3 Things to Watch For: Blues vs. Jets

The St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets kick off the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two Central Division combatants will go toe-to-toe, as the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets try to edge out one of the hottest teams in the league over the last two months. With Game 1 finally here, let's dive into three things to watch for in this first-round series.

1. Goalie Battle

The big headline of this series is the goaltending battle between Connor Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington. Hellebuyck just completed one of the greatest regular seasons of the modern era, and it likely will earn the Jets' goalie his second straight Vezina Trophy. In 62 starts, he went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

The Blues might not have an award winner in their crease, but Binnington has one thing Hellebuyck does not: a Stanley Cup Championship. The veteran St. Louis net minder has had a resurgent year as he posted a 2.69 GAA.

Whichever goalie has the better series will lead their team to victory and the second round. Both are playing at the top of their game, and it will be the focus of the entire series.

2. Powerful Play

As if Hellebuyck wasn't imposing enough entering a playoff series, the Jets also enter with the top power play in the NHL. During the regular season, they converted on 28.9% of their power-play opportunities. It's easy to understand why when they have underrated offensive dynamos like Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor distributing the puck and finishing plays.

Contrarily, the Blues were one of the worst performing teams on the penalty kill. Their penalty killing success rate of 74.2% ranked 28th in the NHL during the regular season. That leaves them susceptible to the Winnipeg power play, and could give the Jets an easy path to victory. If one team takes the special teams advantage, it could dictate the tone for the rest of the series.

3. Rookie Impact

The Blues have two young players that could make a huge impact on this series in rookies Jimmy Snuggerud and Zac Bolduc. Bolduc had a strong first full season with St. Louis, recording 19 goals and 17 assists in 72 games.

Snuggerud joined the NHL lineup late in the season after completing his time in the NCAA with the University of Minnesota. In seven games, he has one goal and four points, but the postseason could be where Snuggerud makes a difference.