FROM THE PRESS BOX
MIKE SAYS: I spent a chunk of this past week working on a feature that began with a simple question: What does home-ice advantage really look, sound and feel like for the Jets? And is it truly a benefit? I spoke with 10 different people for the story, including a variety of current and former players and coaches – Rick Bowness and Bruce Boudreau among them.
Although Winnipeg hasn’t exactly excelled at high-stakes hockey in their own backyard — they lost all three home games against the Blues in 2019, for example, while also going 0-for-2 against Vegas in 2023 and 1-for-3 last spring against Colorado — Hellebuyck insisted it’s a blessing rather than a curse.
“Our crowd is insane,” he told me. “I think the second we step on the ice we’ve got it. We got that home ice advantage. I know our crowd’s going to bring it.”
No doubt about that. But can the Jets follow suit? That’s the pivotal question, one that’s going to get answered pretty quickly here.
As Boudreau explained in great detail, there’s tons of pressure that comes with increased expectations like the Jets are now facing. They’ve proven time and time again this year they can play their best hockey when it’s been needed the most. This would not be the time to come down with a sudden case of stage fright. There will be adversity. There will be things that don’t go their way. Remaining calm and carrying on will be key, rather than hitting the panic button and making a tough situation worse, which they’ve been prone to do in recent playoffs.
That’s where the addition of someone like Luke Schenn is so valuable. He’s won two Cups. Nothing seems to rattle him. That sense of calm he brings will have to be infectious to his teammates.
As Pionk noted, this really is the best time of year and that goes for hockey scribes like yours truly. There’s such an adrenaline rush covering these high-stakes games — yes, even the ones that go into overtime when you’re starting down an approaching print deadline — and I’m truly excited to get going.
Enjoy the journey, folks, and thanks for following along with us.
It won’t be easy, but I’m expecting the league’s top regular season squad— the stingiest defensive team as well — to carry that over into the postseason and ultimately find a way. Winnipeg in six.
KEN SAYS: It seems fitting that the Blues are the team that will kick off the Dragon Slayer Tour in 2025 for the Jets.
How long this swing goes and how many sold-out dates end up being played is still very much up in the air, but you can be sure the Jets won’t be looking past this opponent. Sure, the Blues needed a miraculous second-half run — one that included a 12-game winning streak that was snapped by the Jets on April 7 — just to claim the second wild card in the Western Conference. But they were the hottest team in the NHL coming out of the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off and the turnaround started to take off after Jim Montgomery took over from Drew Bannister in late November, so this isn’t a recent phenomenon or flash in the pan run.
The overarching theme of my series preview centered around the subject of scar tissue and how building that up over years of playoff heartache is often a precursor for a team finally learning how to win. Is this the spring that the Jets apply some of those hard lessons and go on a magic carpet ride? It won’t take long to find out.
The star players are always under the microscope at this time of the year, but Stanley Cup playoff history is filled with heroes both expected and others who come out of the woodwork to deliver a signature moment that ends up on the highlight reel and lasts forever.
One of the areas the Jets will be looking to exploit is the Blues’ penalty kill, which ranked 28th among 32 teams during the regular season — even if it has improved greatly since the NHL trade deadline.
The Jets’ top-ranked power play dipped under the remarkable 30 per cent efficiency it had operated at for a good chunk of the season late in the campaign, but it remains an area of strength and improved dramatically under the guidance of former Blues head coach Davis Payne.
Missing Vilardi and Ehlers is significant in this area (along with even-strength play), but the Jets must find a way to get Kyle Connor going with the man-advantage. He’s a weapon as both a passer and a shooter, but Connor hasn’t scored a power-play marker since Dec. 23 against the Toronto Maple Leafs — that’s a span of 46 games. That Connor still finished with nine goals and 28 points on the power play is impressive, but if he can heat up with the man-advantage, that will provide an obvious boost to his overall production.
Winnipeg Jets centre Vladislav Namestnikov went 16 games without a goal to end the campaign and has only one goal in his past 29 games. (Nick Wass / The Associated Press files)
Speaking of dry spells, Vladislav Namestnikov delivered one of the most productive seasons of his NHL career, but the Jets’ second-line centre went 16 games without a goal to end the campaign and has only one goal in his past 29 games. His all-around play has been solid, but Namestnikov needs to chip in offensively on the second line with Cole Perfetti and Nino Niederreiter, who has been promoted in Ehlers’ absence.
For the Blues, Jake Neighbours could be an X-factor in this series. He brings size, speed and tenacity to the line with top centre Robert Thomas and skilled winger Pavel Buchnevich. Neighbours goes hard to the blue paint and he’ll be looking to make life difficult on Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck in this series.
This will be a hotly-contested battle, but I will also take the Jets in six.
PROJECTED LINES
WINNIPEG JETS
FORWARDS:
- Connor-Scheifele-Iafallo
- Niederreiter-Namestnikov-Perfetti
- Tanev-Lowry-Appleton
- Gustafsson-Barron-Anderson-Dolan
DEFENCE:
- Morrissey-DeMelo
- Samberg-Pionk
- Stanley-Schenn
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: G Driedger, D Miller, D Fleury, D Heinola, C Toninato
INJURED: RW Vilardi (upper body), LW Ehlers (lower body), C Kupari (concussion)
ST. LOUIS BLUES
FORWARDS:
- Neighbours-Thomas-Buchnevich
- Snuggerud-Schenn-Kyrou
- Joseph-Sundqvist-Bolduc
- Toropchenko-Faksa-Walker
DEFENCE:
- Fowler-Parayko
- Broberg-Faulk
- Suter-Leddy
GOAL:
HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Kessel, D Tucker, F Texier
INJURED: D Krug (ankle), LW Holloway (lower body)
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
Jets captain Adam Lowry on having home-ice advantage in this series and throughout the playoffs:
“There’s nothing like the Whiteout. We’ve got an incredible fan base, incredible community of supporters. Just seeing the outfits, seeing the passion and the excitement they have for us, and the support they have for us, it’s awesome. You wanna play well in front of them.”
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON
Ken and Mike will have double coverage from the downtown rink. Ken will handle the game column, while Mike will provide a secondary analysis piece. You will find both online at winnipegfreepress.com.
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