OVERVIEW
The St. Louis Blues (0-1) and Winnipeg Jets (1-0) opened the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a physical, intense and highly-entertaining Game 1 at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.
The Blues held a 3-2 lead headed into the third period, but the Jets showed why they were the best team in the League during the regular season. Winnipeg controlled play in the final frame, scoring three times (including an empty-netter) to capture the 5-3 win.
Forwards Robert Thomas, Oskar Sundqvist and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, while defenseman Justin Faulk added two assists. Goaltender Jordan Binnington made 21 saves in net.
"Our first two periods were great, and we look at that as a positive," Jake Neighbours said. "It's something to build from... It's just the first game of the series, and we all learned a little bit from Game 1 and we'll move forward and focus on Game 2."
The 23-year-old Neighbours was one of three young Blues making their Stanley Cup Playoffs debuts in Game 1, along with Zack Bolduc (22) and Jimmy Snuggerud (20). Neighbours and Bolduc both picked up assists for the first postseason points of their NHL careers.
It was an important step in their development for three forwards who are a big part of the team's future. And a good lesson for the team as a whole.
"We've got to grow and learn from that," said Head Coach Jim Montgomery. "I think a lot of guys got some valuable experience in their first NHL playoff games, and they'll be significantly better. And I also think we have a lot of guys that have experience that maybe weren't at the top of their game [Saturday] for us, and they'll be better."
As the Blues head into Game 2 looking to even the series, they'll lean on those veteran players to lead the way on and off the ice.
Eight players on St. Louis' roster are previous Stanley Cup winners - Binnington, Thomas, Sundqvist, Colton Parayko and Brayden Schenn with the Blues in 2019, while Mathieu Joseph (2021), Nick Leddy (2013) and Nathan Walker (2018) won it with other clubs.
"We've got to balance that experience with the youth and we've got to become the regular-season team we were the last 26 games," Montgomery said. "We need to have that intent and purpose and the confidence, starting [Monday], for 60 minutes."
