This is it folks. With 26 games to go, the St. Louis Blues are in a race to the finish to try and make it back to the Stanley Cup playoffs. The first obstacle in their way is the best team in the NHL, the Winnipeg Jets.
How is that for a welcome back to regular season play? Especially since both starting goaltenders, Jordan Binnington for the Blues and Connor Hellebuyck for the Jets were in the greatest hockey game of the last decade just a few days ago. It is unlikely they will be going in this one, but you never know.
The Blues, at 25-26-5 for 55 points, still sit a bit of a way back from the final wild-card spot, (Vancouver, 63 points). The Jets lead the Presidents’ Trophy race with a record of 39-14-3 for 81 points. The season series is tied 1-1, with the Jets taking the first game on October 22 and the Blues taking the last meeting on December 3. There is still one more showdown between these two on April 7.
Let’s give this one a preview.
Tough first test
This is a bit of a doozy to come back from break from. The Jets are a great team and have been all season long. They have been hot all season, and before this break occurred, they were on an 8-game win streak.
The Blues are going to have their hands full in this one, and with a vast majority of this team not playing in the 4 Nations Face-off, it will be interesting to see how quickly they get back in game form. How fast can they acclimate themselves to playing again?
This season is rapidly approaching its end, and with the Trade Deadline coming up fast, every game for the next two weeks is going to be massively critiqued. There are only a few untouchable players on this roster, but that could change before March 7.
Can the Blues start off this 26-game sprint with a positive result, or is their season doomed?