As the St. Louis Blues prepared for Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference Finals, Head Coach Joel Quenneville determined that a change was needed in goal. He came to the conclusion the veteran goaltender Roman Turek was the weakest link to his team.

In so doing, Quenneville took a page out of Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa's play book: starting a rookie in a vital position in a key playoff game. Although Brent Johnson did fare much better than Rick Ankiel did last fall, the final results were the same.

Young Mr. Johnson started in the nets for the Blues in a game that they had to win. To his credit, the young goaltender kept the hostile Colorado Avalanche and their fans at bay, stopping thirty-four shots on goal. He played brilliantly in allowing only two goals.

Unfortunately, his teammates only scored once. Just like Ankiel and his Cardinal mates, Johnson and his team would be eliminated in Game Five of the semifinal round.

This goaltender change was a bold move by Coach Q. but one that needed to be done. According to Jim Kelly of Fox Sports.com: "There will be a tendency to second-guess St. Louis Blues coach Joel Quenneville on his decision to turn his back on goalie Roman Turek and start rookie Brent Johnson Monday against the Colorado Avalanche.

Don't. The man had no choice. There's an unwritten rule in the NHL that says you play the players with whom you think you can win. The fact of the matter was that neither Quenneville nor the St. Louis Blues players believed Turek, a star performer against both San Jose and Dallas earlier in the playoffs, could win this game.

There may come a time when Turek, or Johnson or both might give the Blues that opportunity but not this season, not with Roy at the other end of the ice. The Avs are the Western Conference champions because they played that way and because Roy was a better goalie than any option Quenneville had.

For St. Louis there's no disgrace in that, only the reality of waiting at least another year."

And once again, that wait continues for the Blues and their fans.

Congratulations to Colorado on advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. There is no question that the better team won this series. The Avs not only captured the ceremonial Wal-Mart Cup, but the Campbell Trophy to go with their President's Cup.

If you review the raw numbers, the St. Louis/Colorado series appeared relatively even. Aside from game one, the Avs outscored the Blues only 13-10. Three of the five games were decided in overtime. The Blues out-shot Colorado 181-146 in the series.

But the Avalanche also taught our local hockey heroes a brutal lesson when it came to playoff hockey: in order to win, you have to play better and smarter than your opponent.

Colorado did and St. Louis did not.

Yet, this lesson goes much deeper. If any team wants to advance far into the playoffs, that team must play consistent disciplined hockey, take advantage of the breaks given to them and do not provide the opponent opportunities on mistakes. Once again, Colorado did and St. Louis did not.

In most cases, a team will not advance if they lead in only 52 seconds of the series.

In most cases, a team will not advance if their opponent allows them to overcome a three-goal deficit but still does not take advantage of this generosity.

In most cases, a team will not advance if their opponent suckers them into silly penalties when they are losing or tied in the final two minutes of regulation time.

In most cases, a team will not advance if their goaltender allows their opponent three goals in ninety seconds and on the first four shots of the game.

This semi-final round was like most cases. Colorado took advantage of the Blues errors. The Rocky Mountain skaters did not panic when they lost All Star scorer Peter Forsberg at the start of the series. The Avalanche did not flinch when the Blues staged a mini-comeback in Games 2, 3, 4 and 5. Colorado stuck to their fundamental defensive style throughout the series: not allowing the Blues to generate any momentum. The Avalanche took advantage of the late third period penalty gifts from Pierre Turgeon and Alexander Khavnov. The Avs gladly accepted three goals on the first four shots on Turek in Game 4

Their play even caught the eye of ESPN Analyst Barry Melrose. (FOOTNOTE: Since when did Barry Melrose become a hockey expert? This guy only coached the Los Angeles Kings for three seasons: missing the playoffs in two of them <quite a feat when you think about it>. His claim to fame is coaching the Kings to the 1993 Cup Finals when he enjoyed the luxury of Wayne Gretzky on his roster. Melrose will never be confused with either Scotty Bowman or Al Arbour with his 79-101-29 career coaching record.)

In short, the Colorado Avalanche taught the St. Louis Blues a lesson in playoff hockey.

Hopefully the Blues will learn from it. Although losing is round three can be distasteful, the Note can take heed that 2000-2001 was a very good season. I would bet that if the hockey faithful were offered a third round elimination in February/March when Pronger, Mac Innis, Dimitra, Turgeon and others were injured, they would've taken it.

Quenneville became a better coach as he prepared his team differently for the playoffs than in past Springs. General Manager Larry Pleau earned the respect and confidence of his faithful for acquiring key players for the stretch run.

Although it was NOT the Blues turn now, 2000-01 was a successful season.

Now it's time to look ahead. The summer should be lively for the team. There are contract decision to make for players such as Mac Innis, Turgeon, and Turek. There is a Keith Tkachuk contract that needs to be finalized. There are free agents such as Joe Sakic to consider. There are trades for players such as Dominic Hasek to evaluate.

Much needs to be done before this group reconvenes in Chesterfield in September. Yet, this Blues team provided their fans a taste of their potential. The future appears bright.

In the end the St. Louis Blues were one of the final four teams for the 2001 Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, in the end, these St. Louis Blues WERE the weakest link.

Good-bye.