Jets at Blues
The magical run to last season’s Western Conference final by the Winnipeg Jets marked the most successful season in franchise history, but they enter Thursday’s season opener at the St. Louis Blues with tremendous expectations. The Jets have emerged from a long rebuild and enter 2018-19 as a bona fide Stanley Cup contender, with center Mark Scheifele, forwards Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck poised for ever bigger things.
“There’s going to be way more adversity this season than people think we should have,” Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters in the preseason, knowing his team will get everybody’s best shot one season after finishing with 114 points and falling three wins shy of the finals. “We’re going to have to handle that in-house, and that’s the big chunk of my job this year.” There is plenty of optimism in St. Louis that several key additions will bolster the Blues’ scoring, and hopefully lift the team from fifth place to a better finish in the ultra-tough Central Division. The Blues added center Ryan O’Reilly, forward David Perron and center Tyler Bozak, a trio who totaled 51 goals and 170 points a season ago and should pay dividends immediately on the power play, where St. Louis finished 30th. “I believe we have the depth and the quality of forwards now that we can put two solid power-play units together,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo told the media in preseason.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
ABOUT THE JETS (2017-18: 52-20-10): Hellebuyck’s emergence from potential NHL starter to Vezina Trophy finalist a season ago was one of the biggest reasons for Winnipeg’s breakthrough season, as he finished tied for the league lead with 44 wins while posting a 2.36 goals against average and a career-best .924 save percentage. Laine emerged as an emerging superstar with 44 goals, while Wheeler tied for the league lead with 68 assists and finished with 91 points. One area of concern is the departure of second-line center Paul Stastny, acquired from the Blues at the trade deadline, who signed this summer with Vegas.
ABOUT THE BLUES (2017-18: 44-32-6): One of the biggest keys to the season is better play from Jake Allen in net, after he finished the season 9-13-1 with a 2.99 goals against average and .896 save percentage in the 2018 portion of the schedule. St. Louis returns forward Vladimir Tarasenko (33 goals), center Brayden Schenn (28 goals, 42 assists) and forward Jaden Schwartz (24 goals), and figure to be much more potent offensively. The Blues seek more consistent play considering at one point they led the NHL in points with a 16-5-1 record before earning just 15 points in their next 18 contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Jets have the NHL’s best record since March 15, 2017, going 62-22-10.
2. St. Louis C Robert Thomas, a 19-year-old considered one of the top prospects in the organization, made the opening-night roster after recording a goal and three assists in preseason.
3. The two teams split their four-game series last season, but Winnipeg has won eight of the last 10 meetings while outscoring the Blues 32-18 in that span.