TEAM SNAPSHOTS
BLUES It was a night of firsts at UBS Arena on Tuesday night as the Blues delivered an impressive offensive showing to beat the Islanders.
Colton Parayko notched his first goal of the season, Josh Leivo scored his first goal as a Blue and Will Bitten earned the first point of his NHL career – all contributing to the Blues’ first seven-goal performance of the season.
“It’s really nice to win – it’s a feeling we haven’t had in a while,” said Ryan O’Reilly, who scored a diving goal to help snap the four-game losing streak. “We made it a little too exciting at the end there, but the big thing is we won the game – there were a lot of good things we did tonight.”
Ending the road trip on a high note, the Blues return to Enterprise Center for a three-game homestand. Facing all Central Division foes, they begin with the first-place Winnipeg Jets and continue with bouts against Colorado and Nashville. Handing the Blues their first shutout loss in more than a full season earlier this year, the Jets will be a strong test of the offensive momentum that Tuesday’s 7-4 win may provide.
With Torey Krug and Pavel Buchnevich missing Tuesday’s tilt, it remains to be seen if the Blues will be at full strength against their division rivals.
They’ll host the Jets with a record of 12-14-0, worth 24 points and sixth place in the Central Division.
JETS The Winnipeg Jets have been impressive since last seeing the Blues on Oct. 24, winning five of their last six games to overtake Dallas for first place in the Central Division. Since Thanksgiving, the Jets are the No. 1 team in the Western Conference in points and wins while leading the entire NHL in goals.
Winnipeg is coming off a pair of wins against Anaheim and Florida, wrapping up a four-game homestand on Tuesday night. Mark Scheifele led the way with two power-play goals and Connor Hellebuyck made 39 saves to log his 13th win of the season.
Hellebuyck’s 13 wins in goal share No. 2 in the League and his three shutouts share the lead with Detroit’s Ville Husso. The 2019-20 Vezina Trophy winner as the League’s best goalie, Hellebuyck is currently at career-best figures for goals-against average (2.26) and save percentage (.932).
New Head Coach Rick Bowness seems to have a good handle on his new roster so far, coming to Winnipeg this summer after three seasons in Dallas.
Winnipeg heads to St. Louis with a record of 16-7-1, worth 33 points and a razor-thin edge for first place in the Central Division.
HEAD-TO-HEAD The Jets came out on top earlier this year. The season series continues on Jan. 30 in Winnipeg and March 19 in St. Louis. The Blues have scored a power-play goal in five straight home games against the Jets, going 5-for-15 on the power play in that time.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
BLUES Robert Thomas, working on a four-game point streak ahead of Thursday’s matchup with the Jets. Thomas has points in nine of his last 10 games and leads the Blues with 18 assists and 23 points this season.
JETS Josh Morrissey, off to a strong start and leading the Jets with 27 points this year. His 22 assists rank No. 3 in the NHL among defensemen, only four shy of his career high for a season.
BLUE NOTES
The Blues will face Central Division opponents in five of their last 11 games in the 2022 calendar year, with their next eight all coming against Western Conference teams above them in the standings… The Blues are 8-1-0 this season when a defenseman scores a goal, and their five game-winning goals by defensemen share the most in the NHL.
