ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝

Colton Parayko was watching some of the footage recently, the clips from 2019 and a first-round series against Winnipeg. Friday was the six-year anniversary of Jaden Schwartz’s last-minute winner in Game 5 vs. the Jets, and someone sent the clip to Parayko.

It was part memory-jogging history lesson, and part playoff preparation as the Blues head to Winnipeg to open their first-round series on Saturday at 5 p.m.

“I feel like there’s so many little moments within a game that create big moments,” Parayko said. “It’s almost like you’ve got to be in the moment because there’s so much going on, so many different things that are happening. You look back at that goal, it’s obviously a little moment but a huge moment at the same time within the series.”

This series is the first time the Blues will face the Jets in the postseason since beating them in 2019 on the way to winning the Stanley Cup. Back then, the Blues won all three games in Winnipeg, scoring the game-winner in the third period of Games 1, 2 and 5. The Blues returned to ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝ and won Game 6 thanks to Schwartz’s hat trick.

A lot has changed since then.

The teams have made a combined five coaching changes — the Blues from Craig Berube to Drew Bannister to Jim Montgomery, the Jets from Paul Maurice to Dave Lowry to Rick Bowness to Scott Arniel. The building in Winnipeg is now Canada Life Centre instead of Bell MTS Place. Each team has won just one playoff series since. There are just five Blues on the current roster that played in that series. There are seven Jets, but Nikolaj Ehlers is not expected to play vs. ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝.

But the whiteout remains in Winnipeg. As has become a tradition, Jets fans will dress in white to create a unique atmosphere in the smallest rink in the NHL.

“You grew up, or seen clips, as a young guy and then you get to be a part of it,” Blues captain Brayden Schenn said. “It’s cool. Each franchise, each organization has their thing, their niche in the playoffs. Winnipeg’s always been the whiteout. It’s an intense building. It’s fun. Hockey playoffs in a Canadian city, people embrace it. It’s always fun going on the road to start. Going up there to try and steal one.”

Parayko: “It’s a loud building. Fans are passionate in Winnipeg, cool experience to have a whiteout. Just the playoff atmosphere in general anywhere you play is great. It’s a good team over there, hard building to go in there and win, but that’s the challenge for us and we’re excited for the challenge.”

This season, the Jets only lost seven times in regulation at home. The Blues were one of the teams to beat them, a 4-1 win way back in December. No other team beat Winnipeg by more on home ice this season.

In 2019, goaltender Jordan Binnington made 24 saves in a Game 1 victory, then another 26 in a Game 2 win. They were the first two Stanley Cup playoff games of his career, and his first of 16 wins that postseason.

Now 31 years old, Binnington enters the series with 41 postseason games played, the eighth-most among goalies in the playoffs this season.

“It’s loud,” Binnington said. “They’re passionate fans there. The city is definitely excited and waiting for us. It’s something that, looking back on it, is such an incredible experience to feel that energy and emotion. Go out and just play hockey and do our best to play our game and win our game. It’s a great opportunity for us, and we’re excited in here.”

Schenn, Parayko, Binnington, Robert Thomas and Oskar Sundqvist are the five holdovers from 2019. They’ve gone into Winnipeg to win a playoff series. They are five of the seven Blues that have won Stanley Cups (the others are Nick Leddy and Mathieu Joseph).

“I think on the bench, in between games, all the little things that people don’t see, that’s where those guys have a lot of impact,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “They have a calming influence with their words and their swagger.”

Parayko: “Just a little confidence in ourselves that we’ve been through it, we know what to expect. Possibly just trying to pass that on, or trying to stay confident and be in the moment, not necessarily guide, but lead the way. Each series is going to be a roller coaster. It’s going to be a lot of games within games, things like that. Just try and take our experience and use it to the best of our ability.”

Schenn said he remembers “the energy and emotion of both buildings” in Winnipeg and ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝.

“Both buildings are really tough to play in,” Schenn said. “That’s something you can rely on from past experiences. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Blues-Jets series schedule

Game 1: 5 p.m. Saturday in Winnipeg, FDSN, TNT, truTV

Game 2: 6:30 p.m. Monday in Winnipeg, FDSN, ESPN2

Game 3: 8:30 p.m. Thursday in ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝, FDSN, ESPN2

Game 4: Noon Sunday April 27, in ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝, FDSN, TBS, truTV

Game 5: Wednesday April 30 in Winnipeg, time and TV TBA*

Game 6: Friday May 2 in ĂŰŃż´«Ă˝, time and TV TBA*

Game 7: Sunday May 4, in Winnipeg, time and TV TBA*

* If necessary