ST. LOUIS — It was shaping up to be another signature St. Louis Blues win in Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets.
Well, as it turns out, the win was significant, and a signature one since the Blues evened the best-of-7 series at 2-2 with a commanding 5-1 win that came on the heels of a dominant 7-2 win in Game 3. But it ended on a bit of a down note.
Defenseman Tyler Tucker went down late in the third period with an apparent right leg injury.
Tucker was injured when he sort of toe-picked his right skate going to check Winnipeg’s Brandon Tanev, then he ran into the corner glass and buckled on both of his legs, with the right one taking the brunt of his weight:
Tyler Tucker was in a ton of pain and needed assistance getting off the ice after falling on his knee awkwardly in the corner 🤕 pic.twitter.com/FASnBKM1L8
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 27, 2025
Tucker needed help of the ice and down the tunnel into the Blues’ dressing room, and coach Jim Montgomery had no immediate update afterwards but it’s believed he will likely miss at least the rest of this series, potentially longer, should the Blues prevail.
The defenseman, playing in his third game of the series, scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal, which turned out to be the game-winner in the second period:
St. Louis goal!
Scored by Tyler Tucker with 09:14 remaining in the 2nd period.
Assisted by Nick Leddy and Alexandre Texier.
St. Louis: 2
Winnipeg: 1#WPGvsSTL#stlblues#GoJetsGopic.twitter.com/YW85khNkaL— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) April 27, 2025
“His goal was huge for us getting a lead and being able to play with the lead,” Montgomery said.
Tucker finished with 17:05 minutes played and was a plus-1 with two shots on goal (three attempts), two hits, two takeaways, two giveaways and two blocked shots.
“I thought he was really aggressive tonight, I thought that was his best game of the three games and I thought he was physical,” Montgomery said of Tucker. “His ability, I’ve said it many times but he’s a really good offensive defenseman and it shows with how he gets shots off. They don’t get blocked because he puts himself in a shot-ready mindset.”
Blues defenseman Colton Parayko added, “He’s been a big part of this team for a long time. He’s a great player, a great defender and we’re lucky to have him. Just hope everything is OK.”
With Tucker sidelined, look for veteran Ryan Suter, a healthy scratch in Games 3 and 4 after playing in all 82 regular-season games and Games 1 and 2 of this series, to jump back into the lineup alongside Nick Leddy.
The Blues are already without talented young forward Dylan Holloway, who hasn’t played since April 3 when he suffered a lower-body injury in a 5-4 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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