Kyle Connor will try to stay hot and add to his career success against St. Louis on Thursday when the Winnipeg Jets visit the Blues.
Connor has five goals and six assists in his last seven games.
“I think for me, the thought process is skating first, just get my feet moving,” he said. “I think that’s one of my greatest assets. My speed and create a lot of chaos off of that. Draw a lot of defenders to me, and more of a focus on getting the puck to the net. And I’ll see the play if it’s there.”
Connor also has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 17 career games against the Blues. He earned an assist in Winnipeg’s previous game against them, a 4-0 victory at home on Oct. 24.
The Jets have won five of six games heading into this game at Enterprise Center. They are coming off a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers and former Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice on Tuesday.
“I’m not going to lie, that was a good win in my books,” Jets center Mark Scheifele said. “I’m pretty happy with that one.”
Winnipeg struggled last season under Maurice, who was replaced by Dave Lowry on an interim basis after 29 games. The Jets have soared to the Central Division lead this season under new coach Rick Bowness.
“At the end of the day, we’ve moved on,” Scheifele said. “We’re a different team this year than we were last year.
“I think it’s been awesome for me, it’s been awesome for a lot of us. You see the rejuvenated faces in this room. (Bowness) has been on us each and every day, whether it’s a good game or a bad game, he’s always looking to help us. We’re being pushed and we’re being challenged to reach our full potential. That does a lot for our team.”
The Blues earned a 7-4 road victory over the New York Islanders Tuesday to snap a four-game losing streak. They broke out to a 5-1 lead and held on for the win.
“It’s really nice to win,” Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly said. “It’s something we haven’t had in a while. Made it a little too exciting at the end there. But the big thing is we won a game. There’s a lot of good things we did tonight. A few bad bounces in just a few minutes that gave them some life and spark. But at the end of the day it’s a big win, and there’s something to build off.”
The Blues won despite missing winger Pavel Buchnevich (lower-body injury) and defenseman Torey Krug (upper-body injury). Buchnevich has eight goals and six assists in his last 10 games.
After winning seven straight games last month, the Blues lost six of seven games before beating the Islanders.
Once again they are searching for a turning point to their season.
“When you’re a player and things aren’t going well, you tend to lose your confidence,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “It’s frustrating. You want to win. You want to do well. And sometimes it doesn’t go your way. You may play a good game, like we did with the New York Rangers. And you end up losing the game.
“Sometimes you start to think, ‘Well, what next? What else can happen?’ But you just gotta keep battling. You gotta work your way out of things. That’s the only way.”
–Field Level Media
