It has been over two weeks since we had the opportunity to cheer on the Winnipeg Jets, but thankfully Saturday will bring that dry spell to an end when they visit the St. Louis Blues. The Central Division rivals will clash at the Enterprise Center in Missouri (6 pm Central) as the majority of the players try to shake off the rust accumulated during their in-season holiday.
Winnipeg (39-14-3) was on an eight game winning streak when the NHL season paused and a win tonight could give them their longest hot run of the campaign. Unfortunately, the team will be without two of the three Jets’ players invited to the 4 Nations Face-Off, as both Josh Morrissey (illness) and Connor Hellebuyck (rest) didn’t join their teammates on the one game road trip. At least sniper Kyle Connor will be re-joining the team in St. Louis, as the True Northers start the final push of the 2024-25 season.
St. Louis (25-26-5) is currently sitting 8 points back of the Western Conference’s final wildcard spot and their 3-6-1 record in the past 10 games hasn’t helped their playoff chances much. From the sounds of it, both of the Blues who attended the 4 Nations will be available to play tonight, as Canada’s Colton Parayko & Jordan Binnington return with championship medals hanging around their necks.
The Central Division rivals have quite the gap separating them this season, with the Jets holding a whopping 26 pts lead over the Blues at this point.
When it comes to the injury front, both franchises have players parked in the sick bay. St. Louis has been without defenseman Torey Krug long-term and is also without the services of forward Alexandre Texier too. I had previously mentioned that Winnipeg would be missing Morrissey due to illness, but it also seems that Morgan Barron isn’t quite ready to return. Good news for David Gustafsson, who likely gets a chance to add to his 5 points in the last 8 games played.
Here is how PuckPedia is predicting the coaching staffs to line up their players tonight:
Without Winnipeg’s top defenseman in the lineup, that gives Ville Heinola the opportunity to slide into the 3rd pairing with Colin Miller. A bit scarier, it also moves up lumbering Logan Stanley to the 2nd pairing with Dylan DeMelo….which will likely result in some interesting defensive zone scenarios against the Blues. And that is in front of backup tender Eric Comrie too…could be quite the adventure tonight.
Check out how St. Louis & Winnipeg match up head-to-head based on their 2024-25 stats, as well as ESPN’s review of the goaltending options:
I will be hoping for a bunch of St. Louis’ players to go to the penalty box when the puck drops….as the Jets’ #1 ranked powerplay should have plenty of fun against the Blues’ #30 ranked penalty kill.
Now that you’ve had a chance to review all the stats, is any AIH member getting a feeling on how the Winnipeg Jets will do on Hockey Night in Canada? Feel free to share your thoughts, predictions, or almost anything else in the Comment section below. Should be interesting to see how the hockey compares to the level of play at the 4 Nations.
Go Winnipeg!!!!!
