MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. -- Oskar Sundqvist scored from the low slot, the St. Louis Blues forward proving opportunistic after Winnipeg Jets defenseman Luke Schenn’s clearing attempt went awry.
It was a nice goal late in the first period of Game 1, and an even-strength one at that. But it’s also been the only one the Blues have scored 5-on-5 through the first two games of the Western Conference First Round.
“I think obviously it starts with more possession in the [offensive] zone, hanging onto pucks longer,” St. Louis forward Jake Neighbours said after practice Wednesday. Obviously, [it’s about] directing more shots in that direction and getting more traffic there.
“They’ve got a really good goalie (Connor Hellebuyck), and you can’t make it easy on him. You’ve got to get to the net and make it harder for him to see pucks and create chaos around him. I think if we can do a better job of that, I thought it got better from Game 1 to Game 2 and hopefully taking another step heading into Game 3.”
The Blues trail 2-0 in the best-of-7 series but host Game 3 at Enterprise Center on Thursday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, ESPN2, SN, TVAS, CBC).
The Jets have scored five 5-on-5 goals (three of those in the combined third periods) and one goal on the power play.
They’ve been pleased with how they’ve stifled the Blues 5-on-5 thus far.
“Well, we've had some great saves at big moments, obviously,” Winnipeg defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “We pride ourselves on being a good defensive team, not giving up a lot of volume of opportunities and big scoring chances against. There are always going to be some (opportunities) every night and we're trying to clean that up, trying to not give up anything.
“But we've done a good job of limiting too many high-danger chances, and obviously (we’re) committing to doing the tough things -- blocking shots, and tracking back and not giving up those type of situations. So, we're going to have to continue to improve. There are areas we can get better at from the first two games, but it's a commitment to playing hard (defense) that we've tried to make a staple of ours all season. And certainly, this time of year it's extremely important to keep all four lines, all six [defensemen], committed to playing hard [defensively].”
The Blues’ need for 5-on-5 scoring became more obvious as Game 2 progressed. Their power play was 2-for-3 in Game 1 and scored again with two seconds remaining in the first period of Game 2 (Jimmy Snuggerud) to tie it 1-1. But their power play was denied on their next three opportunities.
“We’ve got to get to their blue paint better,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “We have to sustain more [offensive]-zone time. Those are two things that we definitely have to do better. Then, besides that, we need to play faster not only offensively, but defensively.
“You know, sometimes you have to credit the opposition and sometimes we need to reinforce it. I think we’ve talked a lot about defending our net, but I don’t think we’ve talked enough, as a coaching staff myself in particular, about being heavy at their net front.”
The Blues will have the home crowd on their side after losing the first two games in Winnipeg, and home has been very good to them; they were 24-14-3 here during the regular season, including finishing with 12 straight home wins.
St. Louis hasn’t lost at home since a 4-3 shootout defeat against Winnipeg on Feb. 22, its first game after the 4 Nations Face-off break.
“Maybe (we’re) down two, but they got their two in their barn and now it’s our turn to do our job at home,” Neighbours said. “We’re excited for that opportunity to play in front of our fans, first playoff game in over three years. Fans are going to be excited. We’re excited to play in front of them. We believe this series is long from over.”
NHL.com international correspondent Darrin Bauming contributed to this report
