Take two

Blues hope to be healthy for second go at bouncing Canucks

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The flu has swept through the St. Louis Blues, becoming the latest bit of adversity to hit them this season.

After using seven goaltenders during the regular season and overcoming countless injuries, the Blues didn't want to use illness as an excuse after losing 5-3 to Vancouver in Game 5 Friday.

But they're hoping for better health in Game 6 Sunday night, their second chance to finish off the Canucks in the first round. The Blues lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Game 7 would be Tuesday night in Vancouver.

"I'm not going to say catastrophic, but it's a word close to that," center Doug Weight said. "It affects your team and unfortunately maybe your psyche a little bit when you see however many guys we've got that played with it and the guys that couldn't play with it.

"We expect to be refueled and ready to go by Sunday and certainly Vancouver's not going to feel sorry for us."

Forward Scott Mellanby was back in the lineup for Game 5 after missing the previous game with illness, and wasn't at full strength. Defenseman Alexander Khavanov left the game in the first period, and illness might have been a factor. Many others were sluggish.

Goalie Chris Osgood was hobbling in the locker room after Game 5 and would say only that he had a "lower body injury." Osgood denied that his groin or ankle were the problem.

"We'd like to play one game with a full lineup, no question," forward Tyson Nash said. "But that's the way it's gone for us this year, and we've got to keep plugging away."

The Canucks should enter the game with renewed confidence after their offense finally stepped up. Vancouver was second in the NHL in goals during the regular season but totaled four goals in the first four games of the series.

"We're playing better and better and I think that's a great sign," forward Markus Naslund said. "I wouldn't have cared if we beat them 1-0, but I think it was good we got some goals, and hopefully give their goalie something to think about, too."

The Canucks' No. 1 line, stymied in the first four games, each got a goal in Game 5 as Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and Brendan Morrison all scored. The trio combined for 119 goals and 272 points in the regular season, but had just one goal and three assists in the first four games.

"When you're feeling good about yourself, feeling good about what you're doing, that's when you perform your best," Morrison said. "A positive thing about our team is we've gotten better every game and we want to continue that trend going into Game 6."

The Blues controlled that line earlier in the series by sending out their second line of Weight, Dallas Drake and Martin Rucinsky, along with the top defensive pairing of Barret Jackman and Chris Pronger. They don't have the last line change on the road, which hurt that strategy.

"We know they're good players, but we play our game as a team and every shift is the same," Weight said. "When you're at home you get your matchups, but we're not charging off the ice screaming and yelling for changes.

"Whoever is against them has got to be responsible."

 

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