Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues

Greetings from St. Louis, where the Winnipeg Jets open up a big week that includes a pair of games against Central Division opponents, beginning with Tuesday’s tilt with the Blues.

This is the first of four meetings between the two clubs this season and you can be sure that both would like to get a leg up on the competition.

The Jets are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, while the Blues were beaten 5-2 by the Nashville Predators, so both teams will have some additional motivation to get back into the win column.

“A younger group, they made some changes last year and moved some veterans out,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “But they’re quick and they’re still a high-pressure group. Very active off the rush with their defence.

“It kind of sounds repetitive, with all of the teams we talk about early in the year here. There are a lot of similarities. Everybody seems to be doing it. High-pressure games and attacking, with or without the puck.”

Carolina Hurricanes' Bradly Nadeau (29) defends against Winnipeg Jets' Viggo Bjorck (61) during the Oct. 17 game. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

Carolina Hurricanes’ Bradly Nadeau (29) defends against Winnipeg Jets’ Viggo Bjorck (61) during the Oct. 17 game. (John Woods / The Canadian Press files)

In his pre-scout work, Blues head coach Jim Montgomery has noticed the Jets are playing differently from last season.

“They pose problems, no matter how they play,” said Montgomery.

“We just have to be aware of it and have to be able to execute against it. Then, the second thing is the (Mark) Scheifele line. Scheifele and (Kyle) Connor, it doesn’t matter who they play with, they seem to have had a lot of success against us.”

The numbers confirm that, as Scheifele has 20 goals and 51 points in 48 career games against the Blues, while Connor has 15 goals and 36 points in 31 games to date.

The Jets started well against the Hurricanes, but allowed two power-play goals for the first time this season and couldn’t quite match the defending Stanley Cup champions during the final two periods on Saturday.

“It was a good benchmark game for us,” said Jets forward Cole Perfetti.

“We played well, I thought, for most of the game. Something they do extremely well and why they have so much success and have had so much success in the playoffs is that lines one through four, for 60 minutes, they do the same thing and they don’t look different.

“It gets frustrating, as the other team, when you’re playing against that. There’s no breakdowns and they’re not really looking to wow you with plays. They’re just committed to the same style for 60 minutes. For us, that’s what we’ve got to focus on. Doing our style and our game plan for 60 minutes. It’s not an easy thing, but that’s our focus. For me, that’s the takeaway and that’s what we have discussed in this room. Going out there every single shift, line after line and looking the same way.”

Stuart Skinner will make his sixth start of the season, while Manitoban Joel Hofer gets the call for the Blues.

The Jets recalled Brayden Yager from the Manitoba Moose on Monday, but it looks like he will have to wait until at least Thursday to play his fourth NHL game.

There will be one change on defence, as Tyrel Bauer draws back in on the third pairing with Haydn Fleury.

Bauer sat out the last two games, but saw a season-high 11:03 of ice time against the Minnesota Wild back on Oct. 13.

“It’s part of it,” Bauer said when asked about bouncing in and out of the lineup as he adapts to the NHL game.

“You want to grow, you want to learn. Obviously, you want to try to find a place where you can settle down a little bit into a spot. But you’ve just got to be able to get yourself ready. Get yourself mentally prepared, whether that’s with video, with your rest, your routine. Get ready and capitalize on your opportunity.”

—Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe

FROM THE PRESS BOX

MIKE SAYS: I’m not trying to sound the alarm bells here, but a Jets team that went unbeaten in regulation over the first four games (3-0-1) now has just one victory in the past four (1-2-1).

And, spoiler alert, the schedule doesn’t exactly lighten up over the next few weeks. Dallas, Montreal, Florida, Florida again, Tampa, Carolina and Montreal again is quite the seven-game stretch after Tuesday’s affair.

All of which should add a bit more urgency to get a positive result against a Blues team — which, while solid, wouldn’t be seen as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, unlike the upcoming opponents.

Brayden Yager (Brook Jones / Free Press files)

Although Yager is in the press box, his presence should really ramp up the pressure on two players in particular: Nino Niederreiter and Brad Lambert, both of whom (along with Cole Koepke) were benched for the latter half of the third period on Saturday.

It’s just a matter of time before Yager gets in the lineup. The only question is who he’s taking out.

Personally, I would have had him in tonight for Niederreiter.

Then, I would try moving Viggo Bjorck up to the wing with Scheifele and Connor and see what a second line of Yager, Cole Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi looks like. The Jets desperately need to find a balance in the top six, which really is just a top three so far this season.

KEN SAYS: The line blender is taking another turn, with Alex Iafallo bumped up to the second line with Bjorck and Vilardi, as the Jets look to get the first goal at even strength from the second line.

Iafallo has scored in consecutive games and this is part of his job as the Swiss Army knife, bouncing around to try to help get the trio going, as Vilardi searches for his first goal and Bjorck chases his first NHL point.

The corresponding move sees Niederreiter back with Captain Adam Lowry and Isak Rosen. Niederreiter continues to pursue the 500th point of his NHL career and his familiarity with Lowry should be a benefit as he looks to provide some secondary scoring as well. Rosen seems to be finding his groove skating alongside Lowry, as of late.

On the back end, Elias Salomonsson is nearing a return to the NHL lineup. The plan for now is for Salomonsson to suit up for the Moose against the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday and revisit the situation after that.

The Blues are an interesting team. Winnipegger Alex Steen has been promoted to general manager. This is a team in transition, but there are some intriguing new players already making an impact.

St. Louis Blues' team captain Robert Thomas (Scott Kane / The Associated Press files)

St. Louis Blues’ team captain Robert Thomas (Scott Kane / The Associated Press files)

Captain Robert Thomas is off to a slower start by his standards, with one goal and four points in eight games, but the second line of Mason McTavish (five goals, nine points) and Connor McMichael (two goals, six points) and Jonatan Berggren (two goals, four points) has been the most consistent line so far.

Between the pipes, Hofer is off to a fantastic start and has cemented himself as the No. 1 goalie for the Blues, thanks in part to a 2.43 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in his first five games.

PROJECTED LINES

WINNIPEG JETS

FORWARDS:

Connor-Scheifele-Perfetti
Iafallo-Bjorck-Vilardi
Niederreiter-Lowry-Rosen
Koepke-Barron-Lambert

DEFENCE:

Samberg-Pionk
Ferraro-DeMelo
Fleury-Bauer

GOAL:

Skinner
Stevenson

HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D St. Ivany, F Yager

INJURED: D Morrissey (wrist), F Namestnikov (lower body), D Brown (lower body)

ST. LOUIS BLUES

FORWARDS:

Holloway-Thomas-Snuggerud
McMichael-McTavish-Berggren
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Buchnevich
Kaskimaki-Suter-Stenberg

DEFENCE:

Broberg-Barron
Jiricek-Parayko
Fowler-Carlo

GOAL:

Hofer
Binnington

HEALTHY SCRATCHES: D Lidstein, C Dean, F Peterson

INJURIES: D Krug (ankle), D Tucker (knee), D Mailloux (hand), F Johnston (lower body), Dube (neck), F Toropchenko (upper body)

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

Jets forward Morgan Barron on facing the Blues, whose roster looks markedly different from the 2025 Stanley Cup playoff series:

“Just a lot of speed. The changeover from two years ago in the playoffs until now, there are a lot of kids who have come into the lineup and also guys who were playing at that time who have taken really big steps and look like completely different players. You kind of see their confidence growing, and they’re taking their game to the next level.”

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WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON

Ken is on the scene in Missouri and will provide game analysis. He also spoke to Morgan and Justin Barron about preparing for their latest brotherly battle. Both stories can be found in Wednesday’s print edition and online at winnipegfreepress.com.