Tonight, the Winnipeg Jets will host the St. Louis Blues in the first Stanley Cup Playoff series of 2025, and the Jets will need to stick to three keys to come out with a win. The Winnipeg Jets were incredible during the regular season, taking home the President's Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team. As a result, they come into the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the top seed in the West and will face off against the St. Louis Blues, who snuck their way into the playoffs as the final seed in the West. Despite barely making it into the field, the St. Louis Blues are expected to be a tough test for the Jets, who are still looking to prove they can perform well when the lights are the brightest. With Game 1 on hand, the Jets will need to focus on three main points: winning the goaltending matchup, special teams success, and key contributions from young stars. <h3>Winning The Goaltending Matchup</h3> One of the biggest reasons the Jets are in the position they are this season is the incredible success of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck has been an unbelievable asset for the Jets and is expected to be a finalist for just about every goaltending award out there, including the Vezina Trophy. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/wyshynski/status/1912855529841402249'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> While this would make one assume Hellebuyck gives the Jets a clear advantage in goaltending, the Blues boast one of the most clutch goaltenders of this generation, Jordan Binnington. Binnington's regular-season numbers are not as impressive, but he has always stepped up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and was crucial for Canada in beating the USA and Hellebuyck at the 4 Nations Face-Off. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1913601109039407541'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1913686823752130875'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> If the goaltenders even one another out, then things will have to turn to more subtle areas of the game, including special teams. <h3>Special Teams Success</h3> In every Stanley Cup Playoff series, the success of each respective team's power play and penalty kill can often sway a series. For the Jets and Blues, neither team has an electric power play, but both will make you pay for repeated offenses; therefore, whoever is more effective in staying out of the box throughout the series could have a major advantage. <h3>Which Team's Young Stars Will Step Up?</h3> With these teams so close, the series could come down to which team has production from unexpected places when it matters most. For the Jets, there are fewer options when it comes to young, dynamic talent that could outproduce expectations, but players like Cole Perfetti, Gabe Vilardi, and Dylan Samberg are all names to keep an eye out for. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1906465654921715858'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/propuckinsights/status/1913700202038312965'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> As for the Blues, they are led by several young offensive stars, including Zachary Bolduc, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Jake Neighbours have all stepped up their game this season in St. Louis. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/STLBluesMuse/status/1913264890233450597'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1912306484207120536'><div style='border:1px solid #CCCCCC;border-radius:10px;padding:20px;width:300px;'>Loading from Twitter ...</div></a></blockquote></div> With the series set to kick off tonight, it will be interesting to see who becomes the hero of the playoffs early for these teams and sets the tone for the games to come.