1998–99 St. Louis Blues season

1998–99 St. Louis Blues
1998–99 St. Louis Blues
Division	2nd Central
Conference	5th Western
1998–99 record	37–32–13
Home record	18–17–6
Road record	19–15–7
Goals for	237
Goals against	209
Team information
General manager	Larry Pleau
Coach	Joel Quenneville
Captain	Chris Pronger
Arena	Kiel Center
Average attendance	18,276
Minor league affiliates	Worcester IceCats; Peoria Rivermen
Team leaders
Goals	Pavol Demitra (37)
Assists	Pavol Demitra (52)
Points	Pavol Demitra (89)
Penalty minutes	Tony Twist (149)
Plus/minus	Al MacInnis (+33)
Wins	Grant Fuhr (16)
Goals against average	Jamie McLennan (2.38)
	← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

The 1998–99 St. Louis Blues season was the team's 32nd season in the National Hockey League (NHL). Despite the loss of Brett Hull during the preceding off-season, the Blues made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 20th-straight season after finishing in second place with a record of 37–32–13.

Off-season

Realignment came, as the NHL went from four to six divisions. Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Washington were grouped in the Eastern Conference's new Southeast Division and Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton and Vancouver moved into the new Northwest Division in the Western Conference.

Regular season

The Blues made the playoffs for the 20th straight season by finishing in 2nd place with a record of 37–32–13. Al MacInnis won the Norris trophy as the best defenceman in the NHL, while Pavol Demitra scored 37 goals. In the playoffs, the Blues initially trailed the Phoenix Coyotes 3 games to 1. The Blues rallied and took the series in 7 games. However, in the second round, the Blues were knocked off again by the Dallas Stars led by Brett Hull in 6 games. Hull would go on to score the Stanley Cup clinching goal for the Stars.

The Blues tied the Washington Capitals for the fewest power-play opportunities during the regular season, with just 301. They also tied the Dallas Stars and San Jose Sharks for the fewest short-handed goals allowed, with 4.^[1]

Season standings

Central Division
R	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	PIM	Pts
1	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	43	32	7	245	202	1202	93
2	5	St. Louis Blues	82	37	32	13	237	209	1308	87
3	10	Chicago Blackhawks	82	29	41	12	202	248	1807	70
4	12	Nashville Predators	82	28	47	7	190	261	1420	63

^[2]

Western Conference^[3]
R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	PAC	82	51	19	12	236	168	114
2	y – Colorado Avalanche	NW	82	44	28	10	239	205	98
3	y – Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	43	32	7	245	202	93
4	Phoenix Coyotes	PAC	82	39	31	12	205	197	90
5	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	37	32	13	237	209	87
6	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	35	34	13	215	206	83
7	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	31	33	18	196	191	80
8	Edmonton Oilers	NW	82	33	37	12	230	226	78

9	Calgary Flames	NW	82	30	40	12	211	234	72
10	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	29	41	12	202	248	70
11	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	32	45	5	189	222	69
12	Nashville Predators	CEN	82	28	47	7	190	261	63
13	Vancouver Canucks	NW	82	23	47	12	192	258	58

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific, NW – Northwest

bold – Qualified for playoffs; p – Won Presidents' Trophy; y – Won division

Schedule and results

Regular season

1998–99 regular season^[4]

October: 4–3–2 (home: 2–1–1; road: 2–2–1)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
1	October 10, 1998	3–3 OT	@ Boston Bruins (1998–99)	0–0–1	T
2	October 12, 1998	4–2	@ New York Rangers (1998–99)	1–0–1	W
3	October 16, 1998	1–4	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	1–1–1	L
4	October 17, 1998	0–1	New York Islanders (1998–99)	1–2–1	L
5	October 22, 1998	5–3	@ Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	2–2–1	W
6	October 24, 1998	4–3	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	3–2–1	W
7	October 27, 1998	1–2	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	3–3–1	L
8	October 29, 1998	3–1	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	4–3–1	W
9	October 31, 1998	2–2 OT	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	4–3–2	T

November: 5–3–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 1–2–2)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
10	November 4, 1998	3–1	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	5–3–2	W
11	November 5, 1998	2–2 OT	@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	5–3–3	T
12	November 7, 1998	2–2 OT	@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	5–3–4	T
13	November 10, 1998	5–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	6–3–4	W
14	November 11, 1998	2–6	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	6–4–4	L
15	November 14, 1998	5–1	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	7–4–4	W
16	November 19, 1998	2–3	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	7–5–4	L
17	November 21, 1998	3–3 OT	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	7–5–5	T
18	November 24, 1998	4–0	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	8–5–5	W
19	November 27, 1998	2–4	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	8–6–5	L
20	November 28, 1998	4–2	Washington Capitals (1998–99)	9–6–5	W

December: 3–5–4 (home: 3–2–1; road: 0–3–3)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
21	December 4, 1998	0–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–7–5	L
22	December 5, 1998	1–3	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–8–5	L
23	December 8, 1998	2–2 OT	Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	9–8–6	T
24	December 12, 1998	3–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	9–9–6	L
25	December 14, 1998	0–0 OT	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	9–9–7	T
26	December 15, 1998	3–7	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	9–10–7	L
27	December 17, 1998	3–2	Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	10–10–7	W
28	December 19, 1998	5–2	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	11–10–7	W
29	December 22, 1998	3–3 OT	@ New York Islanders (1998–99)	11–10–8	T
30	December 23, 1998	2–4	@ New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	11–11–8	L
31	December 26, 1998	4–3	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	12–11–8	W
32	December 28, 1998	4–4 OT	@ Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	12–11–9	T

January: 6–7–0 (home: 2–2–0; road: 4–5–0)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
33	January 1, 1999	6–5	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	13–11–9	W
34	January 2, 1999	0–1	New York Rangers (1998–99)	13–12–9	L
35	January 4, 1999	4–0	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	14–12–9	W
36	January 7, 1999	4–2	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	15–12–9	W
37	January 9, 1999	1–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1998–99)	15–13–9	L
38	January 11, 1999	1–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	15–14–9	L
39	January 13, 1999	4–2	@ Buffalo Sabres (1998–99)	16–14–9	W
40	January 16, 1999	0–2	@ Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	16–15–9	L
41	January 19, 1999	2–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	16–16–9	L
42	January 21, 1999	2–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	16–17–9	L
43	January 26, 1999	3–0	@ San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	17–17–9	W
44	January 28, 1999	4–2	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	18–17–9	W
45	January 30, 1999	3–4	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	18–18–9	L

February: 7–6–1 (home: 2–6–1; road: 5–0–0)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
46	February 1, 1999	4–3 OT	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	19–18–9	W
47	February 4, 1999	0–2	New Jersey Devils (1998–99)	19–19–9	L
48	February 6, 1999	3–4	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	19–20–9	L
49	February 8, 1999	5–4	@ Florida Panthers (1998–99)	20–20–9	W
50	February 10, 1999	5–4	@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	21–20–9	W
51	February 11, 1999	1–5	San Jose Sharks (1998–99)	21–21–9	L
52	February 13, 1999	2–3	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	21–22–9	L
53	February 15, 1999	8–1	Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	22–22–9	W
54	February 18, 1999	0–0 OT	Florida Panthers (1998–99)	22–22–10	T
55	February 20, 1999	3–4	Nashville Predators (1998–99)	22–23–10	L
56	February 22, 1999	5–1	Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	23–23–10	W
57	February 24, 1999	1–3	Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	23–24–10	L
58	February 26, 1999	4–2	@ Calgary Flames (1998–99)	24–24–10	W
59	February 28, 1999	3–1	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	25–24–10	W

March: 6–7–1 (home: 3–4–1; road: 3–3–0)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
60	March 2, 1999	5–1	@ Nashville Predators (1998–99)	26–24–10	W
61	March 4, 1999	0–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	26–25–10	L
62	March 7, 1999	3–4	@ Dallas Stars (1998–99)	26–26–10	L
63	March 9, 1999	4–7	Calgary Flames (1998–99)	26–27–10	L
64	March 11, 1999	0–3	Montreal Canadiens (1998–99)	26–28–10	L
65	March 13, 1999	6–4	Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	27–28–10	W
66	March 14, 1999	5–2	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	28–28–10	W
67	March 16, 1999	5–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1998–99)	29–28–10	W
68	March 18, 1999	2–2 OT	Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	29–28–11	T
69	March 20, 1999	2–3	Ottawa Senators (1998–99)	29–29–11	L
70	March 22, 1999	5–2	Carolina Hurricanes (1998–99)	30–29–11	W
71	March 25, 1999	4–1	@ Vancouver Canucks (1998–99)	31–29–11	W
72	March 26, 1999	1–2	@ Edmonton Oilers (1998–99)	31–30–11	L
73	March 28, 1999	1–3	@ Chicago Blackhawks (1998–99)	31–31–11	L

April: 6–1–2 (home: 2–1–1; road: 4–0–1)

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Record	Recap
74	April 1, 1999	3–0	Tampa Bay Lightning (1998–99)	32–31–11	W
75	April 3, 1999	5–2	Dallas Stars (1998–99)	33–31–11	W
76	April 5, 1999	2–2 OT	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–99)	33–31–12	T
77	April 7, 1999	4–2	@ Washington Capitals (1998–99)	34–31–12	W
78	April 9, 1999	1–1 OT	Detroit Red Wings (1998–99)	34–31–13	T
79	April 11, 1999	2–4	Colorado Avalanche (1998–99)	34–32–13	L
80	April 14, 1999	3–1	@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1998–99)	35–32–13	W
81	April 15, 1999	6–4	@ Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99)	36–32–13	W
82	April 18, 1999	3–2	@ Los Angeles Kings (1998–99)	37–32–13	W

Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1999 Stanley Cup playoffs^[4]

Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (4) Phoenix Coyotes: Blues win 4–3

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	April 22, 1999	3–1	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Blues lead 1–0	W
2	April 24, 1999	3–4 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Series tied 1–1	L
3	April 25, 1999	4–5	Phoenix Coyotes	Coyotes lead 2–1	L
4	April 27, 1999	1–2	Phoenix Coyotes	Coyotes lead 3–1	L
5	April 30, 1999	2–1 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Coyotes lead 3–2	W
6	May 2, 1999	5–3	Phoenix Coyotes	Series tied 3–3	W
7	May 4, 1999	1–0 OT	@ Phoenix Coyotes	Blues win 4–3	W

Western Conference Semifinals vs. (1) Dallas Stars: Stars win 4–2

Game	Date	Score	Opponent	Series	Recap
1	May 6, 1999	0–3	@ Dallas Stars	Stars lead 1–0	L
2	May 8, 1999	4–5 OT	@ Dallas Stars	Stars lead 2–0	L
3	May 10, 1999	3–2 OT	Dallas Stars	Stars lead 2–1	W
4	May 12, 1999	3–2 OT	Dallas Stars	Series tied 2–2	W
5	May 15, 1999	1–3	@ Dallas Stars	Stars lead 3–2	L
6	May 17, 1999	1–2 OT	Dallas Stars	Stars win 4–2	L

Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.
‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
No.	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
38	Pavol Demitra	LW	82	37	52	89	13	16	13	5	4	9	−5	4
77	Pierre Turgeon	C	67	31	34	65	4	36	13	4	9	13	3	6
2	Al MacInnis	D	82	20	42	62	33	70	13	4	8	12	−2	20
48	Scott Young	RW	75	24	28	52	8	27	13	4	7	11	2	10
44	Chris Pronger	D	67	13	33	46	3	113	13	1	4	5	−2	28
33	Scott Pellerin	LW	80	20	21	41	1	42	8	1	0	1	−2	4
22	Craig Conroy	C	69	14	25	39	14	38	13	2	1	3	−3	6
32	Mike Eastwood	C	82	9	21	30	6	36	13	1	1	2	2	6
25	Pascal Rheaume	C	60	9	18	27	10	24	5	1	0	1	1	4
27	Terry Yake	C	60	9	18	27	−9	34	13	1	2	3	−3	14
10	Jim Campbell	RW	55	4	21	25	−8	41	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Michel Picard	LW	45	11	11	22	5	16	5	0	0	0	−3	2
56	Lubos Bartecko	LW	32	5	11	16	4	6	5	0	0	0	−3	2
26	Michal Handzus	C	66	4	12	16	−9	30	11	0	2	2	0	8
7	Ricard Persson	D	54	1	12	13	4	94	13	0	3	3	−1	17
14	Geoff Courtnall	LW	24	5	7	12	2	28	13	2	4	6	−4	10
39	Kelly Chase	RW	45	3	7	10	2	143	—	—	—	—	—	—
15	Marty Reasoner	C	22	3	7	10	2	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
21	Jamal Mayers	RW	34	4	5	9	−3	40	11	0	1	1	−2	8
18	Tony Twist	LW	63	2	6	8	0	149	1	0	0	0	−1	0
6	Jamie Rivers	D	76	2	5	7	−3	47	9	1	1	2	−2	2
5	Todd Gill‡	D	28	2	3	5	−6	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
23	Blair Atcheynum†	RW	12	2	2	4	2	2	13	1	3	4	2	6
36	Bryan Helmer†	D	29	0	4	4	3	19	—	—	—	—	—	—
37	Jeff Finley†	D	30	1	2	3	12	20	13	1	2	3	−4	8
4	Marc Bergevin	D	52	1	1	2	−14	99	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Chris McAlpine	D	51	1	1	2	−10	50	13	0	0	0	0	2
35	Jim Carey†	G	4	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Rory Fitzpatrick	D	1	0	0	0	−3	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
31	Grant Fuhr	G	39	0	0	0		12	13	0	1	1		2
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	3	0	0	0	−2	0	5	2	0	2	4	0
1	Brent Johnson	G	6	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Jamie McLennan	G	33	0	0	0		0	1	0	0	0		6
9	Tyson Nash	LW	2	0	0	0	−1	5	1	0	0	0	−3	2
30	Rich Parent	G	10	0	0	0		2	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Rudy Poeschek	D	16	0	0	0	0	33	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Brad Shaw†	D	12	0	0	0	0	4	4	0	0	0	2	0

Goaltending

† = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Blues only.

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
No.	Player	GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
31	Grant Fuhr	39	16	11	8	827	89	2.44	.892	2	2193	13	6	6	305	31	2.35	.898	1	790
29	Jamie McLennan	33	13	14	4	640	70	2.38	.891	3	1763	1	0	1	7	0	0.00	1.000	0	37
30	Rich Parent	10	4	3	1	193	22	2.54	.886	1	519	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1	Brent Johnson	6	3	2	0	127	10	2.10	.921	0	286	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
35	Jim Carey†	4	1	2	0	76	13	3.86	.829	0	202	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	James Norris Memorial Trophy	Al MacInnis	^[5]
League (annual)	NHL First All-Star Team	Al MacInnis (Defense)	^[6]
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Pavol Demitra	^[7]
		Al MacInnis^[a]
		Chris Pronger

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Michal Handzus	October 10, 1998	^[9]
	Marty Reasoner	October 10, 1998
	Lubos Bartecko	November 28, 1998
	Jochen Hecht	January 13, 1999
	Brent Johnson	February 15, 1999
	Tyson Nash	April 3, 1999
25th shutout	Grant Fuhr	April 1, 1999	^[10]
600th assist	Pierre Turgeon	April 14, 1999

Draft picks

St. Louis's draft picks at the 1998 NHL entry draft held at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York.^[11]

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
1	24	Christian Backman	Sweden	Västra Frölunda HC (Sweden)
2	41	Maxym Linnik	Ukraine	St. Thomas Stars (GOJHL)
3	83	Matt Walker	Canada	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
6	157	Brad Voth	Canada	Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
6	170	Andrei Troschinsky	Kazakhstan	Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk (Kazakhstan)
7	197	Brad Twordik	Canada	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
8	225	Yevgeni Pastukh	Ukraine	Khimik Voskresensk (Russia)
9	255	John Pohl	United States	University of Minnesota (CCHA)

Notes

↑ MacInnis was voted to the starting lineup.^[8]

References

"St. Louis Blues 1998-99 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
"1998-99 St. Louis Blues Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
Dinger, Ralph, ed. (2011). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2012. Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-22-5.

↑ "1998-99 NHL Summary".
↑ Dinger 2011, p. 155.
↑ "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
1 2 "1998-99 St. Louis Blues Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
↑ "James Norris Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
↑ "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
↑ "1999 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
↑ "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
↑ "1998-99 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
↑ "N.H.L. : LAST NIGHT; Boston Tightens Hold On Eighth Playoff Spot". The New York Times. April 2, 1999. Retrieved June 27, 2023. Grant Fuhr got his 25th career shutout as St. Louis defeated visiting Tampa
↑ "1998 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

[9] MacInnis was voted to the starting lineup.^[8]

[1] "1998-99 NHL Summary".

[FOOTNOTEDinger2011155-2] Dinger 2011, p. 155.

[3] "1998-1999 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.

[Gamelog-4] 1 2 "1998-99 St. Louis Blues Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

[5] "James Norris Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.

[6] "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved June 27, 2023.

[7] "1999 NHL All-Star Game Rosters". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

[8] "NHL All-Star Game Starting Lineups by Year (since 1986)". NHL.com. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

[10] "1998-99 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2024.

[11] "N.H.L. : LAST NIGHT; Boston Tightens Hold On Eighth Playoff Spot". The New York Times. April 2, 1999. Retrieved June 27, 2023. Grant Fuhr got his 25th career shutout as St. Louis defeated visiting Tampa

[12] "1998 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.

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1998–99 St. Louis Blues season

Contents

Off-season

Regular season

Season standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

Playoffs

Player statistics

Scoring

Goaltending

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Draft picks

See also

Notes

References