In the pressbox as the Blues play the Oilers, it’s striking what a great job the Blues do of game presentation.

The Scottrade Center crowd may be in the 14,000 range, but…even in a scoreless first period against Edmonton in which the Blues, to this point, have eight shots on goal…is buzzing.

There’s a lot to like about going to a Blues game. The pre-game video montage is well done. The commercials on the scoreboard and video board aren’t intrusive, and the franchise does a great job of integrating kids into the evening. During TV timeouts, kids from area youth teams come out to clean the ice…and midget teams play during the first intermission. Some people grouse about towel man, but everybody sure yells out how many goals the home team has scored when he gets up. The between periods entertainment is terrific, and the interactive games used during stoppages are almost always entertaining.

This is a performance business, and the Blues haven’t been in the playoffs since 2004, before the lockout. The honeymoon with new ownership won’t last forever if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. But if you’re up for an entertaining night and a competitive game, a ticket to a Blues game is worthwhile.