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St. Louis Blues: NHL Announces Home Opener For Each Team

By Todd Panula

ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 23: Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets and Bryan Little #18 of the Winnipeg Jets defend against Vladimir Sobotka #71 of the St. Louis Blues and Ivan Barbashev #49 of the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on February 23, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 23: Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets and Bryan Little #18 of the Winnipeg Jets defend against Vladimir Sobotka #71 of the St. Louis Blues and Ivan Barbashev #49 of the St. Louis Blues at Scottrade Center on February 23, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Rovak/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The St. Louis Blues now know who they have to prepare in their home opener. It might not be the marquee name of the past, but it is a budding rivalry with a team poised for greatness.

The St. Louis Blues know their preseason schedule. They are keeping with tradition by facing the previous year’s champion in the preseason, as they will be facing the Washington Capitals.

Now, they know who their first opponent in St. Louis will be. The St. Louis Blues are going to face the Winnipeg Jets in their first official game at the newly christened Enterprise Center.

It is not official that it is the season opener. The league will announce full team schedules on June 21. However, with a date of October 4, it is likely to be either the season opener for St. Louis or one of the first couple games.

There is an outside chance it is not the season opener if the league pushes the schedule to open up during the last weekend of September. That has not typically been the case the last few years.

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In terms of seeing the Jets, it is not the marquee matchup we have grown accustomed to. It isn’t the Chicago Blackhawks or Nashville Predators, but the Jets are quickly picking up the pace in terms of establishing a rivalry.

The Blues and Jets split their season series in 2017-18. They played four games, with each team winning one home game and losing one.

The main issue with the Blues in that season series was they won close games and got blown out in the rest. St. Louis lost 4-0 in both of their losses. They won one game 2-0, but Carter Hutton had to make 48 saves in that win and the other was a 5-2 win.

The other question for St. Louis is whether they will see former center Paul Stastny return. After being traded to Winnipeg, he has yet to return to the gateway city.

Of course, there is no certainty that he will return – at least not on October 4. Stastny is a free agent.  Though he enjoyed some brief success with the Jets, he has not signed an extension.

So, with no solid rumors or news on either side, there is just as much a chance Stastny is wearing the Blue Note again as there is him wearing the Jet. Time will tell.

As of right now, this announcement mainly means the realization that hockey is on the horizon. October is not exactly close, but we have concrete dates to put on our calendars.

Winnipeg went from a struggling team with talent to a title contender in the blink of an eye. Opening the season with the Jets will be a good measuring stick for how they might look the rest of the season.

We do know that how you open the season does not mean success later on. Even so, the Blues will have to be on their toes to take down the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Next: What Ever Happened To Petteri Lindbohm

Regardless of whether former players are there or not, this will be a good game.

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