4/24/25 Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs Game Recap

Winnipeg Jets vs. St. Louis Blues (GAME 3)

The St. Louis Blues won Game 3 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets and forced Game 5 in the series. This game took place at Enterprise Center and ended with a final score of 7-2 in the Blues favor.

After struggling in the past two games, the Blues came into Game 3 with vengeance and determination to dominate this game. #89 Pavel Buchnevich opened up the game with a goal scored forty-eight seconds into the period (1-0). He then extended the Blues’ lead, 2-0, after successfully scoring on their first power play opportunity about three minutes after the opening goal. The Blues continued to maintain control and made it a 3-0 game after #17 Cam Fowler’s wrist shot successfully made it past Jets’ #37 Connor Hellebuyck with about five minutes left in the period. Although the Jets did have a series of great scoring chances, #50 Jordan Binnington maintained his 100% save percentage by the end of the first period.

The score remained 3-0 in the Blues’ favor by the end of the second period despite the Jets having a set of great scoring chances, hits, and man-advantages due to the Blues’ strong defence and goaltending. The Blues also had great chances to extend their lead, however, #37 Hellebuyck remained sharp after his shaky first period performance.

Although the Jets were able to gain some momentum in the third period with #19 David Gustafsson getting the Jets onto the board early in the third period, Blues #89 Buchnevich and #25 Jordan Kyrou answered back with two goals to make it a 6-1 game in their favor. Being down by five goals, the Jets continued to preserve and cut their goal deficit by four when #4 Neal Pionk’s slap shot made it past #50 Binnington (6-2). The Jets ended up pulling #37 Hellebuyck during the latter half of third period which gave #1 Eric Comrie his first start in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Unfortunately, #1 Comrie’s start was tainted by the Jets’ unsuccessful penalty kill shift as Blues’ #55 Colton Parayko capitalized on their man-advantage and secured the team’s 7-2 win. This win helped to keep the Blues’ playoff chances alive as it forced Game 5 in the series.

The standout players

St. Louis Blues

Forward: #89 Pavel Buchnevich ended with 4 points (3G, 1A)
Defensemen: #17 Cam Fowler ended with 5 points (1G, 4A)
Goaltender: #50 Jordan Binnington had a save percentage of 0.889% after he saved 16 out of 18 shots on goal

Winnipeg Jets

Forward: #19 David Gustafsson scored the first Jets goal of this game
Defensemen: #4 Neal Pionk scored the second Jets goal of this game
Goaltender: #37 Connor Hellebuyck initially started in net for the Jets and had a save percentage of 0.760% after he saved 19 out of 25 shots on goal. #1 Eric Comrie took over in the latter half of the third period and ended the game with a 0.667 SV% after he saved 2 out of 3 shots on goal.

Stats

The Blues outshot the Jets (28 SOG vs. 18 SOG)
The Jets delivered more hits than the Blues (67 hits vs. 63 hits)
The Blues won more faceoffs than the Jets (57.4% vs 42.6%)
The Blues had a higher power play success rate than the Jets (33.3PP% vs. 25PP%)

SUMMARY: The Blues’ puck possession, goaltending, and overall physicality, helped give them the edge to overcome their struggles in the past two games and come out victorious in Game 3 of the series.

Upcoming Games

GAME 4

When: April 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM PST
Where: Enterprise Center
Watch: TBS, truTV, Max, SN, CBC, TVAS

GAME 5

When: April 30, 2025 at 6:30 PM PST
Where: Canada Life Centre
Watch: ESPN

NOTE: Games 5-7 are TBD for each team as they will be scheduled if necessary

The Winnipeg Jets lead 2-1 in round one of the playoffs against the St. Louis Blues

Who do you think is going to win Game 4?

Comment down below!

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild (GAME 3)

The Minnesota Wild won Game 3 in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights. This game took place at Xcel Energy Center and ended with a final score of 5-2 in the Wild’s favor.

The Xcel Energy Center roared with excitement when #97 Kirill Kaprizov capitalized on the Wild’s first power play opportunity of the game which ultimately put the team up 1-0 three minutes into the first period. Nearly four minutes later, #23 Marco Rossi scored his first postseason goal after his shot bounced off Knights #27 Shea Theodore’s leg and into the back of the net (2-0). With all of the excitement in the first ten minutes of the period, the Knights’ momentum began to roll after #7 Alex Pietrangelo was able to successfully slip the puck past Wild’s goaltender, #32 Filip Gustavsson, and made it a one-goal game in the latter half of the period. After battling out during the remainder of the period, both #33 Aiden Hill (Knights) and #32 Gustavsson remained solid and kept the score 2-1 in the Wild’s favor.

The Knights struggled on their power play opportunity in the first half of the period as both #32 Gustavsson and the Wilds’ penalty kill unit remained solid to keep it a 2-1 game. It wasn’t until the latter half of the period when the Wild’s momentum ramped up with a goal scored by #12 Matt Boldy which made it a 3-1 game. The Knights did have a couple scoring attempts but found themselves unsuccessful when facing the Wild’s defence. With less than three minutes left in the period, the Knights’ penalty kill unit was put the test when #2 Zach Whitecloud received a holding penalty. Knights’ #33 Hill made a set of remarkable saves, however, with two seconds left in the period, #97 Kaprizov successfully tipped in a fortunate bounce from #38 Ryan Hartman which secured the Wild’s 4-1 lead going into the third period.

#40 Akira Schmid took over in net for the Vegas Golden Knights at the start of the third period and made some great saves, especially during the Wild’s power play opportunity in the latter half of the period. Knights’ #19 Reilly Smith took advantage of a Wild’s turnover and scored a short handed goal which cut their deficit by two-goals (4-2). After a tough sequence for the Wild once the Knights gained momentum from their short handed goal, the Wild’s penalty kill unit and goaltender, #32 Gustavsson, found themselves tested twice in a row after a cross-checking penalty was called on #5 Jake Middleton and a hooking penalty was called on #23 Rossi. With a minute and nine seconds left of their power play and being down by two-goals, the Knights pulled their goaltender to have an extra man on the ice. Unfortunately for the Knights, things did not go according to plan as Wild’s #17 Marcus Foligno secured an empty-net goal to make it a 5-2 game with a little over a minute left in the period. This last goal secured the Wild’s win and helped them to lead the series 2-1.

The standout players

Minnesota Wild

Forward: #97 Kirill Kaprizov scored two out of the five Wild goals of this game
Defensemen: #24 Zach Bogosian and #8 Zeev Buium assisted two goals during this game
Goaltender: #32 Filip Gustavsson had a save percentage of 0.938% after he saved 30 out of 32 shots on goal

Vegas Golden Knights

Forward: #19 Reilly Smith scored the second Knights’ goals of this game
Defensemen: #7 Alex Pietrangelo scored the first Knights’ goal of this game
Goaltender: #33 Adin Hill started out in net for the Knights and had a save percentage of 0.810% after he saved 17 out of 21 shots on goal before #40 Akira Schmid took over at the start of the third period. #40 Schmid ended the period with a 1.000 SV% after he saved all 9 shots on goal that he faced by the end of this game

Stats

The Knights outshot the Wild (32 SOG vs. 31 SOG)
The Knights delivered more hits than the Wild (42 hits vs. 26 hits)
The Knights won more faceoffs than the Wild (57.6% vs 42.4%)
The Wild had a higher power play success rate than the Knights (50 PP% vs. 0 PP%)

SUMMARY: Despite the Knights’ physicality and faceoff wins, the Wild’s goaltending, power play, and penalty kill unit was what helped them to win this game and lead the series 2-1.

Upcoming Games

GAME 4