Welcome to NHL Predictions and Game 2 of the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series! Like the regular season, Last Word On Hockey will review each game and give our thoughts and predictions. After Winnipeg was able to battle back and prevail in Game 1, will they be able to go more of the wire-to-wire approach in Game 2? Or, will St. Louis find a way to secure a road victory early on in the series? Stay tuned, as we attempt to break it all down for you.
NHL Predictions
St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
TV: FDSNMW, CBC, TVA SPORTS2, ESPN2
Playoff Series: 1-0 Jets
The Winnipeg Jets took care of business in Game 1 versus the St. Louis Blues. The pressure remains on Winnipeg somewhat, despite the fact they are favoured. However, not winning two at home to start a series can spell trouble. Next up after Monday’s game, is two days of rest, followed by the series shifting to St. Louis, Missouri for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and Sunday.
The Blues Story Trailing in the Series
The Blues have a lot of high-end talent and it was on full display in Game 1. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou can be tough to contain, even for the stingiest of defensives. Both scored goals in Game 1. In contrast, you can see how hard Connor Hellebuyck can be to beat. Yes, the Blues scored three goals, but each time, the goalie was witness to some high-level of skill to score the markers. That was mixed in with some situationally suspect D possibly leading to the chances on those goals. The rest of the time, Helly was just hard to beat.
From our NHL Predictions, we believe that the Blues will now have to turn to their leaders to help pick this team up. They have a great player and leader in Brayden Schenn. His numbers from Game 1 weren’t very good, but he was finding a way to make an impact. One way was by picking up 10 minutes in penalties, showing he won’t back down. Therefore, Schenn is going tonget tough when the tough get going. The intensity, it is exactly what you want from your playoff guys. Look for Schenn to put in the work to keep this series competitive. We are expecting a big Game 2 out of him and the rest of the Blue forward group.
The Jets Story Now That They’re Up
The Jets best players emerged when the game was on the line. How else do you explain coming back from a third period 3 – 2 deficit? Case in point, Kyle Connor was definitely one of the main storylines from Game 1. Connor scored the game-winner late in the third period with only 1:36 on the clock. Furthermore, that was after two more points from earlier in the game. Along with him, Mark Scheifele, another of their big name forwards, each had three total points in the game. When the Jets best players are better than your best players, they are more than often successful.
Another potential difference maker for the Jets in this series, is Alex Iafallo. He’s shown somewhat unexpected speed and skill from someone thought of as being lower on the club’s depth chart. These are the type of pieces that make the Jets a deeper team than they may appear on the surface.
NHL Predictions
We don’t want to say must win in Game 2 of a series when you’re up, but it might just apply. The way St. Louis played in Game 1, they more than did enough to prove their group could be more competitive. However, they weren’t good enough to avoid playing the Presidents’ Trophy winners in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. We like the Jets to prevail in Game 2, and we do mean prevail. Like Game 1, it will be a closely contested matchup.
Predictions: Jets win, 3 – 2.
Prop Bets
The Jets aren’t paying well on the Moneyline. However, it is the starting play at -188 on your parlay based on our prediction. We also like Connor to stay hot, so tack him on as an anytime scorer. For St. Louis, Kyrou is the play as an anytime scorer. Mixing in Cole Perfetti to record two or more shots, and all of a sudden your parlay hits +1750. We say, let the Jets soar!
Main Photo: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images
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