WINNIPEG JETS VS. ST. LOUIS BLUES
Jets: 47-30-5, 99 points, second in Central
Blues: 45-28-9, 99 points, third in Central
Season series: WPG 3-1-0; STL 1-2-1
The skinny
The Western Conference First Round between the Winnipeg Jets
and St. Louis Blues is about trending.
The Jets, who reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the
second straight season, led the Central Division with 68 points on Feb. 1, but
finished 14-14-3. They held onto second place by going 2-1-1 in a season-ending
four-game road trip and a 45-42 advantage in regulation/overtime wins (ROW).
The Blues were last in the NHL (15-18-4) on Jan. 2 before
winning 11 in a row from Jan. 23 to Feb. 19. St. Louis was 23-6-4 after Feb. 1,
second to the Tampa Bay Lightning (25-5-2) in that stretch.
GAME BREAKERS
Jets: Kyle Connor scored 34
goals, second on the Jets behind Mark
Scheifele (38). Connor returned to the left wing on the top
line with Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.
He played with them for most of last season, but wherever he is in the lineup,
he is always dangerous near the net and catches opponents off guard with his
speed and quick hands.
Blues: Vladimir
Tarasenko led St. Louis with 33 goals (16 since Feb. 2) and 12
on the power play. His sharpness in the second half was in lockstep with the
rising Blues. Tarasenko's powerful shot and quick release makes him a threat
from about anywhere in the offensive zone. He's scored 22 goals in 44 postseason
games.
GOALTENDING
Jets: Connor
Hellebuyck's numbers (34-23-3, 2.90 goals-against average, .913 save
percentage) are off from last season (44-11-9, 2.36 GAA, .924 save percentage)
when he was a Vezina Trophy finalist. But he was sharp down the stretch by
going 6-3-1 with a 2.36 GAA and .930 save percentage since March 14.
Blues: Jordan
Binnington (24-5-1, 1.89 GAA, .927 save percentage) is a Calder
Trophy contender. The Blues allowed 27.3 shots per game since the 25-year-old
rookie took over as the No. 1 goalie Jan. 7; second fewest in the NHL behind
the Boston Bruins (27.2).
NUMBERS TO KNOW
Jets: The power play was fifth in goals (62) and
fourth in percentage (24.8). It will face a stiff test against the Blues'
penalty kill, which finished ninth at 81.5 percent.
Blues: They allowed 2,345 shots on goal, fourth
fewest in the NHL, and gave up 72 goals from Feb. 1 to the end of the regular
season, fewest in the NHL. That tied the Dallas Stars during that span, but the
Blues did it in 33 games, the Stars 32.
INJURY REPORT
Jets: Defenseman Josh
Morrissey (upper body) missed the final 20 games of the regular
season. He has been skating with the Jets and could be ready for Game 1.
Forward Brandon Tanev missed
the final two games after being slashed on the hand by Minnesota Wild
center Eric Staal on
April 2. His status is unknown.
Blues: The Blues have no reported injuries,
though defenseman Colton
Parayko sat out the final two games for maintenance.
WILL WIN IF …
Jets: They can skate and disrupt the Blues'
structure. Winnipeg's speed and up-tempo game has yielded strong results when
it's in effect. If it can create odd-man rushes and offensive-zone pressure,
there are plenty of finishers who can capitalize. This was the Jets' best look
in the 2018 playoffs, where they won two rounds before losing to the Golden
Knights.
Blues: Discipline and structure prevail. The
Blues have been a tight, focused team in the second half, difficult to play
against because they have few breakdowns, and it's been an impressive rehearsal
for the postseason. If they can stick to that and pressure the Jets into more
mistakes, their odds of winning the series increase.
HOW THEY LOOK
JETS PROJECTED LINEUP
Kyle Connor -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj
Ehlers -- Kevin Hayes -- Mathieu
Perreault
Andrew Copp -- Bryan Little - Patrik Laine
Par Lindholm -- Adam Lowry -- Jack Roslovic
Josh Morrissey -- Jacob Trouba
Ben Chiarot -- Dustin
Byfuglien
Dmitry
Kulikov -- Tyler Myers
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent
Brossoit
Scratched: Matt
Hendricks, Bogdan
Kiselevich, Joe Morrow, Sami Niku, Nathan
Beaulieu
BLUES PROJECTED LINEUP
Brayden Schenn -- Ryan O'Reilly --
Vladimir Tarasenko
Jaden
Schwartz -- Oskar
Sundqvist -- David Perron
Patrick Maroon -- Tyler Bozak -- Robert Thomas
Zach Sanford -- Ivan
Barbashev -- Alexander Steen
Vince Dunn -- Alex
Pietrangelo
Jay
Bouwmeester -- Colton Parayko
Carl
Gunnarsson -- Robert
Bortuzzo
Jordan Binnington
Jake Allen
Scratched: Robby Fabbri, Joel
Edmundson, Sammy Blais, Zach Sanford, Chris
Thorburn, Michael Del
Zotto, Mackenzie
MacEachern
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