Game 4 of the Blues vs. Jets round 1 series continued this afternoon at Enterprise Center in downtown St. Louis. After a less than ideal 7-2 loss in game 3, the Jets were looking to respond in game 4 with a strong performance on the road. With a win this afternoon, the Jets could take a 3-1 series lead, and would have their 1st chance to advance to the second round of the playoffs at home during game 5 on Wednesday. Gabriel Vilardi took warmups for the Jets, but didn’t play, as he remains close to his return. Haydn Fleury was inserted on the 3rd defense pairing with Luke Schenn, as Logan Stanley was the odd man out this afternoon. After a strong 1st period where the Jets led in shots 12-5, the Jets were unable to generate much offence in the final 40 minutes, and now find themselves tied in this best of 7 series 2-2.

The first 2 minutes of the game were fast paced, with both teams trying to open the scoring. Vladislav Namestnikov took the 1st penalty of the game before the 2 minute mark after tripping Jordan Kyrou. The Blues 40% powerplay went to work, but the Jets held the Blues to just 1 shot on their first man advantage of the game.

Both teams traded chances for the next few minutes, before Pavel Buchnevich was called for roughing against Mark Scheifele. The Jets went on their 1st powerplay of the night, with a powerplay that has been overall decently efficient in the first 2 games of this series. Jordan Binnington came up big for the Blues on this powerplay, as the Jets generated 5 shots on goal. Halfway through the 1st period, the Jets had a commanding 10-3 lead in the shots on goal department.

22 seconds after the powerplay expired, Tyler Tucker tripped Brandon Tanev, sending the Jets to their 2nd powerplay of the game. Despite a fair amount of time spent in the Blues zone, the Jets only managed 1 shot on goal during the powerplay, a slapper from Neal Pionk that almost squeaked by Jordan Binnington.

The Jets continued to generate scoring chances, and they were finally rewarded with the opening goal of the game on their 12th shot of the 1st period. A shot on goal by Dylan Samberg was deflected behind the net, and Cole Perfetti picked up the puck after it went in front, but he also missed the net as the puck went behind Binnington. Kyle Connor was open for the rebound as the puck went in front, and he backhanded it into the half empty net to give the Jets a deserving 1-0 lead.

Connor Hellebuyck made his best save of the game towards the end of the 1st period, marking the Blues first shot on goal in over 13 minutes. Both teams were looking for a spark to enter the intermission with, and it was the Blues who tied the game at 1 with 23 seconds left. After a lost puck battle in the corner, a fluttered point shot by Colton Parayko was tipped in by Jake Neighbours for his 1st career playoff goal. This game was tied at 1 after the 1st period, and the Jets led in shots on goal 12-5.

The first 10 minutes of the 2nd period were fairly evenly matched, with both teams pushing for the go ahead goal. Teams traded chances back and forth, and the Jets continued to lead in shots on goal 19-9. Despite no penalties and goals up until this point in the 2nd, it was still an entertaining game where it was anyone’s guess when the next big moment would happen.

That next big moment was unfortunately a Blues goal. Tyler Tucker scored his 1st career playoff goal after Alexandre Texier and Nick Leddy set him up for a slap shot from the point that went past a screened Connor Hellebuyck. The Blues seemed to gain some much needed momentum from that goal, and it was now the Jets that were the team trying to battle back in this game.

With just 5 minutes to play in the 2nd, the Blues got their 2nd powerplay of the game after Adam Lowry was called for roughing against Tyler Tucker. The penalty kill looked great, not allowing the Blues any good chances. Seconds after the powerplay was over, the Blues got a scoring chance and capitalized, making it a 3-1 game. Jake Neighbours passed it to Colton Parayko, who cut towards the net and passed it to Brayden Schenn in front. Hellebuyck was trying to bring the puck towards him with his goalie stick, but Schenn out muscled Hellebuyck and gained control of the puck as he wristed one past Hellebuyck to give the Blues a 3-1 lead late in the 2nd period.

The Blues weren’t done yet in the 2nd period, as 90 seconds later Justin Faulk made it 4-1 for the Blues. Brayden Schenn and Jake Neighbours set up Faulk at the point, and his slap shot deflected off Neal Pionk and past Hellebuyck. The Jets were only outshot 12-11 in the 2nd period, but Tyler Tucker’s go ahead goal halfway into the 2nd was enough to give the Blues the momentum for the rest of the 2nd period.

The Jets were hoping to come out firing in the 3rd period, as they didn’t want this series to be tied at 2 going back to Winnipeg. However, the Blues had other plans, as they would score on their 1st shot on goal of the 3rd period. On a nice breakout play, Pavel Buchnevich found Oskar Sundqvist on the rush, before dropping the puck back to Robert Thomas. Unmarked, Thomas skated in on Hellebuyck and backhanded into the net, making it 5-1 Blues. Connor Hellebuyck was replaced by Eric Comrie after allowing 5 goals on 18 shots.

Now a 4 goal game, the Blues showed no signs of slowing down even with this big lead. Minutes later, Mason Appleton was hit into the Blues bench by Zachary Bolduc, and Alexey Toropchenko gave him a little face wash that seemed to further ignite the Blues fans. Although the Jets still led in shots on goal 26-19, this game felt completely different than it did when it was 1-0 Jets, which felt like forever ago.

Eric Comrie looked sharp in goal from the moment he entered this game. Given the situation, he shut down the Blues from making this game even more out of reach than it already may have seemed. The final 3 minutes of this game the rough stuff got going, with multiple scrums either during the play or after a whistle. Nathan Walker and Luke Schenn were assessed misconducts in the 1st scrum, and around a minute later, several penalites were handed out, resulting in a late Blues powerplay. This game was pretty much over, so the Blues went out with their 2nd powerplay unit, and this game ended 5-1 for the Blues. Shots in the 3rd period were 8-6 Jets, and the final shots on goal were 31-23 Jets, as Jordan Binnington made 30 saves in the Blues victory.

Despite a great start to this game, the Jets just seemed to fall apart at the wrong time. I can’t put all of the blame on Hellebuyck for his 5 goals allowed, as there were a few goals where the Jets defense just had to be better. Even though the Jets outshot the Blues, the scoring chances the Blues generated were better, and ultimately were capitalized on. It was unfortunate the Jets couldn’t go into the 1st intermission up 1-0, as that lost puck battle in the final 30 seconds may have been the turning point in this game. The Jets will have to face a lot of questions between now and Wednesday, when game 5 goes down at Canada Life Centre. Puck drop for that game will be a late 8:30 pm CT start, as the Jets look to protect their home ice advantage and avoid losing their 3rd straight game. This series is now a best of 3, and Jets fans can only hope that the Winnipeg Whiteout on Wednesday will help reignite this team to regain the series lead.

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