ST. LOUIS – It’s not quite “must-win” territory for the St. Louis Blues yet, but down 0-2 in their first-round playoff series against the President’s Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, it’s pretty darn close.

The Blues return home Thursday evening to host the Jets for at least two more first-round playoff games. After dropping their first two contests in a best-of-seven series, albeit competitive and close losses, the Blues suddenly see themselves two losses away from their season ending.

To keep their playoff hopes alive, St. Louis must win at least four of up to five more possible games in the series. In other words, the Blues will need to rally back from an 0-2 series deficit to survive and advance another round, something that’s historically been a steep climb in the NHL playoffs.

According to NHL stats database Champs or Chumps, teams down 0-2 in a playoff series come back to win just 12.3% of the time. There have only been 58 successful series comebacks from down 0-2 out of more than 400 such scenarios.

And historically speaking, the odds have been even less favorable for the Blues.

St. Louis has faced an 0-2 hole in playoff series 20 times. They have come back to win only once.

And that was way back in 1972, when the Blues rallied to defeat the Minnesota North Stars in seven games in the NHL quarterfinals. Despite that valiant effort, that momentum didn’t carry far. The Blues were eliminated in the next round by the Boston Bruins.

More recent Blues history down 0-2 in playoffs hasn’t been kind either. The Blues were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in a 2021 first-round playoffs matchup after dropping the first two games. The year before, in a 2020 COVID-bubble playoff matchup, the Blues fell behind 0-2 to the Vancouver Canucks, then rallied to tie the series, but ultimately lost it in six games.

If a comeback is in the cards, the Blues most likely will need to win Game 3.

Per Champs and Chumps, teams that win Game 3 after falling behind 0-2 manage to come back and win the series nearly 24% of the time. But when teams down 0-2 lose Game 3? The odds of completing a series comeback plummet to just 1.6%.

Home ice could help the Blues in their uphill battle. The Blues closed the regular season with a 12-game home winning streak and finished 24-14-3 on home ice.

The Jets, meanwhile, have been just as dominant (if not better) on home ice, which helped fuel their 2-0 series start. Winnipeg went 30-7-4 at home during the regular season.

To survive and advance, the Blues will not only have to play steady at home, but steal at least one game in Winnipeg. If the series somehow reached seven games, the Jets would host the series-deciding Game 7. If the Blues hope to win four straight, they will need to win Game 5 up north.

The pressure is on as the St. Louis Blues return home to host the Winnipeg Jets for their first playoff game in three years. Puck drop for Game 3 is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT Thursday at the Enterprise Center.