The St. Louis Blues began their 2024-25 playoff campaign north of the border. Their reward for getting into the playoffs on their last day of the regular season was to play the Presidents' Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets.
Early on, the game started well for both teams. They were both physical, trading chances, and the Blues were right there.
However, it initially appeared that the Jets were calming down before getting to their game. A mid-period penalty turned things around.
The Blues power play, which was borderline awful during the season, caught fire at the right time in the late stages. They got the team on the board first in this one, too.
St. Louis looked disjointed at first, scrambling around. Cam Fowler held the zone, knocking it to the left circle for Robert Thomas, who roofed one over the glove hand to make it 1-0.
That only lasted about four minutes. The Jets would answer with a power play of their own. It was a lucky goal as Mark Scheifele ramped a pass off Ryan Suter's stick and it went in.
Less than two minutes later, the Jets were up 2-1. It was another fortunate goal, as Luke Schenn's shot from the front was deflected down to the ice and bounced up past Jordan Binnington.
The Blues wouldn't get down in the dumps, though, as they tied it with about three minutes left in the period. Oskar Sundqvist scored on a wrister to make it 2-2.
The Blues kept their power play on track as they took the lead early in the second. Taking advantage of a late first-period penalty on the Jets, Jordan Kyrou wristed one in and it was 3-2.
After that, though, St. Louis had to absorb a lot of pressure in the second period. Although the Jets only had 10 shots on goal, they were pressuring. Jordan Binnington was the only reason the Blues held onto the lead, and some timely defending on a scramble where Colton Parayko kept it away.
Unfortunately, the Blues couldn't hold the line in the third period. The Jets would score three unanswered goals.
Midway through the period, the Jets would finally crack the wall that was Binnington. Alex Iafallo picked up a rebound on the doorstep and swept in the shot to make it 3-3.
The Blues were holding their own, but their late-game struggles came back to haunt them again. A cross-ice pass found Blues killer Kyle Conner, who scored on a sweep shot to nab the lead with just 1:36 to go.
The Jets added an empty-net goal to make it 5-3. St. Louis got into some line brawls in the final minute, but they couldn't establish any more offense, and Winnipeg took Game 1.
Pro: Special teams
The Blues power play has been extremely hit or miss this season, but they came up big in one of the biggest games. Going 2-3 on the night and scoring the first two goals of the game is just what you want from your man advantage.
The penalty kill did their job as well. They did allow the Jets one power play goal, but that was such a freak play that you almost don't count it.
St. Louis was put in the box frequently, giving the Jets four power plays. It's pretty good that you killed off three in a row and might have killed off that first one if not for an ill-placed stick.
Con: Late game failures
I don't know if it's a lack of focus or just one of those things, but the bottom line is that the Blues continue to allow goals in the final couple of minutes. Not only is that bad news for the playoffs, but it's terrible news for momentum.
The crowd would explode if the Jets scored no matter what, but you've given yourself no chance when they gave them the lead with barely 90 seconds left. The Blues rarely score when they have the sixth attacker, so it would be tough to come back from anything that late.
That's simply not going to work in the playoffs. Momentum is real in the postseason, so giving it to the Jets that way could be bad news.
Con: Not taking advantage
The Jets were the best regular-season team for a reason. We saw their quality, and they're a good team.
However, the Blues did what they needed to do to win. They won most of the battles you want them to.
St. Louis won almost 60% of the faceoffs, which usually sets you up for success. They outhit Winnipeg by 20. That's partially an indicator that the Jets had more puck, but you're still wearing them out.
They also had more blocked shots. The bottom line is that St. Louis did the small things, but they still lost the game.
Cons: Penalties
If we're honest, there was only one call made in this game that I'd argue wasn't even a penalty, and that was the slash on Jake Neighbours. The stick barely touched him.
But, overall, this just didn't feel like a playoff game. Normally, if there's not blood, it takes quite a bit for a penalty to be called in the playoffs. This was a regular season game the way it was called.
At least they were reasonably consistent, except for that non-call when Philip Broberg was sent into the wall.
Overview:
The interesting thing about this game is that the positive and negative aspects are in the same vein. The game was right there for the taking, and the Blues easily could have won it.
However, the bottom line is they didn't. There were things they did and didn't do.
The Blues got the goaltending, but I'm still confused how the Iafallo goal went in. It's impossible to react that close, but I don't know where it went through.
St. Louis got the physicality, but it was also indicative of not having enough puck. They weathered some storms, but that meant they weren't getting enough offense.
The Blues scored two power play goals and three goals overall, but only managed 17 shots.
On one hand, the Blues had it within their grasp and didn't even play their very best. On the other hand, they allowed a winnable game to slip away, and that might cost them in the series.
If St. Louis wins Game 2, we'll forget all about this one, as they'd have accomplished what you want to do on the road. Even if they lose, the series is winnable, but it's going to be a mountain to climb.
Hopefully, this was just one game. We will see how the Blues respond.