Playoffs Rd 1 Preview: STL Blues @ WPG Jets

3 days ago  /  Arctic Ice Hockey

The National Hockey League’s schedule provided some entertainment on Tuesday evening, as late game heroics by the Minnesota Wild ended up solidifying the Western Conference playoff match ups.



On the verge of losing a 2-1 game to the Anaheim Ducks, the Wild scored a last chance goal with 21 seconds left in the 3rd to tie the contest, thus ensuring they would finish the 2024-25 campaign in the West’s 7th spot. Shortly after, the St. Louis Blues capped off a blowout of the Utah Hockey Club in regulation, officially ending the hopes of the Calgary Flames and taking the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.



So, here are the West’s first round playoff match ups:



#1 Winnipeg Jets vs #8 St. Louis Blues



#2 Vegas Golden Knights vs #7 Minnesota Wild



#3 Dallas Stars vs #5 Colorado Avalanche



#4 Los Angeles Kings vs #6 Edmonton Oilers



With the Jets’ series now set in stone, lets recall how the Winnipeg Jets (55-22-4) have done against the St. Louis Blues (44-30-8) this season. Despite the True Northers walking away with a 3-1-0 record in their 4 game set in 2024-25, the actual goals for/against were pretty close (11-10 WPG). Another interesting factoid is that the powerplay units were not a big part of things, with the Jets being the only one to light the lamp with a man-advantage (just once though). Even strength play ruled the day, with St. Louis holding a 9-8 advantage in 5 on 5 goals.



October 22nd: Winnipeg scored 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd period to skate to a 3-2 victory in St. Louis. WPG 3-2



December 3rd: After a scoreless 1st period, the Blues scored two goals in each of the remaining periods to walk away with an easy 4-1 win at the Canada Life Centre. STL 4-1



February 22nd: Winnipeg took leads in the 1st & 2nd periods, but St. Louis scored an early & late 3rd period goal to go ahead for the first time of the contest. Yet a Vilardi goal with 28 seconds left allowed our club to tie the game and eventually have Connor score the only goal of the shootout to secure the win. WPG 4-3 (SO)



April 7th: A scoreless opening period was followed by the franchises’ trading goals in the middle frame, before Iafallo scored the game winning goal midway through the 3rd. WPG 3-1



Here is how the Jets & Blues compare based on the 2024-25 regular season stats:






I haven’t really looked into it, but fairly certain that I heard that the White Out kicks off this Saturday when the True Northers start of their pursuit of the Stanley Cup.



Go Winnipeg!!!!!!!...

Read Full Article.