St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets Pick & Prediction APRIL 30th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Winnipeg Jets are in dire need of a strong performance from their two-time Vezina Trophy winner, Connor Hellebuyck, if they hope to gain the upper hand against the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series on Wednesday night.
Hellebuyck himself is confident that he will improve his play. After allowing 11 goals on 43 shots and being replaced in the third period of back-to-back road losses in Games 3 and 4, he knows he needs to step up his game to help his team.
"I am going to perform better," Hellebuyck assured reporters on Monday. "I have studied goaltending extensively and have probably studied more than anyone else in the world. I know what I need to do to bring my best game, and that's what I plan to do in Game 5."
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During the regular season, Hellebuyck led the NHL in wins (47) and goals-against average (2.01), and was a close second in save percentage (.925). However, in the playoffs, he currently ranks 17th in GAA (4.24) and save percentage (.817) among goalies with at least two appearances.
Despite his struggles, Hellebuyck does not plan on making any major changes to his preparation or mechanics.
"It would be foolish to make significant changes in the playoffs after playing so many regular-season games," he explained. "You don't win 47 games and then suddenly change everything in the playoffs. I know what I need to do and I have confidence in my abilities. I won't be making any drastic changes."
The Jets also received some good news with the return of forward Gabriel Vilardi, who has been out with an upper-body injury since March 23. In his second year with the team, Vilardi recorded career highs in goals (27), assists (34), and points (61) in 71 games.
On the other side, the Blues plan to stick with their strategy of shooting the puck at the net and looking for deflections and rebounds.
"It's the playoffs," said Blues center Brayden Schenn. "You have to win the net-front battle and go to the net. If you look at the playoffs league-wide, that's where most of the goals are coming from."
St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington has been solid in net, just as he was when he led Team Canada to victory over Hellebuyck and the United States in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
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Binnington currently ranks sixth in the playoffs in GAA (2.29) and ninth in save percentage (.907), both of which are better than his regular-season stats of 2.69 and .900.
"He's been making big saves when we need him to," Schenn praised. "When Binner is on, he has a great ability to read the play. He's been doing a fantastic job of that and has made key saves at crucial moments. He's only gotten better as the season has gone on."
The Blues will be without defenseman Tyler Tucker, who left Game 4 with a right leg injury. His absence will likely lead to the return of veteran Ryan Suter, who was a healthy scratch in Games 3 and 4.
Suter played in all 82 games during the regular season.
St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets Recap APR 30TH 2025
Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists for the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-3 win against the visiting St. Louis Blues in Game 5 of their Western Conference first-round series Wednesday night.
The Jets own a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series heading to Game 6 on Friday in St. Louis.
Vladislav Namestnikov and Nino Niederreiter each had a goal and an assist, Mason Appleton had three assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for the Jets, who bounced back from one-sided losses in Games 3 and 4 in St. Louis.
Nathan Walker scored two goals, Jimmy Snuggerud also scored in his 12th NHL game and Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for the Blues, the second wild-card team from the Western Conference.
The Jets scored three straight goals after Snuggerud tied it at 2 with a wrist shot from the right circle off the rush, slipping the puck between Hellebuyck and the near post at 6:06 of the second period.
A point shot by Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo deflected off St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko and into his own net to move the Jets back in front 3-2 at 11:05.
The Blues extended the lead to 4-2 at 18:59 of the second when Namestnikov scored off a backhand feed from Connor to finish off another rush.
Adam Lowry scored into an empty net with 3:13 remaining to make it 5-2.
Walker answered with a goal to cut it to 5-3 with 53 seconds left.
Winnipeg forward Gabriel Vilardi returned after missing 15 games with an upper-body injury and he took the first shot on goal before Connor scored on the second for a 1-0 lead at 1:23.
Appleton kicked the puck to teammate Mark Scheifele behind the St. Louis net and Scheifele passed it out front to Connor for a one-timer from the left hash marks.
The Blues quickly tied it at 1 at 3:42.
Walker was stationed in front of Hellebuyck when he tipped in a wrist shot by Parayko from above the right circle.
Niederreiter then pulled up in front of Binnington and tipped in a shot to move Winnipeg back ahead 2-1 at 8:39 of the first.
Scheifele did not return after the first period because of the effects of a hit by Brayden Schenn earlier in the period, resulting in an interference penalty on Schenn.
Scheifele was second on the Jets in goals (37) and points (87) during the regular season.