Preview: Blues at Jets

When: Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, MB
Watch: Bally Sports, Bally Sports app
Listen: 101 ESPN, Blues App

TEAM SNAPSHOTS

BLUES The St. Louis Blues will need a short memory as their road trip continues north of the border.

Last time out, the Blues were manhandled by the Detroit Red Wings, 6-1. Patrick Kane scored 33 seconds in, and the onslaught did not stop there. The Blues found themselves down 4-0 after one period, and they couldn't generate much to make up the deficit.

"We dug ourselves into a hole," Blues Head Coach Drew Bannister said after the game. "To have that many turnovers and odd-man rushes going the other way, to put that kind of pressure on our goalies and expect them to make saves and keep us in a game, that's just not going to happen against any team in the NHL."

Perhaps the only Blue who may not want to forget the last game is former first-round pick Zack Bolduc. After making his NHL debut Feb. 22, Bolduc scored the Blues' lone goal on Saturday, which was also his 21st birthday.

"It feels good," he said, "but it was also an important game for us. It's a tough loss."

Justin Faulk was activated from injured reserve Monday, and Matthew Kessel was assigned to Springfield, so the Blues' defense will likely look a bit different Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

The Blues' three-game road trip makes its final stop Wednesday night with a game against the Edmonton Oilers. The Blues come back to Enterprise Center to play the Minnesota Wild on Saturday before a lengthy east-coast trip.

With Saturday's loss and two Nashville Predators wins, the Blues (30-25-2) have fallen out of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. While the Predators have played two more games than the Blues, they're four points ahead, so the back-to-back against the Jets and Oilers will be key to making up ground.

JETS The Winnipeg Jets are taking off at the right time, winning six of their last seven games.

Head Coach Rick Bowness puts some of that success on the power play, which has struggled for much of the year. The Jets are currently 18.1 percent on the power play, ranking 22nd in the NHL. In an effort to fix this, the Jets acquired Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 2. Bowness put Monahan on the power play with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, and the turnaround has been drastic. In their last seven games, the Jets have gone 8-for-19 on the man advantage, and Monahan himself has five goals since the trade.

"Get (Connor, Scheifele and Monahan) together," Bowness said, "give them a chance to get some chemistry on the power play and it should turn around, and it has so far."

The Jets needed their power play Sunday against the Arizona Coyotes. Two power-play goals in the first period gave Winnipeg a 3-1 cushion after the first period, but the Coyotes clawed their way back to send the game into overtime.

"I think when we got up, we stopped playing our game," said Scheifele, who had a goal and three assists. "We stopped being sharp with the puck, making passes and supporting each other. We started to get a little bit disconnected, and they made us pay."

The extra time gave the Jets the wake-up call they needed, however, and Connor scored the game-winning goal just 33 seconds in.

The win over Arizona means the Jets (36-15-5) are up to 77 points, one behind the Dallas Stars for the top spot in the Central Division. The Stars, who've lost four of their last five, host the Jets on Thursday.

HEAD TO HEAD This is the third and final meeting between the Blues and Jets this season. Winnipeg won both times, 4-2 and 5-2, but Tuesday will be their first look at the Blues since Bannister took over as head coach.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

BLUES Justin Faulk was activated from the injured reserve Monday and could return to action Tuesday. Faulk, who has 19 points in 40 games this season, missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury.

JETS Josh Morrissey, the Jets' standout defenseman, had three assists against the Coyotes. Morrissey, who leads his team in assists (37), has nine helpers in his last four games.

BLUE NOTES

• Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong is two wins away from his 800th win as a GM. He could reach the milestone as soon as Wednesday, making him one of 11 GMs in NHL history to do so.
• Pavel Buchnevich has a team-high nine points (three goals, six assists) in just five career games in Winnipeg.
• Kyle Connor has scored in both games against the Blues this season, including two goals and an assist on Nov. 6.
• The Blues are 3-2-0 on the first night of back-to-back games. Most recently, the Blues defeated the Calgary Flames on Jan. 23 before beating the Vancouver Canucks the next night.
• Joel Hofer, a Winnipeg native, dropped the puck before a Jets game in 2020 after winning gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship.