from Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

I bought the Blues early this season. I bought their enthusiasm, their momentum and their ability to say all the right things in the aftermath of the league’s damaging, almost suicidal lockout.

Long skeptical, I went Cup Crazy.

“Buying in” early, I hoped to get a good seat on the bandwagon. Who knew the possibilities? Maybe when the Belgian brewer brought the Clydesdales onto the Scottrade ice I could grab the seat next to the Dalmatian.

So having stated my credentials, allow me the first of many questions: What the Hull is going on here?

Something has happened to the grinding, up-and-coming, energetic Blues en route to a short-season Stanley Cup. The team that rolled up 109 points last season and won six of its first seven games this year has become a source of frustration, even intrigue. What team — its major pieces finally healthy — requires a contentious closed-door postgame meeting more than two-thirds into its abbreviated schedule?

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