Preview: Blues vs. Jets
RELATED: How to watch on First Alert 4, Matrix Midwest, Victory+
When: Saturday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO
Watch: First Alert 4, Matrix Midwest, Victory+
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App
Tickets: Online at ticketmaster.com
BLUES The St. Louis Blues (25-26-5) will take on the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday to begin a three-game homestand to commence the second half of the NHL regular season.
During the break, goaltender Jordan Binnington and defenseman Colton Parayko earned a medal while representing Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. In four games with Canada, Binnington had 97 saves and posted a .907 save percentage. He was the only goaltender in the tournament to play every second in each game.
Prior to the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-off, the Blues battled the Blackhawks on Feb. 8, earning a 6-5 comeback victory, ending in a 10-round shootout. Radek Faksa scored the game-winning shootout goal with a slick forehand, backhand move.
Following the first practice back as a team on Tuesday, Head Coach Jim Montgomery addressed the media regarding his views on the outlook for the remainder of the season.
“I’m trying not to focus on the outcome,” Montgomery said. “I feel that we need to focus on our consistency and our preparation daily and the results will take care of itself and that’s where we are right now. We know we are in a little bit of a hole; we got to win a lot of hockey games. But if our mind goes to results and we lose our first game, it could spiral the wrong way, we want to be able to focus on the process that allows us to have success. That consistency of competing, of winning goal line races, of winning wall battles and having numbers at nets, we feel if our focus is on those things, the results will take care of itself.”
The Blues will begin their homestand with back-to-back games beginning Saturday with the Jets, followed by Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
JETS The Winnipeg Jets (39-14-3) will begin the second half of their season as the top-ranked team in the NHL with 81 points.
The Jets went into the two-week break on an eight-game winning streak with their most recent victory over the New York Islanders 4-3 on Feb. 7.
The Jets had three players represent their team at the 4 Nations Face-Off including defenseman Josh Morrissey for Canada, forward Kyle Connor and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for Team USA.
The Jets and Blues are tied this season with a 1-1-0 record, with the Blues earning a 4-1 victory over the Jets in Winnipeg in December. Since their last meeting, the Jets have gone 21-6-3. They currently hold the No. 1 seed for the Western Conference playoff spot.
BLUES Robert Thomas was on a four-game point streak (one goal, four assists) prior to the NHL break. The assistant captain leads the team with 28 assists and ranks second with 41 points. Thomas is one goal away from reaching 100 career goals.
JETS Forward Kyle Connor leads the Jets in points with 69, including 39 assists. Additionally, he leads all American-born players this season with 30 goals. In 587 career games, Connor has 554 points (273 goals, 281 assists).
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With the 4 Nations Face-Off in the rear-view mirror, the Winnipeg Jets are ready to get back to business and the next item on the agenda is a date on Saturday with the St. Louis Blues.
Riding an eight-game winning streak — which matches a season and franchise-high — the Jets will be looking to get back to playing the type of game that has them first in the NHL in points and second to the Washington Capitals in points percentage.
“We enjoyed our break, we’ve enjoyed our time but we’ve got to get off on the right foot here just like how we ended going into the break,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “We were playing really well, it’s not going to just replicate itself.
“We need to try to get our mindset right and get things ready to go for a big game. We want to keep this thing going, we want to see how far we can take it and continue to improve on our game.”
Jets head coach Scott Arniel said Friday his club will have sniper Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry (who missed the past eight games with an upper-body injury) back in the lineup, while goalie Connor Hellebuyck and defenceman Josh Morrissey will be given the weekend to recharge their batteries.
Connor suited up in three games with the United States, but was a healthy scratch for the championship final against Canada and there were plenty of times during the tightly-contested contest where he might have made an impact.
Nick Wass / The Associated Press
Kyle Connor will be back on the ice Saturday after being scratched for the 4 Nations Face-Off final.
While it’s true Connor wasn’t at his best at the event, recording one assist while starting the event with Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk and shuffling around after the tournament opener, he has the type of game-breaking ability that could have come in handy.
“Tough for sure, I’m sure he was very disappointed,” said DeMelo.
“I like to think, selfishly, he could have helped that team. It’s a fantastic team, the coach had to make a tough decision and decided on the decision he made. I feel like it could have been a missed opportunity there.
Arniel spoke with Connor about the decision to suit up in St. Louis before he sat out the finale.
“I’ll talk to him once we get down to St. Louis. But he was the one right away wanting to play. He wanted to play in St. Louis,” said Arniel. “I don’t ever want to take that option away from the guys.”
There’s little doubt Connor would have been frustrated by what transpired, but it will certainly serve as additional motivation as he returns to action with the Jets.
If Connor channels his energy the way linemate Mark Scheifele has since he wasn’t among the players named to Team Canada in December, it could be a scary decision for opponents during the stretch run and into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“It’s disappointing. There’s a lot of players, for all four teams, that had to sit out games,” said Arniel.
“I was really hoping he could be a part of that. Like I mentioned, the biggest thing for me is not only that they’re representing their country, but that they’re getting to play in those high-pressure games and be around those elite players, much like themselves, and kind of absorb it all, take it all in and hopefully help us for the remainder of the year and into the playoffs, when those experiences are vital.”
Although Hellebuyck mirrored the experience of Ryan Miller at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, he was the best goalie in the tournament, giving up only five goals in his three starts.
He handled being under the microscope exceptionally well and showed why he’s the front-runner to win his third Vezina Trophy.
“I was thinking about it (Thursday) night, like who do I cheer for,” said Jets goalie Eric Comrie, who is a dual citizen. “I didn’t want Helly to get scored on, so I guess I was kind of cheering for the States I guess, in a way. But I am Canadian, I played for Team Canada, so I was very conflicted.”
Considering Hellebuyck’s workload with the Jets this season (he’s started 43 of 56 games already) and his appearance in three more games with Team USA, giving Comrie the crease is a natural decision.
So you can understand why Hellebuyck is back in Winnipeg to spend a few days with his family before getting back between the pipes on Monday against the San Jose Sharks.
That means that Kappo Kahkonen will serve as Comrie’s backup on Saturday night.
Morrissey woke up from his pre-game nap on Thursday and was violently ill, throwing up multiple times.
Ultimately, he had to watch the game at the team hotel and wasn’t on the ice to collect his gold medal.
“He was devastated. He felt awful,” said Comrie. “He was extremely, extremely sick.”
Morrissey was leaned on heavily by Team Canada during the tournament, logging big minutes alongside Blues defenceman Colton Parayko, and his presence in the final was definitely missed.
“I know he’s pretty shook about it and rightfully so. It was a huge game and obviously a huge stage,” said DeMelo. “I’m sure he is going to get another chance at it this time next year and I’m hoping he will get that shot to play in a big game like that.”
Although Arniel was disappointed a nasty flu bug prevented Morrissey from playing, he received plenty of feedback from Canada’s coaching staff about the job he did in the previous three games — which included running the top power play last Saturday when Cale Makar was out with an illness.
“They’re raving about him and how he played, and the big role he had to play,” said Arniel, who spoke with Morrissey when he was in an Uber on the way back to the hotel Thursday.
With Morrissey out until Monday, it opens the door for Ville Heinola or Haydn Fleury to skate alongside Colin Miller on the Jets’ third pairing.
Arniel said he hadn’t made his final decision yet, so that won’t be clear until after the morning skate on Saturday.
Jets forward Morgan Barron rejoined the main group in a non-contact jersey on Friday and continues to progress, though he won’t be an option to return to game action until next week.
What is clear is the Jets are about to embark on a sprint to the regular-season finish line that includes 26 games during a span of 54 days.
“It’ll be a grind. The good news is that all the other teams in the league are going through the same thing, so we’re going to have to buckle down and play some good hockey,” said Jets defenceman Neal Pionk. “Sure, there are going to be nights where we’re going to be tired, so we’ll have to rely on each other and rely on our structure.”
ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca
X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld
Ken Wiebe
Reporter
Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.
Every piece of reporting Ken produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Jets have signed veteran centre Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year extension.
The team announced the move Saturday, saying the contract carries an average annual value of US$3 million.
Namestnikov has 10 goals and 19 assists in 52 games for the Jets this season, and heads into Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues riding a four-game point streak with one goal and four assists across the stretch.
The 32-year-old Russian forward was originally selected 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2011 NHL draft.
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