The Jets and Blues series is going at least six games.
And St. Louis certainly has all the momentum going into Game Five on Wednesday Night at Canada Life Centre.
It’s a movie Jets fans are all too familiar with. Try as they might, Winnipeg just can’t find a way to win following a playoff loss.
Yesterday followed that script for the Jets for the 11th straight time, dating back to 2020 versus Calgary in the bubble in Edmonton.
Sunday afternoon in St. Louis began with a promising start. The Jets were able to get to their game right off the hop and eventually scored first.
But a dominant opening 19-and-a-half minutes ended with the Blues scoring with 22.7 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Eventually, St. Louis took over the game with three more unanswered goals in an eight-minute and eight-second span in the back half of the middle frame.
Any chance to make it interesting in the third was snuffed out with an early goal by Robert Thomas to make it 5-1, ending Connor Hellebuyck’s day prematurely for the second time in as many games.
It’s mind-boggling that Hellebuyck is having yet another nightmarish playoff. And by that, I mean a netminder who looks so in control and efficient in the regular season, compared to the “fish out of water” persona of the playoffs.
A 4.24 goals against average and .817 saves percentage is 15th among the 16 playoff starters.
It’s not all Hellebuyck’s fault. But Jordan Binnington has been far and away the better of the two netminders through the first four games collectively.
Can the Jets stem the tide on their home ice Wednesday Night? Can Hellebuyck and Winnipeg’s other best players answer the bell? Can the Jets re-write the legacy of a good to great regular season team that can’t duplicate that success in the playoffs?
Game Five is going to provide some answers.
