St. Louis Blues Look for Third Victory This Season Against Division Rival Winnipeg Jets

The St. Louis Blues have already defeated the Winnipeg Jets twice during the 2015-16 season. Can they make it three on Tuesday night?

After a frustrating Sunday evening to the Colorado Avalanche in which the St. Louis Blues managed to score just one goal despite getting 43 shots on goal, the Blues will look for a rebound on Tuesday when they travel to face the Winnipeg Jets. It will be the Blues’ first time on the road in a while, as they’ve played their past five straight and seven of the past eight at home, so hopefully the trip will create some new energy.

The Blues will be looking to defeat the Jets, who currently sit in sixth place in the Central Division with a 14-14-2 record, for the third time this season. Despite the Jets’ intimidating size and physicality, the Blues have taken advantage of players like David Backes, Troy Brouwer, and Colton Parayko to negate any possible advantages that those qualities might otherwise create for Winnipeg.

More from Arch Authority

• St. Louis Cardinals: Randal Grichuk to begin Double-A rehab stint
• John Brebbia deserves a shot as the St. Louis Cardinals’ closer
• St. Louis Cardinals place Randal Grichuk on DL, recall José Martínez
• St. Louis Cardinals release RHP Corey Baker from organization
• St. Louis Cardinals activate Kolten Wong and Kevin Siegrist from DL, option Luke Weaver and Alex Mejia to Triple-A

The Blues have scored seven goals against Winnipeg in two meetings this season, which more goals than they’ve scored against any other opponent besides the Chicago Blackhawks. They’ll look to use that scoring success as motivation to end their recent offensive slump. The Blues have scored more than three goals in a game just once since November 7.

—

It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if defenseman Robert Bortuzzo got back in the lineup on Tuesday night. There’s perhaps no better team that Bortuzzo provides a better matchup fit against than the big, physical Jets, and it’s about time that he gets some game action after having sat out the previous five games. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder could replace Petteri Lindbohm, who committed a costly turnover in Sunday’s game that led to a Jack Skille goal for the Avalanche.

It makes sense that Jake Allen would get the start in net on Tuesday, considering that he’s been the Blues’ primary starter for most of the past two months. Coach Ken Hitchcock had yet to confirm Allen’s appointment as the Blues’ starter Tuesday, though, and he didn’t exactly deliver his best performance on Sunday, giving up two goals on just 17 shots faced.

Next: Top 20 Goal Scorers in Blues History

Here’s how the Blues’ lineup could look on Tuesday against the Jets:

Magnus Paajarvi–Paul Stastny–Vladimir Tarasenko

Alexander Steen–David Backes–Troy Brouwer

Dmitrij Jaskin–Jori Lehtera–Robby Fabbri

Scottie Upshall–Kyle Brodziak–Ryan Reaves

Jay Bouwmeester–Alex Pietrangelo

Carl Gunnarsson–Kevin Shattenkirk

Robert Bortuzzo–Colton Parayko

Jake Allen