Tonight marks the start of a crucial week for the Winnipeg Jets, as they face the St. Louis Blues at Canada Life Centre. The Blues are currently riding a 12-game win streak, so the Jets will need to bring their best. Then, on Thursday, Winnipeg heads to Dallas to take on the Stars in another critical matchup for two points.

The Jets are coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Saturday, which many have described as one of their worst efforts of the season. Down 3-0 after two periods, the Jets were able to break the shutout in the third. Mark Scheifele scored his 38th goal of the year, a power-play tally that also marked his 800th NHL point, making him the first player in Jets 2.0 history to reach that milestone. Blake Wheeler previously held the record with 795 points.

Winnipeg’s start to the game was sluggish, something they’ll need to avoid against the surging Blues. Utah was first to the puck, while the Jets appeared flat and lacked urgency for more than half of the contest.

“We weren’t ready to go,” said head coach Scott Arniel. “We dominated the third period, but it was a case of ‘a buck short and a day late.’”

“That was a stinky one tonight,” Scheifele admitted after the game. “We’ve got a big game coming up Monday, so we need to learn from this.”

Learning from Saturday’s performance will be crucial, especially with the Blues showing no signs of slowing down. They haven’t lost since March 13th in Pittsburgh, a 5-3 defeat.

Injury woes continue to haunt the Jets, with Nikolaj Ehlers, Gabriel Vilardi, Neal Pionk, and Rasmus Kupari all out. Ehlers and Vilardi’s absences have notably affected the power play, as both are key contributors on the PP1 unit. Ehlers is still listed as day-to-day, but his status could change before tonight’s game.

Connor – Scheifele – Iafallo

Ehlers – Namestnikov – Perfetti

Niederreiter – Lowry – Appleton

Tanev – Barron – Anderson-Dolan

Morrissey – DeMelo

Samberg – Schenn

Stanley – Fleury

Hellebuyck

Comrie

Buchnevich – Thomas – Snuggerud

Neighbours – Schenn – Kyrou

Joseph – Sundqvist – Bolduc

Toropchenko – Faksa – Walker

Broberg – Faulk

Fowler – Leddy

Suter – Tucker

Hofer

Binnington

(Lineups via Daily Faceoff; subject to change)

Puck drop for tonight’s game is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be available to watch on Amazon Prime. Be sure to check out the post-game article at Jetsnation.ca.