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The St. Louis Blues enter this season without carrying a piano on their backs, their first-round elimination of the boogeyman Chicago Blackhawks last spring and subsequent trip to the Western Conference finals a certain measure of playoff accomplishment they had been craving for a long time.Still short of a Stanley Cup finals berth, of course, which their loyal fan base remains hopeful for, but at least the narrative has changed.The new script surrounding this team is that a younger core has taken over, with longtime David Backes moving on to the Boston Bruins in free agency, and clutch veteran winger Troy Brouwer getting an offer he couldnt refuse from the Calgary Flames.The team now belongs to top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who replaced Backes as captain, but also to Jaden Schwartz,?Alex Steen?and Vladimir Tarasenko. The emergence of forward Robby Fabbri last season as a top-six force also helps mitigate the losses of Backes and Brouwer, as does signing unrestricted free-agent winger David Perron.Life would have been better had Vladimir Sobotka found his way back to St. Louis from the KHL, but more on that later.Theres both an experienced, steady voice behind the bench in longtime coach Ken Hitchcock, but also a fresh one in Mike Yeo, who will officially take over as head coach in 2017-18. Its a bit unusual of a setup, but both coaches seem comfortable with the one-year overlap. For Yeo, its a chance to learn from a man with two lifetimes worth of hockey knowledge.The Blues remain a contender but not without questions.Best new facesPerron and backup goalie Carter Hutton are the most notable additions, the former having begun his career with the Blues and enjoyed productive years there before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in the summer of 2013, and then making stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks before returning where it all began for him. He played some of his best hockey in a while last season after joining the Ducks.Dont underestimate the value of Hutton, who pushed Pekka Rinne for starts midway through last season with the Nashville Predators. Hes a good, steady hand behind young anointed starter Jake Allen, who no longer has to share the No. 1 job with Brian Elliott (who was traded to the Calgary Flames).Yeo is probably the most important new face, the former Minnesota Wild head coach lured by the chance to learn from Hitchcock before taking over the Blues by himself in a year.Biggest unknownsWhat happens with top-four blue-liner Kevin Shattenkirk? Hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and many thought he would have been traded over the summer -- there were certainly more than a few teams that tried at the June draft in Buffalo -- but here he is starting the season with the Blues. The Blues value his puck-moving skills on the back end and whos to say they wont try to sign him as the season goes on. Or perhaps hes a trade-deadline chip. Or maybe he simply walks away next summer into free agency, but not before the Blues have another deep playoff run. I think the Blues could live with all three scenarios. The bottom line, though, is that it will be a story worth monitoring all season.Does Sobotka figure out an exit from Russia and join the Blues sometime this season? This story has had more twists and turns than a Jason Bourne movie, but the bottom line is that whatever out clause that seemed to exist in Sobotkas KHL contract disappeared last season when he got topped up financially due to a falling ruble. Long story short, if he wants his KHL team to release him to the Blues -- where he has indicated he wants to return after a two-season hiatus -- hes going to have to pay his way out of it. Stay turned. He would be a big-time addition if it ever does happen. With the losses of Backes and Brouwer in particular, Sobotka would bring skill and sandpaper into a top-nine role with the Blues.Center Paul Stastny in the second half last season played his best hockey for the Blues (including 13 points in 20 playoff games) since signing that big contract two years ago. Can he continue that consistent play this season? I think he does.And finally, how does it work all season long between Hitchcock and Yeo? All signs point to a cordial and beneficial arrangement, but its not every day you have this kind of situation. And how do the players respond to the unorthodox setup?Sure thingsSteen is the Blues version of the Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews or Los Angeles Kings Anze Kopitar, the teams most complete two-way player and a guy who never takes a night off. He exudes character. Hes strong on both sides of the puck and never seems to make the wrong decision with it. He can play both center and wing, which adds to his versatility.Superstar winger Tarasenko scored 40 goals last season after scoring 37 the year before. The 24-year-old is just getting better. Does he top countryman Alex Ovechkin for the Rocket Richard Trophy this season? Tarasenko should be motivated by a playoff performance hed rather forget.PredictionI dont think winning the Central matters as much to the Blues as the process of getting ready for another playoff run. I see them comfortably battling for third or fourth with the Blackhawks, and another opportunity to go deep in the spring. Fourth in the Central. Leon Durham Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Addison Russell Cubs Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1420t-craig-kimbrel-jersey-cubs.html . PAUL, Minn. Billy Williams Cubs Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. CINCINNATI -- Andy Daltons most important passes didnt even make it past the line of scrimmage. Mike Nugent missed another extra point.And the Bengals lost yet another game in throwback fashion, making every sort of mistake.Heading into December, its clear theyve bungled their season away, too.A 19-14 loss in Baltimore on Sunday left the Bengals (3-7-1) pretty much finished for 2016.Theyre 2+ games behind Baltimore (6-5) and Pittsburgh (6-5) with only five left.The defending AFC North champs would have to run the table, and the Ravens and Steelers both would have to have meltdowns for the Bengals to reach the playoffs.They know the odds of that happening arent good at all. The Bengals have reached the playoffs a club-record five consecutive seasons, and that streak is about to get snapped.We know some things have to break our way now, coach Marvin Lewis said on Monday .Also, they know they havent played well enough at any point this season to consider themselves playoff-worthy.That was the case again on Sunday in Baltimore, where they played well enough to stay in the game but no more.Dalton has been under constant pressure during the season, getting sacked 32 times -- fourth most in the NFL.Even when theyre not getting to Dalton, defenders are making it tough on him. Four of Daltons last eight passes were batted down at the line as the Ravens set their defense to take away the downfield throw and focused on knocking down the short ones.Four of eight passes knocked down? Mind-boggling.Those things happen very, very rarely, offensive coordinator Ken Zampese said on Monday. I mean, this was the first time that came up, it came up in a big way, and it ended up hurting us, so here we are talking about it.The game in Baltimore was in some ways their worst yet at protecting the quarterback.Dalton had four fumbles, losing two of them. The most costly came on a play from the Baltimore 16-yard line in the first half. Dalton was changing the play at the line of scrimmage when center Russell Bodinee snapped the ball, causing the turnover.ddddddddddddThe Bengals switched from Bodine to backup center T.J Johnson for a couple of series in the third quarter.To calm the troops a little bit, Lewis said.Three times in the second half, Dalton was sacked and fumbled. The last one came when the Bengals were driving for a potential tying touchdown in the closing minutes. Dalton was sacked by Elvis Dumervil and fumbled, allowing the Ravens to close it out with a safety that ran out the clock.And it wasnt only the passing game that involved struggles by Bengals blockers. Cincinnati rushed for only 64 yards -- 14 by Dalton -- as the latest chapter in a season-long problem. With no running game to worry them, the Ravens were able to get after Dalton.When they scored their only touchdown, Nugent missed the extra point wide right, the fourth time hes missed a point-after-touchdown try in four games. Lewis reiterated on Monday that the Bengals have no plans to bring in another kicker for a tryout.Missed PATs, those are things that affect the football team, affect us and our opportunity, Lewis said. But you know, we are where we are.Game notes The Bengals host Philadelphia (5-5) on Sunday . The previous time the Eagles played at Paul Brown Stadium was Nov. 16, 2008, when they finished in a 13-13 tie. They last met in Philadelphia in 2012, with the Eagles winning 34-13. ... The Bengals are only 4-5 in their past nine games at Paul Brown Stadium, including a first-round playoff loss to Pittsburgh last season. They were technically the home team when they played Washington to a tie in London this season. ... The Bengals put CB Chykie Brown on injured reserve. He suffered a knee injury at Baltimore. The Bengals re-signed DT DeShawn Williams, who was on the roster for the first 10 games and was waived last week.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '