Jets look to rebound in Game 4 of 1st round after Blues’ dominant win

ST. LOUIS -- The Winnipeg Jets knew exactly what they were going to get in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round.

They knew the St. Louis Blues, down 2-0 in the best-of-7 series, were going to respond. They knew the Blues were going to feed off their home crowd at Enterprise Center. They were right, and when it was all over the Jets were on the wrong end of a 7-2 loss Thursday.

“Obviously they made adjustments,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said after the game. “We'll look at their adjustments and obviously we'll have to do some things as well.”

They have some time with Game 4 here Sunday (1 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, MAX, truTV, TBS, SN, TVAS, CBC). But where to start?

Well, perhaps with the start. It’s been a bit of an issue for the Jets through the first three games -- they’ve allowed six first-period goals -- but Thursday was the toughest.

The Blues were aggressive, and the Jets were overwhelmed. Barely three minutes into the game, Winnipeg trailed 2-0, with Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich scoring twice.

The first goal came 48 seconds into the game when a pass into the crease hit Jimmy Snuggerud and trickled toward Buchnevich, who kicked it into the air and then banged it home with his stick.

"I think that [first] goal, he kicks it and then deflects it [48] seconds into the game. We knew that they were going to start throwing pucks at the net, bodies to the net,” Jets forward Cole Perfetti said. “It was a skilled play but a little unfortunate, lucky to kick it like that and then bat it out of the air bar down.

“[Forty-eight seconds] into the game. It's tough to start like that. And then, you know from there, yeah, it's hard when that's your start. It's frustrating and we’ve just got to come out stronger.”

Less than three minutes later, Buchnevich scored again, this time deflecting a pass from Robert Thomas in front of the net over Hellebuyck’s shoulder.

Going to the middle of the ice was an adjustment the Blues made and one the Jets had no answer for.

With the exception of Oskar Sundqvist’s even-strength goal in Game 1, a wrist shot from 16 feet out, the Blues’ goals in Games 1 and 2 came from 29 feet or farther away. In Game 3, four of the Blues’ seven goals came from within 16 feet.

“We gave up the middle of the ice a lot tonight,” Arniel said. “Probably if I'm going to talk about the whole game, we gave up the ice a lot tonight, through the middle. Which we don't usually do.”

The Jets got one power-play goal on four opportunities in Game 3, and they’ve been rather quiet there through three games. After having the No. 1 power play during the regular season at 28.9 percent, they’re 11th among the 16 Stanley Cup Playoff teams at 20.0 percent (2-for-10).

“Well, we had some good looks, especially to start. That one, [defenseman Josh Morrissey] had a couple good looks, we had a couple net-front whacks at it that could have gone,” Perfetti said. “[Blues goalie Jordan] Binnington made some good saves at the right time. They did a better job on our entries today. We had a bit tougher time breaking in and getting set up. We'll clean that up.

“We're going to build off that and see where we can improve and move on. We had some good looks. Binnington's made some good saves on the power play so far, but we're creating those chances and that's all you can ask for. Eventually the puck's going to go in the net for us.”

Winnipeg’s lineup could have some changes for Game 4. Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was a late Game 3 scratch because of illness. A two-day break should give him time to recover. Forward Gabriel Vilardi has been out since March 23 because of an upper-body injury. He’s skated with the Jets since Monday, albeit in a noncontact jersey, and is with them on this trip.

Game 3 was a bad one for the Presidents’ Trophy winners, but they’re looking at it as that: just one bad game. They’re still up in the series, still have home-ice advantage, still expect to rebound Sunday.

“I mean, if you look at it, I think the score gets a little inflated, obviously, with some of the penalties near the end of the game, and just kind of the way things shook out," Morrissey said. "But, you know, we made it 3-1, and obviously we're trying to get back into that hockey game. I thought the second was better for us as well. So at the end of the day, like I said, playoffs are all about momentum, all about learning lessons in series, adjusting in series, getting better within the series.

“And that's something that we need to do over the next few days, but then turn the page and come out with a great start on Sunday.”