*Photo from Sportsnaut*
Turns out, all the Winnipeg Jets needed was a little change to push them over the top. Paul Stastny scored two goals against his old team, Kyle Connor scored, and the Jets defeated the St.Louis Blues by a 4-1 score in St.Louis on Saturday afternoon.
The win against the Blues snaps a 6 game losing streak for the Jets, who were 0-4-2 in their last 6 games. Stastny led the way with two goals, and Connor contributed a goal and an assist for the Jets. In their last 9 games, the Jets had scored 3 or fewer goals in all 9, so this was a welcome change to put up 4 in a game.
Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois said of the win that "We knew we had a couple games before the break, we have a lot of games after. The season goes by fast. You can't be losing too many. To come here tonight against a really good team at home, it felt really good to get a win, to play well, and it was also good to see 'Coms' play well back there. When we made mistakes, he was there. It was a big win for everybody. We did a really good job tonight."
Another key for the Jets was giving starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck a rest after starting 13 straight games. Backup Eric Comrie got the start in net, his first start since December 10. Comrie also recorded his first win since November 5 by stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced from the Blues, good for a .966 save percentage, his record improving to 4-2-1 in 7 starts this season.
It was the Blues who struck first, with Vladimir Tarasenko opening the scoring 6:08 into the game, with his power play goal making it 1-0 Blues, with assists coming from Justin Faulk and Brayden Schenn. Stastny evened the score with an unassisted goal at the 14:23 mark, tying the game 1-1 on his 10th goal of the season.
Connor opened the scoring in the second period, giving the Jets a 2-1 lead 7:57 in, Connor's 24th goal this season. On the power play 12:35 into the second, Nate Schmidt made the lead 3-1 with his second goal of the season, with Connor and Mark Scheifele assisting. Stastny scored on an empty net in the 3rd period to seal the 4-1 Jets win.
Jets head coach Dave Lowry said of snapping the losing streak that "It feels great, let's be honest, it's been a long time. I thought we played a real solid game. It's a hard league to win in, and every win is nice. Today, we came, we executed, we played a really solid road game. We managed the game the way we needed to."
In the loss, the Blues took just their 3rd loss in their last 17 games at home, with a 14-2-1 record in their last 17 home games. Ryan O'Reilly played his 900th career NHL game, but did not factor in on the scoresheet. The Blues were just unable to break through the wall of Comrie in goal.
On the other side of the ice, Ville Husso made the start for the Blues. Husso took the loss, saving 20 of 23 shots for a .870 save percentage, his record now at 9-3-1 this season. Husso lost at home since April 5, 2021, having a 9-0-0 record at home since that date, and also had a 6-0-0 record in January, prior to this loss.
Schenn said of the loss that "I think we were flat. I don't think we had the intensity we needed to beat a good team. I don't think we moved our feet enough, didn't take care of the puck enough and ultimately fell behind and weren't able to grab it back."
The Jets head east to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night, with Hellebuyck likely to draw the start again. The Blues don't play again until after the all star break, with a February 10th home contest against the New Jersey Devils, with Jordan Binnington the probable starter.
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