ST. LOUIS – Another day, another incredibly important game for the Winnipeg Jets.
In a way, they’ve all felt that way since the team returned to action after the Olympics. It’s been that way for their opponent tonight as well, the St. Louis Blues, and both teams seem to have excelled under that pressure.
Since February 24, the Jets are 12-5-4 – the third best record in the Western Conference – and the Blues are 13-4-3 – giving them the second-best record in the West.
“At this time of year, you can look at all the stats, the back to back. It's coming down to just whoever wants it more,” said Kyle Connor. “It's a tight race in both conferences and you know it's, it's, you almost put all those things aside and how you're feeling, it's just about that next game.”
Four points separate the Jets (34-31-12) from the final wildcard spot (currently held by the Los Angeles Kings) while the Blues (33-32-12) are six back. With only five games left on the regular season schedule for both clubs, points are at a premium.
“This group is recognizing they have a responsibility to play until the very end. I’m proud of them for doing that,” said head coach Scott Arniel, adding that the out-of-town scoreboard can sometimes add to the stress of the season.
“I came out of my chair last night when Colorado won and almost threw something through the TV with the other score in Anaheim,” he said. “For all of us, it is a mental roller-coaster, it really is.”
Winnipeg is coming off a 6-2 win over Seattle on Monday, a night that saw them rack up three power play goals for the first time this season. Jonathan Toews, who scored one of those goals and assisted on another, felt it was a just reward for the work both units have been putting in.
“It is nice to just go out there and sometimes changing things up like that for whatever reason, sparks a goal of two or you work for a bounce,” said Toews. “I said the other night is that I am trying to free up pucks, win some battles, win some draws and facilitate and let them make plays and do what they do.”
On the penalty kill side of things, Winnipeg has averaged the fewest minutes in penalties per-game (5:37) in the league since coming back from the Olympics. The Jets didn’t take a penalty against Seattle and have only been shorthanded six times in the last five games combined.
Tuesday was an optional practice for the Jets, while Wednesday’s half-hour session saw the whole team on the ice prior to the flight to St. Louis. It’s just a one-game road trip for the Jets, who picked up six of a possible eight points on their last road trip through Colorado, Chicago, Dallas, and Columbus.
There were no changes to the line rushes on Wednesday, with Colin Miller and Gustav Nyquist remaining in non-contact jerseys:
Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
Perfetti-Lowry-Vilardi
Koepke-Toews-Rosen
Niederreiter-Namestnikov-Lambert
Morrissey-DeMelo
Samberg-Pionk
Fleury-Bryson
Heinola
Thursday’s morning skate at Enterprise Center will be the indication of whether Arniel wants to make any changes to the line-up, so stay tuned for updates as they come available.
The Blues are coming off a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, who clinched top spot in the Central Division with the victory. Still, St. Louis earned a split in the home-and-home set with the Avalanche (similar to what the Jets did in late March).
“They’re fast, they play fast,” said Arniel. “We’re going to have to go into that building, we haven’t won in there, make sure we go in there and again, focus on what we need to do to be at our best, to do what we need to do. Hopefully that’s St. Louis trying to chase us in that game.”
If the season series between the Jets and the Blues is any indication, tonight’s game will come right down to the wire. In the only game in Missouri this season, St. Louis edged Winnipeg 1-0 back in December. The Jets held serve in the two games at Canada Life Centre by scores of 3-1 and 3-2, giving the home team all three decisions in the series so far.
That was also a trend in the best-of-seven series last April, so if the Jets want to continue cutting into the wildcard deficit, they’ll have to snap the trend of home dominance tonight.
“You’re never out of it until you're out of it,” said Connor. “You know the desperation, the fight, you just got to keep competing. And they're in a similar situation to us. So it's, I think you're just getting everybody's best game at this time of year.”
Puck drop is set for 7 pm CT.
