The Winnipeg Jets showed why they were they were the NHL regular-season champion by rallying to defeat the St. Louis Blues 5-3 in the opener of their Western Conference First Round playoff series.
The “whiteout” crowd at Canada Life Centre was pretty gloomy for two periods; the Blues had the better of play and took a 3-2 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes. But the Jets, who gave up an NHL-low 191 goals during the regular season and had the League’s best goal differential at plus-86, stifled St. Louis in the final 20 minutes, allowing just two shots on goal.
Mark Scheifele set up the tying goal by Alex Iafallo at 9:18 and found 41-goal scorer Kyle Connor for the game-winner with 1:36 remaining. Adam Lowry’s empty-netter 43 seconds later sent the full house of 15,225 and about 5,000 fans watching outside home happy.
“Yes, it did,” Connor told Sportsnet when asked if it felt like getting the winning goal was just a matter of time. “I got loose there and (Scheifele) made a great pass.
Connor Hellebuyck had to make just 14 saves for the Jets, who will host Game 2 on Monday.
It was a disheartening loss for the Blues, who were 35-2-1 during the regular season when leading after two periods. St. Louis was the NHL’s best team after play resumed following the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, but even Team Canada hero Jordan Binnington couldn’t stem the tide against the Presidents’ Trophy winners.
3 takeaways from the Jets’ come-from-behind victory over St. Louis
1. Jets don’t panic
The Jets didn’t win a League-leading 56 games during the regular season by losing their composure when the going got tough. That composure showed in the third period, when Winnipeg took command and found a way to win a game many other teams would have lost.
Even after failing to convert on two power plays in the first 6:05 of the third period, the Jets kept coming, gradually pushing the play and forcing the Blues to spend most of every shift defending.
“Our third period was Winnipeg Jet hockey,” Connor said. “We limited their chances, and I thought we did a great job of coming back and defending.”
The tying and winning goals were examples of perfect execution — especially by Scheifele, who made perfect setup passes on the goals by Iafallo and Connor.
“It’s been the story all year,” Connor said. “Just sticking with it, no matter what.”
2. Hellebuyck saves the day
Hellebuyck is all but assured of repeating as winner of the Vezina Trophy, voted to the top NHL goaltender. But his postseason struggles were a big reason the Jets were bounced by the Colorado Avalanche in five games in their first-round series 12 months ago.
The first 30 minutes or so looked like a repeat of last year. Hellebuyck was playing back in his net and was beaten by three well-placed shots that beat him high. But with his team trailing 3-2 and the Blues dominating play late in the second period, he made the save of the night to keep the margin at one goal.
Jordan Kyrou, the Blues best player on this night, stole the puck in the neutral zone, burst in alone and deked before tying to beat Hellebuyck through the five-hole. But Hellebuyck made the save to keep the score 3-2.
That’s the kind of save teams needed from their goaltenders at this time of year, and Hellebuyck made it – giving his team a chance for the comeback win. St. Louis had just two shots after the game-changing save.
3. Blues miss big chance
St. Louis was less than 11 minutes away from stealing Game 1. Now they’ll have to find a way to regroup after letting this one get away.
The Blues looked like the better team through most of the first 2 1/2 periods, with Jordan Binnington playing like the goaltender who led them to the Stanley Cup six years ago and backstopped Canada to the 4 Nations title in February. St. Louis scored on each of its first two power plays, got a sensational goal by Kyrou and had the Jets on their heels.
But instead of a stunning win, they’ll have to regroup quickly to avoid going down 0-2. A win Saturday would have given the Blues the road win they’ll need to upset the Jets; instead, Monday’s game becomes a must-win contest.
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