has tallied 18 points (three goals, 15 assists), and leads the team in ice time with 24:09. In the last 20 games, Brewer has two goals and seven assists and has a plus/minus rating of +7.

Legace's two-year deal is worth $4.3 million. On the year he has a record of 23-15-5 with a .907 save percentage and a goals agianst average of 2.59. He is also tied for fourth in the NHL with five shutouts registered this season.

Blues Beat Blue Jackets in Shootout

The St. Louis Blues continued their hot streak Tuesday night, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in a shootout at the Scottrade Center.

It was 4-3 Blues late in the third period until Columbus pulled their goaltender and Rick Nash blasted a shot from the point that beat Blues goalie Manny Legace glove side with 14 seconds left to tie the game at four. The goal was Nash's 16th of the season.

The game remained tied through the five-minute overtime session, so the game went to a shotout. Lee Stempniak and Doug Weight both scored for the Blues, and David Vyborny was stoned by Legace on Columbus' final chance to extend the game to preserve the victory. The win was the Blues' fifth-straight. They will try to continue on their torrid trend when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks Sunday afternoon at 2:00 CT.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Beat Up On Minnesota

David Backes had his second two-goal game this season, and Manny Legace stopped 33 of 36 shots to give the Bluesa 5-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild Sunday afternoon.

Backes put a rebound shot past goalie Nikas Backstrom in the first period on the power play to give the Blues a 2-0 lead. In the second, Backes scored on a rebound attempt to make it 4-2 Blues. Backes has four goals in two games, and has tallied six goals on the season.

The Bluenote had three second period goals, coming from Jay McClement and Keith Tkachuk along with Backes.

St. Louis has now won three in a row, and look to make it four when Columbus comes to town Tuesday night for a 7:05 P.M. start.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Finally Defeat Predators

Bill Guerin had the only goal on an outstanding play and Manny Legace stopped all 19 shots faced as the Blues ended their 14-game losing streak to Nashville with a 1-0 win Friday night at the Scottrade Center.

Guerin's 27th goal of the season came with 53 seconds remaining in the second period when he received a pass from Doug Weight in Nashville's zone, put the puck in between his legs to get around the defender, and put the puck over goalie Chris Mason's right shoulder to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

Legace had a strong game, and some luck from the goal posts, to notch his 21st victory of the season. Vitali Vishnevski, Paul Kariya, and David Legwand all had their shots hit the post in the second period, which became Legace's best friend all night.

The Blues have won two in a row heading into Sunday afternoon's pivotal game with the Minnesota Wild, who hold the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The game starts at 5:00 P.M. CT.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Take Care of Blue Jackets

David Backes had his first two-goal game in his career, and Bill Guerin and Dallas Drake each added goals as the Blues defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 Wednesday night in Columbus.

Backes' first goal came with 7:53 rtemaining in the second period, when we drove around the defense and put one in between the pads of Jackets' goalie Pascual LeClaire to tie the game at one. In the third period, the game was tied at two until Backes received a beautiful pass from Jay McClement on a two-on-one break and put the puck past LeClaire to give the Blues a 3-2 lead.

The Blues improved to 11-11-6 on the road this season with the victory. They are 12 points out of the final playoff spot coming into Friday night's game against the Nashville Predators at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. The game starts at 7:05 P.M.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues' Furious Rally Not Enough to Overcome Sharks

Bill Guerin had a hat trick and an assist, and the Blues put together a big rally, but the San Jose Sharks held off the onslaught and were able to defeat the Note 6-5 last night at the Scottrade Center.

The Blues fell behind in the second period 6-2, but Guerin's third goal of the game in the middle of the second made it 6-3. In the third, Keith Tkachuk scored his 13th of the season to make it 6-4. Chrstian Beckman added a goal with about six minutes left in the game to dwindle the lead down to 6-5.The Blues went on the power play with under two minutes to play, but were unable to capitalize, and the Sharks came out with the victory. The Blues travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Wednesday night for a 6:05 showdown.

Highlights of the game are here:

Blues Look to Take a Bite Out of the Sharks

The Blues will welcome the San Jose Sharks to town for a 7:05 P.M. battle tonight at the Scottrade Center.

The Bluenote look to get back on the winning track after losing a tough one to the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime last Saturday night. St. Louis stands 13 points out of a playoff spot with a record of 22-25-9. They can gain two points on Minnesota and possibly move up the ladder a bit if they win tonight, because Minnesota is off tonight.

San Jose owns the fifth playoff spot in the Western Conference at this point with a record of 35-19-1. They have 71 points, and are eight points out of first place.

Recap of Games against Red Wings and Flyers

Last Thursday night, the Blues shut out the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 in front of 11,000 fans at the Scottrade Center.

Bill Guerin scored the lone goal, his 22nd of the season, early in the second period to put the Blues ahead. Manny Legace stopped 13 shots, but was pulled from the game with 16:26 left in the second period after a vicious collision with Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom that left Legace woozy. Curtis Sanford came in to replace Legace and stopped 10 shots to preserve the victory. It was the first time in 178 games that the Red Wings have been shut out by an opponent.

Here are the highlights of this game:



Saturday night at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Simon Gagne scored 27 seconds into overtime and the Flyers upended the Blues 4-3.

Gagne had two goals in the game. The other came late in the third period off of a deflection to tie the game at three. The goals were Gagne's 27th and 28th of the season. With 2.4 seconds left in the third period, Petr Cajanek took a holding penalty, which put the Flyers on the power play going into overtime. Gagne was able to put one past backup goalie Curtis Sanford to end the game less than 30 seconds into the OT. The win snapped a 13-game home losing streak for the Flyers. David Backes, Keith Tkachuk, and Lee Stempniak all had goals for the Blues in the losing effort.

Highlights of this game are here:

Blues Prepare for a Tough Test

The Blues, coming off of a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday, will play host to the fourth-place Detroit Red Wings tonight at the Scottrade Center.

The Note come into the game with a mark of 21-25-8, 12th in the Western Conference standings. The Red Wings, who stand at 35-14-6, were able to defeat the Phoenix Coyotes last night 4-2, highlighted by Henrik Zetterberg's 100th career goal that put them ahead for good.

The last time these two teams met, the Wings beat the Blues 5-3 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Kris Draper scored the go-ahead goal late in the third period, and an empty-netter was added with about 2 minutes left to play to give Detroit the win. This will be the third time the Wings and Blues have played in two weeks. The puck drops at 7:05 P.M. CT.

Blues Lose a Heartbreaker to Maple Leafs

Alexi Ponikarovsky scored a power-play goal near the end of the first period, and Alex Steen broke a 1-1 tie in the third as the Blues were outlasted by the Maple Leafs 2-1 last night at the Scottrade Center.

Ponikarovsky scored his 14th of the season when he tapped in his own rebound past Blues goalie Manny Legace for a 1-0 lead. The Blues were able to put one past red-hot goalie Andrew Raycroft in the second, as Ryan Johnson broke in behind the Leafs' defense and tapped a shot in between Raycroft's pads, tying the score at one. The goal was Johnson's seventh of the season. Late in the second, Alex Steen put a bad angle on goal that deflected off Legace's pads for Steen's 11th of the year, making it 2-1 Leafs. Raycroft made the lead stand with a great third-period, including an incredible save on a rebound by Bill Guerin in the third period. Guerin appeared to have an open net chance after the original shot deflected to the right of Raycroft, but Raycroft dove across the goal and made a beautiful glove save to perserve the lead, and ultimately, the win.

The Blues fell to 21-25-8 on the season, and remain 12 points out of a playoff spot thanks to Minnesota's loss to Dallas Tuesday night. The Bluenote will host the Detroit Red Wings for the second time in a week on Thursday night at 7:05 P.M. CT.

Here are highlights of the game:

Blues Prepare for Red-Hot Leafs

After a convincing win over the visiting Dallas Stars 2-0 last Saturday night, the St. Louis Blues welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs into town Tuesday night at the Scottrade Center. The Blues come into the game with a record of 21-24-8, good for 11th in the Western Conference standings. The Bluenote stand 12 games out of the final playoff spot, which is occupied by the Minnesota Wild.

The Blues halted their three-game losing streak Saturday with the win over the Stars. Martin Rucinsky scored his 12th goal of the season six minutes into the game, and Keith Tkachuk added his 17th of the year on the power play midway through the third period for the only scoring of the game. Manny Legace was unstoppable in net, saving 22 Dallas shots to preserve the victory.

The Maple Leafs come into Tuesday's game with a 26-21-6 record and are ninth in the Eastern Conference standings, just one point out of the final playoff spot. The Leafs have won six out of their last seven games, including a 3-2 shootout win over the Ottawa Senators last Saturday night at home. Goaltender Andrew Raycroft has been stellar in net recently, which has helped turn around the somewhat lethargic first half of the season for Toronto. The puck drops at 7:05 P.M. CT.