The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets have finally determined their opponent for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Thanks to a commanding 6-1 win over Utah on Tuesday night, the St. Louis Blues will be travelling to Manitoba’s capital for the opening round, best-of-seven series.
With the win, St. Louis eliminated the Calgary Flames from playoff contention and cemented a matchup between the second-place Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild in the process.
Despite their final playoff seed positioning, the Blues (43-30-8) are no pushover, as they have gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games and only recently had their 12-game winning streak snapped (in Winnipeg last week).
Having clinched the trophy for being first in the league, Winnipeg (55-24-4) has had to wait longer than most clubs to begin its plan of attack against its previously unknown opponent.
The other aspect of the opening round matchup is that of the dates of the seven games.
With a concert scheduled for Canada Life Centre on Saturday, and concerts at Enterprise Center the following Friday and Saturday, the most likely plan of attack will be games on Sunday and Tuesday in Winnipeg, followed by Thursday and Sunday in St. Louis, before the series shifts back to Winnipeg for Game 5, and St. Louis for Game 6 and Winnipeg again for Game 7 – all of which will only occur if needed.
Unless the concerts featuring Bachman-Turner Overdrive (Winnipeg), Brooks and Dunn (St. Louis) and Katt Williams (St. Louis) are rescheduled, this proposed series schedule would be the most likely scenario.
However, with Winnipeg wrapping up its season on Wednesday, and the Blues now having completed their 2024-25 campaign, the league would be interested in teams done playing before Thursday the option of starting the postseason on Saturday.
So at this point, all options do remain on the table.
Head to head this season, Winnipeg holds a 3-1-0 advantage over St. Louis, with a 3.37 goals-for per game up against a 3.01 goals-for from the Blues. Winnipeg allows just 2.33 goals against, while St. Louis gives up on average 2.84 goals a game. The Jets have the best power play, while St. Louis’ is ranked No. 18.
Adding some additional fire to the fold is that of the battle between the Schenn brothers. Blues captain Brayden will take on his older brother Luke, who was added at the trade deadline by Winnipeg. The two have already joked about cutting off all lines of communication should this matchup arise.
Details on the schedule are expected to come as early as Wednesday.
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