Questions loom after Blues' exit

ST. LOUIS -- Another promising postseason ended up in tatters for the Blues, who were bounced from the playoffs after letting a 3-1 series lead get away for the first time in franchise history.

"Yeah, we had big plans," defenseman Al MacInnis said. "It's just that we let it slip away.

"We gave a team life, and they took advantage of it."

They'll have a long offseason to ponder what went wrong in their first-round exit as the Vancouver Canucks rallied to win in seven games with a 4-1 victory on Tuesday. It's the third one-series-and-out for the Blues in seven years under coach Joel Quenneville and the first time in seven series that they've squandered a 3-1 lead.

Quenneville's future with the team may be in question. Several media outlets were calling for his head on Wednesday.

Others with cloudy futures include goalie Chris Osgood, a trade deadline pickup who was very effective early in the playoffs but less so as the series wore on, and MacInnis, who'll turn 40 next season. Forward Shjon Podein is expected to retire.

General manager Larry Pleau said he'd address offseason topics today.

"From my standpoint, I wish I could have stolen one of the three," Osgood said. "I expected I could do that and it didn't happen, and that's about as far as I can analyze things right now.

"It's just very disappointing to have a chance to get out of a series and have three tries and not do it."

MacInnis returned to the lineup for Game 7 after missing two weeks with a separated shoulder, but couldn't help push the team over the top. His giveaway also led to the Canucks' first goal.

"I'm not a doctor, but obviously I felt good enough to play," MacInnis said. "It's frustrating watching the last couple of games and I really felt I could contribute.

"I'm certainly not going to second-guess myself."

Quenneville took the Blues to the Western Conference finals in 2001, but too often the team, despite having one of the NHL's top payrolls, has served as second banana to exceptionally strong teams like Detroit and Colorado.

During the regular season the Blues overcame injuries that forced them to use seven goalies and finished with 99 points, but missed out on a golden opportunity in the playoffs.

The field appeared wide open after both Detroit and Colorado were upset in the first round, which only makes this elimination sting more for the team's long-suffering fans. The Blues have made the playoffs 24 consecutive years, the longest streak in professional sports. But after 36 years they've never won a Stanley Cup.

Injuries and unaccountable lapses in play, especially in the second period, finished off the Blues this time. After limiting the Canucks to four goals in the first four games, they gave up 13 the last three.

Vancouver scored twice in the third period of Game 7 and outscored the Blues 7-1 in that period the past three games. Ill-advised penalties often hurt the Blues in that period.

St. Louis was at less than full strength the entire series. Besides MacInnis' injury, center Petr Cajanek didn't play until Game 6 due to a facial laceration and a wave of the flu contributed to less-than-inspired play for at least the first game of the Canucks' comeback.

"The way we were playing Games 3 and 4 at home, we were feeling pretty good," defenseman Chris Pronger said. "We get here and we've got five or six guy throwing up before the game and not feeling so hot."

Pronger missed the first 77 games of the regular-season with wrist and knee injuries, and the former MVP never really reached his stride.

Center Doug Weight, who leads the league with 13 points in the playoffs, was a standout in defeat. It was a big step forward for one of the team's highest-paid players, who scored only 15 goals in the regular season but had five goals and eight assists against the Canucks.

"The better team wins in a seven-game series and I felt like we were the better team for most of the series," Weight said. "You've got to hold your head up and answer the bell and say they won the series."