The St. Louis Blues clinching their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs following a 6-1 win against the Utah Hockey Club Tuesday evening, accompanied by some late-game heroics from Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek with 22 seconds remaining against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 82, sealed the deal as to whom the Winnipeg Jets’ first-round opponent would be.
Jets vs. Blues — a rematch of the first-round matchup in 2019, where St. Louis ultimately defeated Winnipeg en route to its first Stanley Cup title in franchise history. It’s also another head-to-head battle between Connor Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington, two gamers in the net who battled it out during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February—with Binnington’s Canadians prevailing in overtime.
Among the plethora of storylines in this series, however, is the family clash that is brothers Brayden and Luke Schenn facing off against one another for the first time ever in the postseason.
“I was cheering for him down the stretch, realizing it could be a possibility,” Luke told reporters after pre-game skate on Wednesday. “Not that we were necessarily hoping for that, but it’s worked out that way.”
Luke said he and his brother chat every day, but unfortunately, that will all change before the puck drops at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.
“As far as communication goes, we’ll get through tonight and then probably not chat much or at all once playoffs start,” he said. “We talked this morning on the way to the rink… We both agree it’s game on.”
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Luke, 35, and Brayden, 33, played with each other during their time in Philadelphia from 2012 to 2016, but haven’t had the chance since.
Not long ago, Luke was playing with the Nashville Predators, who’ve arguably been the most disappointing team this season after signing star forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault to long-term contracts, yet placing third worst in the entire NHL with 30 wins in 82 games.
With playoff hopes in the rearview mirror, Nashville shipped out Luke’s services to the Pittsburgh Penguins before being flipped to the Jets nearly 48 hours later at the trade deadline.
It was a sudden turn of events for the veteran defenceman, going from one of the worst teams in the league to the best, and it’s something his brother Brayden can relate to in a sense.
Prior to hiring head coach Jim Montgomery, who was relieved of his duties as head coach of the Boston Bruins on Nov. 19, 2024, the Blues held a 9-12-1 record. With Montgomery behind the bench, St. Louis scratched and clawed back into the playoff picture with the help of a late-season franchise-record 12-game winning streak.
After the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Blues have had the best run of all 32 teams, registering a 19-4-3 record.
“I was joking around with him earlier, if I was still in Nashville I’d be cheering for the Blues,” Luke said. “Obviously, things have totally changed, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this group heading into the playoffs.”
Brayden is just as surprised at how the playoff picture has shaken out before Game 1 puck drop at 5 p.m. this weekend.
“I don’t even know how to describe it,” Brayden said earlier this week. “It’s a weird situation. You never really expect it with all the teams in the league and where he was at the start of the year, and here we are.”
With all the built-up anticipation for this series, all that’s left to do now is play.
Luke will look to add a third Stanley Cup ring to his collection with a deep run in Winnipeg, while Brayden and his Blues will look to replicate its comeback season in 2019, where they reached the promised land off a stellar second half of the season.
“When we play each other, we’ve both got the same goal in mind… And I’m going to do whatever I can to help our team win,” Luke said.
