The St. Louis Blues released their 2025-26 regular-season schedule on July 16, with many good matchups. There are three specific games to save the dates for, and they have a lot of backstory to explain why they are so important. Let’s review which games those are.
Minnesota Wild: Opening Night
A Central Division matchup between the Blues and the Minnesota Wild on opening night (Oct. 9) is a great way to kick off the season. Last season, the Blues lost the four-game series against the Wild 3-1. With a better roster in 2025-26, they will want to set the tone early in this season’s three-game series.
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In their first game against the Wild last season, the Blues lost 4-1 – the fourth goal was an empty-netter scored by Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson. The only goal by the Blues in that game came from forward Mathieu Joseph.
With Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad now in St. Louis, the roster will have some new scoring options to kick off the campaign, while Jimmy Snuggerud will be entering his first full NHL season after joining the team ahead of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Winnipeg Jets: Revisiting 2025 First Round Matchup
The Blues blew a sizeable lead in Game 7 against the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs before losing in double overtime. On Dec. 17, they will play their first game against the Jets since that loss, looking for some redemption at home. This is the first of four meetings between the clubs in 2025-26.
Their record against the Jets last season was 1-2-1. Winnipeg dominated in special teams, with a 14.3 power play percentage and a 90.9 penalty killing percentage against the Blues last season. If the Blues want to win, they will have to step up their power play percentage from last season (9.1) against the Jets to gain an edge on them.
The Blues will also have to keep an eye on Connor Hellebuyck, who is very good in the regular season, winning the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender the last two seasons. Hellebuyck went 2-1-0 in three starts against the Blues last season, with a .920 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.02 goals-against average (GAA). Joel Hofer started three of four contests against Winnipeg, and despite a 1-1-1 record, Hofer had a .921 SV% and a 1.97 GAA.
Florida Panthers: Facing the Back-to-Back Champs
The Panthers won both games against St. Louis in 2024-25. However, the Blues did not make it easy, losing by a goal in each contest. The Panthers outplayed them along the boards and gained many open slot chances. They won on a goal by Aleksander Barkov with less than 30 seconds left in the third period in the first game and a Matthew Tkachuk overtime goal in the second game of those two season series games from last season.
When the teams first meet on Dec. 20, the Blues will have to be ready for Tkachuk, Barkov, Brad Marchand, and Aaron Ekblad; the Panthers’ core group that management kept intact this offseason. Tkachuk had four points in last season’s series against the Blues, including a three-point night on Feb. 6 in St. Louis. Barkov was a silent offensive asset, scoring an overtime goal in their first game, while Ekblad had two assists off shots from the point that were tipped in.
Expect this matchup to be physically intense this season. This was another series where Hofer thrived last season, finishing with an over .900 SV%.
Blues Need to Change Their Game
These opponents are all playoff-contending teams with a lot of talent and experience. They will be very tough and intense to face, which will make things exhausting, especially with that opening night rivalry game against the Wild. The other two season series games with the Jets and Panthers won’t be as significant, but they are definitely worth catching a glimpse of to see if the Blues can make a statement and beat their 2025 first round opponent and the reigning back-to-back Stanley Cup champions.
