 The millennium started with disappointment for the Blackhawks.Éric Daze, Alexei Zhamnov and Tony Amonte emerged as some of the team's leading stars by this time.However, aside from a quick first-round exit in 2002 (where they lost to the St. Louis Blues in five games after winning Game 1 of the series), the Hawks were consistently out of the playoffs from the 1997–98 season until the 2008–09 season, in most years finishing well out of contention, despite finishing in third place in the Central Division six times.