It's funny how things work out.

In early February, Blues goalie Roman Turek seemed on his way out of St. Louis. GM Larry Pleau and coach Joel Quenneville had lost confidence in their second-year starter, who graded a very average C in his first playoff run. Pleau had dispatched pro scout Bob Plager to New York to watch veteran netminder Mike Richter, who'd backstopped the Rangers to a title in 1994. A deal to acquire Richter from the struggling Rangers was imminent. Clearly, with rookie Brent Johnson tabbed as the club's goalie of the future, the 30-year-old Turek was the odd man out. So he was about to be shipped east in return for Richter.

Then, fate stepped in. Richter suffered a season-ending knee injury. The deal was off. Pleau made a few other inquiries around the league, including a pitch to Calgary for veteran Mike Vernon. But no trade could be worked out.

For better or worse, the Blues were stuck with Turek. Still, they weren't sold on him, opting to give Johnson several key starts down the stretch. The team was weak to begin with, without injured veteran defensemen Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Finally, it was decided it would be best to go with Turek. After all, if things didn't work out, the team could start fresh with Johnson in the fall.

As the playoffs approached, a funny thing happened -- the Blues started to get healthy. And really good. Pronger, MacInnis and high-scoring RW Pavol Demitra were back on the ice. New acquisition Keith Tkachuk was beginning to fit in. As the team got better, so did Turek. While he wasn't a superstopper, he came up with the key saves needed to propel the Blues past the Sharks (who eliminated the Blues last spring) in the opening round.

Now, in the Blues' second round series against the Stars, Turek is suddenly a big story. He has outplayed former teammate (and future Hall of Famer) Ed Belfour in the first two games against the two-time defending Western Conference champions. And more importantly, Turek has made critical stops at key moments to lift his club.

It's somewhat ironic that Turek is regaining league-wide respect against Dallas. The Stars traded Turek to the rival Blues -- for a third round pick -- just hours after winning the 1999 Stanley Cup, rather than lose him to Atlanta in the expansion draft. The Thrashers didn't want to offer compensation for Turek. (Actually, the Stars wanted to trade him to the Flames, but were turned down.)

All that was two springs ago. Now, Turek could help send his old friends home early. And, at the same time, regain something he figured he'd earned a year earlier -- the starting job in St. Louis.

For Roman Turek, it's kinda funny how things are working out, isn't it?

E.J. Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.