St. Louis and Winnipeg are gearing up for their third clash at Canada Life Centre. Inside The Rink’s own Conrad Jack gears you up for game five with his gameday thoughts.
St. Louis Is Coming to Battle
It is no secret that the St. Louis Blues will be ready to battle for game five. All the momentum is in their favour heading into tonight’s game. I don’t see a realistic world where the Blues feel the pressure like the Jets would tonight.
If games one and two are any indicator of anything, it should really forecast the strengths of the Jets while highlighting what there should be improvement on. The Blues focused on what they needed to improve on, and that’s what won them games three and four.
Winnipeg is in a position to improve, and for the better. They get Gabriel Vilardi back on their top line while Alex Iafallo slides down to the second line. If Iafallo plays just as well as he did on the first line, the Jets will be in a far better off depth-wise, but they need to rely on a rounded effort from the first line to the fourth line for scoring.
St. Louis will be playing to shut down the Jets’ best scorers will minimizing their time in the Blues’ zone. That’s what they did best in games three and four, and if the Blues want to continue their success, why pivot away from a strategy that’s worked so well up until this point?
Clean Up Special Teams
Yikes. The previous two games are an example of needing to clean up the special teams yet again.
Winnipeg is getting into a rhythm of losing their composure once the Blues score two or three goals, and if that continues, this series is done in six games.
Composure and discipline are a massive factor in these playoffs, especially with the way officiating has gone for every team. Winnipeg must feed off a power play chance with Vilardi back on the top power play unit, especially on home ice, to swing momentum in their favour, but they absolutely cannot take their foot off the gas after one or two goals.
Cleaning up the power play and penalty kill units is crucial to the Jets’ success in game five and for the remainder of the playoffs. Longevity lasts in hard-hitting, physical games, but it also lasts in how you leverage those situations when you get a man advantage or go down a player.
Secondary Scoring
Here I am, beating this drum for the fifth straight game. The Jets desperately need players not named Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele to contribute to the scoresheet in some capacity tonight.
Yes, it’s great that Connor and Scheifele have played great so far, but if the team is solely relying on them to score every goal in every game, it’s going to be a long game five and six. However, the return of Gabriel Vilardi loads up the top line, and the quietness in the three lines below is rather concerning for the Blues.
Some Jets forwards haven’t scored in quite some time, and this could be their time to break out. I’ve screamed into the void that secondary scoring is going to be a massive factor for every team, and Winnipeg has fallen into the what if category of this.
The Jets have all the right pieces for secondary scorers, but it’s ultimately up to them to show up and put the puck in the back of the net and contribute to plays that can win the game for them.
Stick to the Structure that Won the Presidents’ Trophy
The Jets didn’t win 56 of 82 games this season on a fluke. They had a structure that won them the Presidents’ Trophy, and Scott Arniel wasn’t afraid to call them out when they strayed away from that structure.
Games three and four left a lot of people scratching their heads and others doubting the team. Game five is absolutely crucial for the Jets to rebound, solely off the fact that St. Louis has been playing like they have nothing to lose.
Hellebuyck also won the William M. Jennings Trophy this season for the goaltender with the lowest goals-against average, but the playoffs have been a whole other story. Hellebuyck has said that he needs to be better and will be better in game five. The Jets need to feed off their successes from the regular season and play the game they know how to play best if they want to take game five on home ice and put themselves in a winning position.
Feed Off the Whiteout
Getting back to home ice is a great reset for the Winnipeg Jets after two big losses in St. Louis. The Jets and Blues head back to Winnipeg tied 2-2, but if game five is anything like the first two games, Winnipeg can feed off the home crowd for energy in the game.
The whiteout street parties, party in the plaza, and the Canada Life Centre crowd will be rocking in full force tonight at 8:30 pm CST. Winnipeg looks to take a 3-2 series lead into St. Louis with a win tonight, but that remains to be seen.
ITR 35: Round One – Inside The Rink
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