When your goalie permits only one objective in an NHL recreation, you need to anticipate to win that recreation.
However expectations have been one thing the 2025-26 Winnipeg Jets have been battling all season, they usually continued their slide with a 1-0 loss in St. Louis Wednesday evening.
The Blues dominated the primary interval from the drop of the puck, thanks partly to an influence play simply over two minutes into the interval.
However their greatest stretch of play got here round eight minutes into the primary once they hemmed the Jets’ prime line in their very own finish and despatched a barrage of photographs on objective.
Robert Thomas hit the put up, Pavel Buchnevich hit the crossbar, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped seven photographs earlier than the Jets iced the puck.
Winnipeg was in survival mode for a lot of the interval, with the photographs favouring St. Louis 11-1 with 9:20 left within the body however the Jets outshot the Blues 5-0 from that time till the top of the interval.
The Jets additionally earned an influence play with 1:15 to go within the interval, which they carried into the second of a 0-0 recreation.
Get every day Nationwide information
Get the day’s prime information, political, financial, and present affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox as soon as a day.
They have been unable to capitalize on the prospect, nor have been they in a position to rating on one other energy play that started 34 seconds after the primary one expired.
However they have been in a position to management the shot clock, not permitting a Blues shot on objective till there was 11:14 left as Winnipeg went virtually a full 20 minutes with out permitting a shot.
That was not signal for the Jets, although, because the Blues took management for the remainder of the interval, outshooting the Jets 10-3 over the length of the second.
That included a breakaway alternative for Brayden Schenn that was turned apart by Hellebuyck, however the league’s reigning MVP couldn’t cease all of them as St. Louis was in a position to break the ice on the 13:17 mark.
The play started innocently sufficient, with Hellebuyck fielding a dump in behind his web and leaving it for Dylan DeMelo. However DeMelo coughed up the puck after being hit by a forechecking Pavel Buchnevich, with Robert Thomas selecting up the unfastened puck close to the nook. He fed a charging Justin Faulk who wired one dwelling from the slot.
The Blues practically grabbed a 2-0 lead when Pius Suter tried to outwait Hellebuyck as he circled the crease however as he tried to tuck it across the put up, Hellebuyck acquired a bit of Suter’s stick, inflicting the puck to slip harmlessly by the crease.
There have been few harmful probabilities to go round within the third interval, and although Winnipeg tried to push for an equalizer, their efforts have been undone when DeMelo was known as for tripping with 2:54 remaining.
The Jets acquired the kill, however 12 seconds later, Suter and Josh Morrissey acquired twisted up behind the Winnipeg web earlier than Logan Stanley entered the image and shoved Suter to the bottom. The Jets acquired an additional penalty on the play, and after the following faceoff, St. Louis performed keep-away with the puck till the clock struck zeroes.
Hellebuyck was implausible in objective for Winnipeg, giving his staff an opportunity by making 25 saves. Winnipeg native Joel Hofer picked up his fifth profession shutout by turning apart all 24 photographs he noticed.
The Jets proceed their pre-Christmas highway journey Friday evening in Colorado, which on paper is an enormous mismatch based mostly on how the 2 sides have been taking part in this season. Pregame protection on 680 CJOB begins at 6 p.m with the puck dropping in Denver simply after 8 p.m.
