Expectations soar for Jets as playoffs set to start versus Blues

Judgment Day has arrived for the Winnipeg Jets.

Despite the NHL team's long list of regular-season accomplishments, many hockey fans will only view this campaign as a success if the Jets go deep in the playoffs.

The quest begins Saturday when Winnipeg takes on the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of its best-of-seven Western Conference first-round playoff series before a "whiteout" full house at Canada Life Centre.

"Regardless of how well your regular season goes, you're generally judged on performance in the playoffs and things like that," Jets captain Adam Lowry said. "We're embracing the pressure. We're excited for the challenge ahead."

Jets head coach Scott Arniel is well aware of the expectations.

"We're still going to be judged on what happens from Game 83 on," Arniel said after the team clinched its franchise-first Presidents' Trophy for top regular-season record.

"There's still lots to happen and, hopefully, there's a long story to go with that and it gets to be a 2½-month-long story."

Winnipeg was eliminated in five games in the past two first rounds, including last year against Colorado, after finishing fourth in the league with 52 wins.

The Jets carry a 56-22-4 record into the battle with the Blues — and the weight of fans' Stanley Cup dreams.

The last Canadian team to win the championship was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.

The deepest the Jets have gone was in 2017-18, when they reached the conference final and lost in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Last year's early exit left a sense of disbelief that turned into a spark to start this season.

The Jets won 15 of their first 16 games and never let go of the conference's top spot they reached on Jan. 14.

The club didn't make splashy additions at the trade