Tonight marks the 1st matchup (non pre-season) between the two teams involved in the nicknamed “Manitoba Miracle” game, as the Jets battle the St. Louis Blues. The Jets lost 3-2 to the Senators in overtime in Winnipeg on Monday, as a late game tying goal from the Senators gave them the momentum they needed to eventually win it in the extra frame. Tonight’s opponent, the Blues, continue to struggle this season, currently on a 2-3-0 stretch in their last 5 games. The 25th overall 15-15-2 Winnipeg Jets and the 28th overall 12-5-7 Blues will clash at Enterprise Center, two teams trying to slowly claw their way back in an ultra-competitive Central Division.

The Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues have surprisingly not played each other yet this regular season. The four game season series starts tonight in St. Louis, followed by 2 games in Winnipeg (in January and March) before the final matchup in St. Louis in April. Including their thrilling 7 game playoff series in round 1 of last year’s playoffs, the Jets are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games against the Blues. These two teams are Central Division rivals who always find a way to have entertaining games.

The injury report for the Winnipeg Jets continues to remain at just one name. Haydn Fleury has officially been cleared to resume playing, and he remains on the IR as he hopes to work his way back into the lineup soon.

The Blues aren’t as fortunate, as they have seven players listed on their injury report, three of which were added within the last week. Torey Krug is out for the season, Zack Dean is out for a few more weeks, Jimmy Snuggerud is out for around another month, and Nathan Walker is out long term with an upper body injury. Jordan Kyrou recently went down with a lower body injury and is expected out for around 2 more weeks, while Dylan Holloway injured his ankle and will be out for over a month. Nick Bjugstad was added to this lengthy IR list yesterday with what should be a short term upper body injury.

Connor – Scheifele – Vilardi

Niederreiter – Namestnikov – Perfetti

Barron – Lowry – Iafallo

Koepke – Toews – Nyquist

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Pionk

Stanley – Schenn

Hellebuyck

Comrie

The unconfirmed starting goalie is Connor Hellebuyck, who may be making his 3rd straight start since returning from injury. After Hellebuyck’s most recent start, he now holds a 9-6-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .915 SV%. The rest of the Jets lineup remains unchanged (from Monday night’s game) as of this morning. There was once again several announced lineup changes by the Jets prior to last game, so make sure to stay tuned to the Jets official X/Twitter account for any late lineup additions or changes prior to puck drop.

Joseph – Thomas – Buchnevich

Neighbours – Schenn – Fabbri

Suter – Dvorsky – McGing

Toropchenko – Sundqvist – Luff

Broberg – Parayko

Tucker – Faulk

Fowler – Mailloux

Hofer

Binnington

The Blues lineup is quite banged up at the moment due to injuries, featuring several call ups from the AHL. There’s several players that are talented but not well known on this team, which has Blues fans excited about their future. Looking at the Blues’ player stats through 34 games, Robert Thomas leads the way with 23 points. Joel Hofer is the unconfirmed starting goalie. Hofer hasn’t had the best season so far, as he continues to share the crease behind Jordan Binnington. Hofer holds a 5-7-2 record with a 3.15 GAA and a .890 SV%.

The Jets depth scoring is still slowing improving (shoutout to Logan Stanley who now has 6 goals), but one player that continues to contribute on the stat sheet is Gabriel Vilardi. As the Jets continue to shuffle lines, Vilardi has found himself on the wing on pretty much every line. Now that he’s projected to be back on the 1st line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, Vilardi will be surrounded by talent as he continues to have a strong season. In 32 games, Vilardi has 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points. No matter which line Vilardi is on, he’ll continue to get the 3rd most ice time out of all Jets forwards, as he continues to be an important member of the Jets top powerplay unit.

The Blues have struggled to score this season, currently with 0 players scoring 10+ goals. Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 7 goals and 16 assists for 23 points in 30 games. With Jordan Kyrou and other key forwards out of the lineup, Thomas will be heavily relied on to produce offence for the Blues. Thomas is more known for his playmaking ability, but he’s shown he can score when called upon. Thomas only has 42 shots on goal this season, but I expect that number to go up in the short term while the Blues are without several forwards. Look for Thomas to use his creative play style to get the Blues on the scoresheet tonight.

Puck drop in St. Louis is set for just after 7:00 pm CST. Tonight’s game will hopefully end with a big two points for the Jets, finding any way they can to win on the road. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation for a recap of the action, as the Jets look to win this rivalry matchup.