St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 4, 1992 February 4, 1992, TUESDAY, THREE STAR Edition SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 3B LENGTH: 894 words HEADLINE: EX-BLUE RECHARGES FLYERS BYLINE: Dave Luecking Of the Post-Dispatch Staff BODY: PHILADELPHIA - Former Blues winger Rod Brind'Amour showed his old team what might have been on Sunday night, and in so doing, he left the current Blues drowning in a sea of turmoil. Brind'Amour, the game's No. 1 star, scored a goal and added an assist, sparking the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-1 victory over the crumbling Blues at the Spectrum. This is the same Brind'Amour who crumbled under coach Brian Sutter last season, leading to the preseason trade that sent him and Dan Quinn to the Flyers for center Ron Sutter and defenseman Murray Baron. Brind'Amour got a new life with the Flyers, while the Blues seem to be dying a slow death in a regrettable follow-up to their 105-point success last season. Team Turmoil limped out of the Spectrum with a record of 2-5-2 in its last nine, dropping to .500 (22-22-9) and 53 points. The Blues finished their St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 4, 1992 four-game trip at 1-2-1, beating only the expansion San Jose Sharks. And in losing to the Flyers, the Blues fell to a team that is last in the six-team Patrick Division (17-24-10 for 44 points). Flyers stars Rick Tocchet and Pelle Eklund, as well as Andrei Lomakin, veteran Steve Kasper and Brad Jones, missed the game with injuries. Five of the Flyers were in the minors earlier this season, including Dale Kushner, who scored their first goal, and Claude Boivin, who had two assists. ''Half their team is guys from the minors,'' Baron said, exaggerating in disgust. ''It's just brutal. We have to improve or we're not going anywhere. They just outworked us.'' Lee Norwood agreed. ''That's not a better team,'' he said. ''But they worked hard and played a system that everybody played.'' The Blues again ignored coach Brian Sutter's system, allowing 33 shots at beleaguered goalie Curtis Joseph. So upset was last season's coach of the year afterward that he didn't even talk to his team. He directed a security guard to wave reporters into the silent locker room, then remained locked in the coach's room until well after the game. ''I'd venture to guess he's very upset,'' Norwood said. ''Maybe he's talking to Ron Caron,'' Joseph said when asked where Sutter was. Trade rumors have followed this team for weeks, with disgruntled center Adam Oates at the top of the list. The trade rumors, coupled with the lingering bitterness from the massive turnover in personnel from last season, have taken their toll. ''It's catching up,'' Rich Sutter said. ''There's no question about that,'' said Brian Sutter, who has received his share of criticism for the team's erratic performances. ''Things St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 4, 1992 have steamrolled to this point. Instead of looking for ways to win, we're looking for excuses and ways to lose.'' The Blues have a handy excuse for the back-to-back fiascos in Pittsburgh (a 4-1 loss) and Philadelphia. The NHL scheduled them for back-to-back games, concluding three games in four nights with the day off consisting of a cross-country flight from the West Coast. The travel appeared to have taken the jump out of Brett Hull, who was lost in a shadow for the second successive game. Bob Errey shadowed him and shut him out Saturday and Keith Acton did it Sunday. Hull was unavailable for comment after the game, but Sutter called the tight-checking ''unfortunate. It's tough to play that way.'' Not everyone wanted to use the travel schedule as an excuse. ''Sure, I'd love to attribute it to that, but geez, everyone else travels,'' said Joseph, who again was given little protection. On Saturday, Joseph was pulled 14:40 into the game after allowing four goals on 18 shots. The Blues can look to what could have been their future, 1988 No. 1 pick Brind'Amour - a prime example of perseverence and hard work. ''He had something to prove tonight,'' Brian Sutter said, adding that it was too bad Ron Sutter was hurt and couldn't play. Brind'Amour proved his point with a vengeance, setting up Kushner's goal at 11 minutes 26 seconds of the first period, then scoring a brilliant goal himself on a two-on-one break 49 seconds later. At 11:26, Brind'Amour carried the puck into the Blues' zone on right wing, pulled up along the boards and slid the puck to Kushner skating through the slot. At 12:15, Brind'Amour outwaited Baron and Joseph before scoring from a bad angle on a St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 4, 1992 play similar to many he botched in his stressful second season with the Blues. Brind'Amour, who received congratulations from Blues players, was ecstatic after the game. ''It was fun,'' he said. ''This game meant a little extra than a normal game. I was kind of nervous going in.'' Dave Lowry cut the Flyers' lead to 2-1 early in the second goal on a nice feed from Michel Mongeau, but Kevin Dineen tipped Kerry Huffman' s shot past Joseph for a 3-1 lead at 12:41. Keith Acton put the game away with his fourth goal of the season at 54 seconds of the third period, and Huffman closed the scoring on a two-on-one break with 2:33 to play. Despite the easy victory, Brind'Amour still found it surprising. ''They're a good team, a better team than we are,'' he said. ''Maybe this is better for them, than last year. Last year, we were so worried about going for first that when we didn't get it, we said, 'Oh, no,' and lost in the playoffs. ''Maybe they need a little lull now so they can peek at the right time.'' Brind'Amour was being kind. This year's team appears to be going nowhere fast. GRAPHIC: Photo; Photo by AP ... The Blues' Bob Bassen battling with Philadelphia's Kerry Huffman for the puck on Sunday. LANGUAGE: English LOAD-DATE: October 11, 1993