Blues at Jets
The St. Louis Blues have taken over first place in the Central Division and are in the mix for the top seed in the Western Conference thanks to their 12-2-1 mark away from home since Jan 3. Winners of five of six overall, the Blues continue their six-game road trip with a visit to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. St. Louis, which holds a one-point lead over Nashville in the division, has won 10 of its last 11 meetings with the Jets - including five of six in Winnipeg.
The Jets are in a dogfight for the final playoff slot in the West, holding a one-point lead over Calgary for the second wild card as they seek their first postseason berth since 2006-07. Winnipeg has dropped a pair of matchups to the Blues over the past three weeks, including a 2-1 home shootout loss on Feb. 26. “We look forward to the games against them. They've been great hockey games,” coach Paul Maurice said. "We've played them real hard and they seem to be close.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), TSN3 (Winnipeg)
ABOUT THE BLUES (45-20-5): St. Louis has been receiving sensational goaltending with three shutouts in the past four games, including one by Brian Elliott at Calgary on Tuesday that set the franchise record with 21. "It's a big milestone," Blues forward Alexander Steen said of Elliott. "Obviously we're very happy for him. He's a goalie that's worked extremely hard to get to where he is right now, which I think makes it that much sweeter." Steen had a pair of goals Tuesday, giving him three in the past two games after going 13 games without a tally.
ABOUT THE JETS (35-23-12): Winnipeg returned home from a four-game road trip and leveled San Jose 5-2 on Tuesday to improve to 9-2-2 in its last 13 games at MTS Centre. Blake Wheeler combined with linemates Mark Scheifele and Drew Stafford for eight points, scoring twice to give him six goals in his last seven games. “Those guys are buzzing right now,” Wheeler said of his unit. “When Scheifs is skating like he is right now, he’s great to play with. Staff is so strong on the puck. He makes such strong, simple plays – he’s a great complement to the two of us."
OVERTIME
1. The Blues are the only team with five 50-point scorers after captain David Backes and T.J. Oshie reached that mark Tuesday.
2. Winnipeg is 3-of-7 on the power play over the past two games.
3. St. Louis' 10 shutouts are second in the league to the New York Rangers (11).