Jets to face Blues as Western playoff picture set
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The Winnipeg Jets will face the St. Louis Blues in the first-round of the playoffs after the Western Conference playoff picture was locked in Tuesday night.
The Blues finished as the final wild-card team after the Minnesota Wild completed a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in overtime. St. Louis defeated the Utah Hockey Club 6-1 earlier to clinch their playoff spot.
As the higher of the two wild-card seeds, the Wild will face Vegas Golden Knights in Round 1. The Los Angeles Kings will face the Edmonton Oilers and the Dallas Stars will face the Colorado Avalanche in matchups that were previously confirmed.
The Jets have already won the Presidents' Trophy entering their final game against the Ducks on Wednesday and could finish with a franchise-record 116 points this season.
Winnipeg and St. Louis have met in the playoffs once before, with the Blues advancing in six games en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 2019.
The Jets went 3-1-0 against the Blues this season, including a shootout win on Feb. 22. Winnipeg snapped St. Louis' 12-game win streak earlier this month.
“They're top of the league, right? They’re there for a reason,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said after that 3-1 loss. “They play hard defence, no time and space, good goalie."
The Jets are in the playoffs for the third straight season, but are looking to end a streak of consecutive first-round exits. The Jets last won a series in 2021, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the first round before being swept by the Montreal Canadiens in Round 2.
The Blues are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2022, when the team reached the second round. That year marked the lone series win for the Blues since their championship in 2019.