After a disappointing exit against the Vegas Golden Knights last season, the “Whiteout” will fire up in Winnipeg tonight as the Jets begin their quest to the Stanley Cup against the St. Louis Blues.
Winnipeg finished with 99 points in the Central Division with a 47-30-5 record while the Blues also had 99 points. They went 45-28-9.
Winnipeg went 3-1 against St. Louis in the regular season.
“I think the whole province is behind the Jets and it’s a really exciting time,” said Dennis Beyak, Voice of the Jets. “To get to the playoffs for the second straight season is definitely a good accomplishment for this team.”
“The players were excited at practice and they’re looking forward to getting things going,” added Beyak.
The Jets have had their fair share of struggles lately. Since March 25, Winnipeg has allowed 26 goals while they’ve scored 18. Five of the goals against came when they took on Dauphin’s Barry Trotz, Grandview’s Ryan Pulock, and the Islanders.
The team has allowed at least three goals in six of seven games since that date and they have given up five goals in three of the games.
“I think the goals against is a bit of a concern heading into the series,” said Beyak. “I think the quality of chances from our opponents has been higher lately. I think some of that relates to being careless in the defensive end.”
“This is still a very good team so if they can get off to a good start on Wednesday, away they go,” he added.
The battle between the pipes should be one to watch. Jordan Binnington won 24 games for St. Louis while he had an exceptional 1.89 goals against average to go along with a .927 save percentage. He also racked up five shutouts. Binnington also has the franchise record for wins by a rookie.
In net for Winnipeg will be Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets workhorse earned 34 wins and he had a decent 2.90 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. He’s been in the playoffs before and Binnington hasn’t.
“I believe Connor had a very good second half of the season despite the goals allowed. I think the chances against came a lot more often than earlier in the season,” said Beyak. “Binnington is a rookie but he’s not a young goaltender, he’s played professional hockey in the past. I think this is going to be a very good goaltending battle.”
The season can be cut into two portions for both St. Louis and Winnipeg. The Jets were 25-12-2 after 2018 while the Blues were a shocking 15-18-4.
St. Louis has stolen the show in 2019 as they’ve gone 30-10-5 while the Jets have been okay, going 22-18-3.
Some key injuries may hinder each team. Winnipeg is missing Josh Morrissey and Brandon Tanev, both due to upper-body injuries. Colton Parayko is day to day for St. Louis with an undisclosed injury while Sammy Blais is day to day with an ankle injury.
Here is the full series schedule:
Wednesday, April 10, 8 p.m.: Blues @ Jets | SN, TVA Sports, NHL Network
Friday, April 12, 9:30 p.m.: Blues @ Jets | SN, TVA Sports, CNBC
Sunday, April 14, 7:30 p.m.: Jets @ Blues | CNBC, SN, CBC, TVA Sports
Tuesday, April 16, 9:30 p.m.: Jets @ Blues | CNBC, SN, TVA Sports
*Thursday, April 18, TBD: Blues @ Jets | TBD
*Saturday, April 20, TBD: Jets @ Blues | TBD
*Monday, April 22, TBD: Blues @ Jets | TBD
