If there's one thing St. Louis Blues fans should have learned by now about the 2024-25 team is that one loss won't make or brake this group.

Even in falling apart in the third period of Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the Winnipeg Jets, getting outscored 3-0 to fall 5-3 and lose for just the third time in regulation this season when leading after two periods (35-3-1) to trail the best-of-7 series 1-0.

Game 2 is Monday from Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg before the series shifts to St. Louis for Games 3 and 4 on Thursday and a week from Sunday, April 27.

"Overall, I liked our game for the majority of it.," Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. "You’re up 3-2 with 10 minutes left in the third (period) and we didn’t prevail, so we’ve got to grow and learn from that. I think a lot of guys got some valuable experience in their first NHL playoff game. They’ll be significantly better, and I still think we have a lot of guys that have experience that maybe weren’t at the top of their game yesterday for us and they’ll be better."

What may have seemed more uncharacteristic was the veteran defensive unit would probably admit it didn't play as well as it has in recent months, more so with breaking pucks out and being able to withstand the Jets' pressure, something that group has handled well that fueled a 19-4-3 run from the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

"Yes, you would love to take advantage of that opportunity, but there's ebbs and flows to every series, every game, and we were right there the whole time, and a couple opportunities late, they capitalized on so those things are going to happen," Blues defenseman Cam Fowler said. "We just need to regroup and make sure that we take a look at the film and understand what happened, and then come back ready to go tomorrow night.

"I think it's the adjustments that have to be made in game, I think there's certain tactical things that we can look at that can help us for the next game, and then just understanding that in order to have success in the playoffs, you have to sustain that momentum for 60 minutes, especially when you're on the road and you're playing against a really good team and in a difficult environment. So I was proud of our guys. I thought we fought hard. And it's something that we can learn from and build off of that we were right there in a competitive hockey game. And next time we're in that situation, hopefully we can get the job done."

The Blues are going to have to be better against Jets top-line players Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor in particular, along with linemate Alex Iafallo. Each scored a goal, and Scheifele and Connor each had two assists to combine for seven points going against the Robert Thomas line with Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours.

"I liked Thomas’ line offensively," Montgomery said. "I think defensively we’ve got to be a little sharper and a little quicker.

"I don’t think they just got that one chance. They got the third goal and fourth goal. The third goal really bothers me because that’s our team defense not executing. The fourth goal, to me, sometimes the other team makes a high-end play and that’s a high-end play made by two high-end players. That’s going to happen. It’s like the only way to stop Michael Jordan is to let Dean Smith coach him. You’re not going to stop him besides that. He’s going to get his looks, and we’re going to get our looks. To your point, analytically, we had our looks as well with our top line."

It was quite the learning experience as well for first-time playoff participants for the Blues, including Neighbours, Zack Bolduc and Jimmy Snuggerud. They learned how much the temperature rises, emotions ramp up and players learn, like Fowler said, the ebbs and flows of what playoff hockey brings.

"It was fun. Exciting, obviously the atmosphere was amazing," Neighbours said. "I thought the game in itself was awesome, it was physical, it was fast. That’s fun hockey to be a part of so it was a good first game.

"… I think you have a decent idea about what to expect but when you get in the moment. There are a lot of emotions and the crowd’s that loud and the game’s being played at such a high rate and so physical, it’s tiring but it’s a lot of fun. I think just throughout the course of the game, staying calm, staying present and continuing to focus on the task at hand was the biggest thing I learned. Obviously emotions can get high with the atmosphere and how the game’s being played, so I think learning those are important."

Montgomery vowed the Blues will be better in Game 2. They need to be or else they'll be tasked with coming home in an 0-2 hole, which isn't ideal against the Presidents' Trophy winners, who were the stingiest team in the league allowing a league-low 191 goals this season.

"I loved the way we started the game," Montgomery said. "We played with a lot of intent and purpose to start the game. As the game went on, I thought the Jets started to establish their game plan a little bit better than us and that’s where we have to be able to maintain our energy and our execution level for 60 minutes."

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