ST. LOUIS – The stakes are pretty simple for the St. Louis Blues: Win or go home. For the first time this season, the Blues face the threat of elimination in Game 6 of their first-round playoff matchup with the Winnipeg Jets.
A Blues Game 6 victory would force a decisive winner-take-all Game 7 in Canada. A Jets Game 6 victory would effectively end the Blues’ 2024-25 season.
Winnipeg pushed the Blues to the brink of elimination with 5-3 victory in Game 5, taking a 3-2 series lead and moving now just one win short of advancing to the next round of NHL playoffs.
Friday marks the Blues’ first elimination game of the season, a stage they’ve stood on many times before, but have ultimately conquered all the way to the finish line just once: The unforgettable 2019 Stanley Cup run.
While every Blues playoff run – aside from 2019 – has ultimately ended in elimination, the Blues have also won a fair share of elimination games, either to keep their season alive another night or to see one more round of playoffs.
According to NHL stats database Champs or Chumps, in playoff elimination games, the Blues have an all-time record of 32-44. That’s a winning percentage of around 42%, or just less than half of the time, in do-or-die playoff games.
The Blues have had some mixed success with elimination games in recent playoff runs. They are 7-5 in potential season-ending games since the 2015-16 season. However, only one of those victories have come in the opening round, a 2016 Game 7 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Before then, the Blues dropped 10 straight possible season-ending playoff games between 2000 to 2015. However, the Blues have had several stretches where they have won up to four elimination games in a playoff season, even in season that they didn’t end up hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The Blues will need to win two consecutive elimination games to overcome a 3-2 deficit against the Jets and keep their season alive. The last time they did that? During the second round of 2019 against the Dallas Stars, capped by Pat Maroon’s heroic Game 7 double-overtime goal.
Most recently, the last time the Blues faced elimination in playoffs was 2022, when they were down 3-1 in a second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche. The Blues rallied for an overtime win in Game 5 to force a Game 6 on home ice, only to see their season end in heartbreaking fashion on a last-minute, game-winning Avalanche goal.
How will history treat the Blues this time around? It remains to be determined. The home team has won every game of this series for far. On the brink of elimination, the Blues will either continue that trend and force Game 7 showdown in Winnipeg or see their season come to an end Friday on home ice.
Puck drop for Game 6 is set for 7 p.m. CT Friday. FanDuel Sports Network Midwest and NHL on TNT will carry the live game broadcasts.
If the Blues survive their first game on the brink of elimination, Game 7 awaits Sunday and would be the final game of the NHL’s first round of playoffs.