Labels. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. And once applied, they can be tough to shake.

Take for example my Uncle Earl. You know, my uncle helped build the Greensburg City Court House. But do you think people ever remember that? Do you think when he walks down the street people say, "Look, there goes Earl, he helped build the Court House"? Nope. Earl once bowled a perfect 300 game. But you think people ever say, "Hey, that's Earl, he once bowled a 300"? Nope, they never do. Earl knows how to fix most any problem imaginable with a car. But do you think people ever say, "That Earl guy is a great mechanic"? Never. But sleep with one goat...

A similar fate has befallen St. Louis Blues defenseman Al MacInnis. I mean, he's never slept with a goat or anything, but Al's had his own burdensome label to carry throughout his 18-year NHL career. When he walks down the street people always say, "There goes Al, he's got a really good slap shot."

While there are worse things in life than being known for possessing a 100 mph slapper, just ask my Uncle Earl, MacInnis has had trouble getting people to look past the shot and see the complete defenseman behind it. Such recognition is made all the more difficult by the fact that his slap shot is the only flashy aspect of his game. MacInnis is an average skater, won't carry the puck end to end, and isn't a punishing physical presence. His game is an intelligent one laced with subtlety and guile. If not observed closely, it can be taken for granted. Even ignored. At least until he winds up to shoot. Then everyone takes notice.

"It was a shot that gave me the opportunity," admits MacInnis. "I think most players unless you come into the league as a Gretzky or a Lindros or Lemieux or Jagr, there are a lot of us that come in the league where you shine in one area. A lot of guys, it might be their scoring touch. Might be their skating ability. Or it might be their shot. That has been with me my whole career."

And what a career it's been. MacInnis spent 13 years as a member of the Calgary Flames, leading El Scorcho to a Stanley Cup championship in 1989 and capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy for his efforts. In fact, many believe that MacInnis' devastating slap shot rattled Montreal's Patrick Roy to the point of distraction in the Finals, turning the series in Calgary's favor. Whether true or not, it certainly adds to the legend.

By the time MacInnis was traded to St. Louis in July of 1994, he was Calgary's all-time leader in games played (803), assists (609), and points (822). After five more productive seasons with the Blue Note, MacInnis now stands in fifth place on the NHL's all-time scoring list for defensemen with 290 goals, 775 assists, and 1065 points. He's a 10-time NHL All-Star, is one of only four defensemen in history to ever record 100 points in a season (103 in 1990-91), has notched seven 20-goal seasons, has won a Canada Cup (1991), and has represented Canada in both the Olympics and World Championships. But one thing has eluded MacInnis throughout his career: a Norris Trophy.

As hard as it is to believe, MacInnis has never won the big silver bowl given to the league's best defenseman. Ironically enough, part of the reason why is his slap shot. The one thing that makes him better than everyone else is also what has held him back. His shot is simply so powerful that the rest of his game gets overlooked. But MacInnis isn't about to feel sorry for himself.

"If the shot keeps me from winning a Norris, then there is nothing I can do about that," says MacInnis. "I won't change a thing. I have been very fortunate.

"I think any defenseman coming into the NHL would love to win at least one Norris. I have come close a couple of times and I finished runner-up, I think, to Bourque twice, if I am not mistaken. And that is the way it goes sometimes. Each season you can build a case for three, four or five defensemen that have a legitimate shot at winning a Norris. Maybe this year it will be my turn."

If this is the year MacInnis finally gets his Norris, it will be well deserved. The Mac Daddy led all defensemen in scoring with 62 points, including 20 goals. He's also among the overall league leaders in plus/minus (+33) and minutes played (29.22). And he's done it all at the rather advanced age of 35. That's kind of late in the game for a career year, but it seems MacInnis has been rejuvenated the past few seasons. It's no accident.

"I think one of the biggest things for me is two years ago I hired a personal trainer out of Colorado Springs called Charles Polaquin," explains MacInnis. "He set me up on a completely new program and he has dealt with a lot of Olympic athletes and a lot of speed skaters both from Canada and the U.S.. He trains these athletes, and there are times where when you overtrain or undertrain during the off-season, I think it is a big importance for the grueling season. The last couple of seasons I felt much better."

And the Blues have needed MacInnis to be at his best. In the first year of the post-Brett Hull era, the club relied on MacInnis to carry the team while the likes of Chris Pronger, Grant Fuhr, Pierre Turgeon, and Geoff Courtnall all missed time due to injury. The Big Daddy Mac's veteran leadership, combined with a breakthrough year from Pavol Demitra and surprising contributions from the likes of Scott Pellerin and Scott Young, kept the team in the playoff hunt. Now everyone is healthy and the Blues are playing some excellent hockey. They closed the regular season by going 5-1-1 in their last seven, securing the fifth seed in the Western Conference and setting the stage for a first-round meeting with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Blues could very well be the dark horse in the West. With so much attention on Colorado, Dallas, and Detroit, St. Louis could be a prime candidate to pull off an upset or two. The main reason why is special teams. Thanks in large part to MacInnis, St. Louis owns both the second ranked penalty-killing unit and power play.

Scoring with the man-advantage is critical to the Blue Note's success. With Turgeon, Demitra, and Courtnall down low, and Pronger and MacInnis at the points, the Blues can light it up in a hurry. Unity is key. It's like a Three Musketeers thing. All for one, one for all. Except, you know, there's five of 'em and there's usually no nougat involved. Usually.

"If you get all five guys on the ice basically on the same page and thinking about the same thing, I think that is where you get a step on the penalty killing," says MacInnis. "If everybody knows what the play is and you are on the same page and you don't have maybe three guys thinking one thing and two other guys thinking another, I think the penalty killing is so aggressive you don't have time to -- a lot of time to think out there because they are so aggressive. So I think the biggest key is the five guys going on the ice are on the same page. I think you are going to have success no matter how much talent you have."

Of course, preparation never hurts.

"I think our coaching staff does a real good job preparing us each night about how, first of all, how a team forechecks on their penalty killing and what our options are coming up the ice," says MacInnis. "Your first thing is you want to try and carry the puck in and keep control of the puck. I think most teams try to get the power play, to dump it in along the boards, the glass; fight it out from there. But you have three or four options to hopefully carry it in. A lot of teams won't allow you, but you try the best you can to carry it in and go from there."

Simplicity rules once the St. Louis power play gains the zone. With MacInnis out there, even the most routine point shot is a premier scoring chance. If nothing is working low, the Blues are content to allow the offense to come from the points.

"As far as the offensive zone goes, you take what they give you," says MacInnis. "Obviously, Chris Pronger has had a good year on the power play. He is a threat to score. Teams like to play high on myself and Chris, and therefore, you try and take what they give you and work low plays. If that is unsuccessful and if the players are going deep, then we don't try and be very fancy at the blue line. If we get an opportunity to shoot the puck on net, it is going on net. That is what our forwards realized. They are not anticipating an extra play. They know once Chris and I get it back there, it is maybe one or two passes and it is going on net and try to create as much traffic as we can.

"You look at the percentage of power plays that are scored, from point shots whether deflections or screens, I mean that is -- a high percentage of power play goals are scored that way. That is what we try to do. We don't try to be too fancy out there and just get it to the net."

Just getting it to the net is what Al MacInnis does best. The Blues may not be legitimate Cup contenders, but they've got a shot to make some noise in the postseason. And whenever MacInnis is involved, a shot is usually more than enough. At least that's what it says on his label.

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