Winnipeg Jets regain control of 1st-round series with 5-3 win at home over St. Louis Blues
Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists to propel the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday that earned them a 3-2 lead in their opening-round playoff series.
Game 6 of the Western Conference best-of-seven battle goes Friday in St. Louis, where the Blues won the two previous games while extending their home record to 14 consecutive victories.
According to the NHL, teams that take a 3-2 lead in a series go on to win the series 79 per cent of the time (233-62).
The Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets were without star centre Mark Scheifele after the first period. He was crushed into the boards by Blues captain Brayden Schenn early in the opening period.
Vladislav Namestnikov, who replaced Scheifele on the top line, recorded a goal and assist. Nino Niederreiter also had a goal and assist. Dylan DeMelo and Adam Lowry, into an empty net, also scored. Mason Appleton contributed three helpers in front of the whiteout crowd at Canada Life Centre.
Connor Hellebuyck made 16 saves for Winnipeg, which had top-line winger Gabriel Vilardi back in action after he missed 15 games with an upper-body injury.
Nathan Walker scored twice and rookie Jimmy Snuggerud also had a goal for the Blues. Jordan Binnington stopped 21 shots.
Winnipeg led 2-1 after the first period and 4-2 following the second.
After being outscored 12-3 in two losses in St. Louis, the Jets jumped out to a 1-0 lead 1:23 into the first period.
Scheifele sent the puck from behind the net out to Connor, who snapped it past Binnington.
The Blues quickly responded when Walker stayed in front of Hellebuyck and tipped in a point shot from Colton Parayko at 3:42.
St. Louis defenceman Cam Fowler also picked up an assist, extending his point streak to five games with one goal and eight assists. He leads the Blues in scoring.
Winnipeg got the game's first power play after Schenn jumped up and crushed Scheifele into the boards. He was called for interference and then roughing after Jets forward Brandon Tanev defended his teammate.
Twenty-seven seconds after Schenn's extra penalty expired, Niederreiter went net front and tipped in a Dylan Samberg shot at 8:39.
Both teams took four penalties, and had 17 hits each, as the temperatures rose during the opening period.
Scheifele, who took an earlier hit from Radek Faksa before the Schenn one, didn't come out for the second period.
After the Jets only got one shot on goal in their second power play, Snuggerud scored his second goal of the playoffs with a low shot that went between Hellebuyck's left pad and the post at 6:06.
DeMelo scored Winnipeg's first second-period goal of the series when his point shot went off the back of Parayko and into the net at 11:05.
Connor sent a backhand pass across the front of the net to a rushing Namestnikov, who broke his 20-goal scoring drought to make it 4-2 with 1:09 remaining in the second.
Winnipeg outshot the visitors 14-3 in the middle period and 22-9 through 40 minutes.
Lowry beat a defender and added an empty-netter with 3:13 left. Walker scored with 53 seconds remaining.
Turning the tide
The Jets had gone 2-4 in previous Game 5s, including losing four straight.
Their last Game 5 victory was in the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, when they beat the Predators 6-2 in Nashville.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Panthers rout Oilers 6-1 to take 2-1 lead in Stanley Cup final
Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got their first goal in the Stanley Cup final, and the defending champion Florida Panthers capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers' worst performance in weeks to win Game 3 in a 6-1 rout Monday night. The Panthers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Marchand became the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a final and the first to open the scoring the next time out after notching an overtime winner. His 11 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than similarly ageless Corey Perry. Bennett added his NHL playoff-leading 14th goal, just the second at home, after making a big hit on Edmonton's Vasily Podkolzin that contributed to the turnover to spring him on a breakaway. Marchand and Bennett have combined to score eight of Florida's 13 goals in the series. Story continues below advertisement But it was not just them this time. Verhaeghe buried a perfect shot into the net under the cross bar on the power play, Reinhart made up for missing the net on an earlier attempt, Aaron Ekblad scored to chase Stuart Skinner on the fifth goal on 23 shots and Evan Rodrigues added the exclamation point in the waning minutes. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky earned the 'Bobby! Bobby!' chants from a fired up Florida crowd. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender known as 'Bob' was on his game for the very few quality chances the discombobulated Oilers mustered, making 32 saves. Perry — at 40 the oldest player in the series — beat Bobrovsky with some silky hands for a power-play goal, keeping up this final being a showcase of cagey veterans along with Marchand. Connor McDavid could not get his team on track, and Edmonton took 15 minors — led by Evander Kane's three plus a misconduct to add up to 85 penalty minutes — including a brawl that ensued with less than 10 minutes left. Trent Frederic and Darnell Nurse, who fought Jonah Gadjovich, got misconducts that knocked them out of a game with an outcome determined long before. After the final looked as evenly matched as can be with Games 1 and 2 each needing extra time, overtime and then double OT, Game 3 was a lopsided mismatch. The Oilers came unglued to the point Jake Walman resorted to squirting water on Panthers players on their bench from his spot on the visiting side. Story continues below advertisement The teams have some extra time off before Game 4 on Thursday, when the Panthers have the chance to take a 3-1 lead.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Panthers rout Oilers 6-1 to take 2-1 lead in Stanley Cup final
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got their first goal in the Stanley Cup final, and the defending champion Florida Panthers capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers' worst performance in weeks to win Game 3 in a 6-1 rout Monday night. The Panthers lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. Marchand became the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a final and the first to open the scoring the next time out after notching an overtime winner. His 11 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than similarly ageless Corey Perry. Bennett added his NHL playoff-leading 14th goal, just the second at home, after making a big hit on Edmonton's Vasily Podkolzin that contributed to the turnover to spring him on a breakaway. Marchand and Bennett have combined to score eight of Florida's 13 goals in the series. But it was not just them this time. Verhaeghe buried a perfect shot into the net under the cross bar on the power play, Reinhart made up for missing the net on an earlier attempt, Aaron Ekblad scored to chase Stuart Skinner on the fifth goal on 23 shots and Evan Rodrigues added the exclamation point in the waning minutes. At the other end of the ice, Sergei Bobrovsky earned the 'Bobby! Bobby!' chants from a fired up Florida crowd. The two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender known as 'Bob' was on his game for the very few quality chances the discombobulated Oilers mustered, making 32 saves. Perry — at 40 the oldest player in the series — beat Bobrovsky with some silky hands for a power-play goal, keeping up this final being a showcase of cagey veterans along with Marchand. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Connor McDavid could not get his team on track, and Edmonton took 15 minors — led by Evander Kane's three plus a misconduct to add up to 85 penalty minutes — including a brawl that ensued with less than 10 minutes left. Trent Frederic and Darnell Nurse, who fought Jonah Gadjovich, got misconducts that knocked them out of a game with an outcome determined long before. After the final looked as evenly matched as can be with Games 1 and 2 each needing extra time, overtime and then double OT, Game 3 was a lopsided mismatch. The Oilers came unglued to the point Jake Walman resorted to squirting water on Panthers players on their bench from his spot on the visiting side. The teams have some extra time off before Game 4 on Thursday, when the Panthers have the chance to take a 3-1 lead. ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Hart for Hellebuyck heard through the grapevine?
This might be the equivalent of scoring on your own net. It appears the NHL may have sprung a leak and drowned out any drama surrounding two major year-end award winners. A photo currently making the rounds on social media appears to show Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck kneeling in front of the Vezina and Hart trophies. Whoopsie! FRED GREENSLADE / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Video leaked over the weekend that showed Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with both the Vezina and Hart trophies. The official announcement will be made Thursday. It's not clear where the image originated and one should always be wary of manipulation and fakes in this age of artificial intelligence. Neither the league nor the Jets will comment. But it's an intriguing twist considering the league has done away with a traditional awards ceremony this season, opting for a more grassroots approach to handing out hockey hardware. They have been pre-recording videos recently in which the winners of various honours, including the Selke Trophy, Masterton and Jack Adams, have been surprised on the spot. There's still a few more big ones to come, including the best goaltender and league MVP, which are set to be unveiled this Thursday at 5 p.m. CT in an hour-long TV special before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers. The purported Hellebuyck photo, which appears to have been taken near a lake, includes a large boom microphone hanging above him and an unidentified person capturing the moment on their phone. There's no question Hellebuyck is a slam-dunk to win the Vezina, which would be his second-straight and third overall. The 32-year-old essentially lapped the goaltending field this past year as he went 47-12-3 in 62 starts with a 2.00 goals-against-average, a .925 save percentage and eight shutouts. Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Darcy Kuemper (Los Angeles Kings) are the other two finalists, but the only mystery is which one is going to finish second to Hellebuyck. The much bigger development would be Hellebuyck becoming just the eighth goaltender in NHL history — and the first since Carey Price in 2014-15 — to capture the Hart. Tampa's Nikita Kucherov (who led the league in points) and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (who scored the most goals) are the other two finalists, and Kucherov was just named the Ted Lindsay Award winner as 'most outstanding player' as voted on by fellow skaters. The Hart is decided by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, while NHL general managers vote on the Vezina. All ballots had to be turned in before the playoffs, where Hellebuyck struggled at times in going 6-7 with a 3.08 goals-against average and .866 save percentage. Stay tuned. And, if Hellebuyck does take home the hardware, at least pretend to act surprised. Scott Arniel will have to settle for second-best this time around. The Jets head coach finished as the runner-up to Washington Capitals bench boss Spencer Carbery for the Jack Adams Award, which was announced this past weekend. Carbery received 81 of the 103 first-place votes cast by members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association and finished with 464 voting points overall. Arniel got 16 first-place votes and had 249 points, while Marty St. Louis of the Montreal Canadiens was third with 66 points. A total of 13 different coaches received at least one vote for first, second or third. Funny enough, neither Paul Maurice (Florida) or Kris Knoblauch (Edmonton) were among them, despite their teams meeting in the Stanley Cup for the second straight spring. Carbery led the Capitals to top spot in the Eastern Conference and second overall in the regular-season standings behind only Arniel's Jets, who went a franchise-best 56-22-4. Both Washington and Winnipeg won their first-round playoff series before getting knocked out in the second round. One of the more intriguing prospects in the Jets' pipeline might be staying put in Russia. Dmitry Rashevsky, who was selected by Winnipeg in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, was a pending free agent after spending the past five years with Moscow Dynamo of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said last month the team was in talks with his agent about potentially bringing the 24-year-old to North America for the first time. However, news surfaced this past weekend that Rashevsky has now signed a three-year offer sheet with rival Avangard Omsk of the KHL, which would seemingly close that door. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. However, in a plot twist, reports emerged Monday that Dynamo will exercise its option to match — but then plans to turn around and trade Rashevsky to another team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk. If Rashevsky balks at that, could he potentially pull a power play and take his puck skills across the pond after all? Rashevsky had 40 points (19G, 21A) in 65 games this past season and scored 24, 19 and 19 goals in the three seasons prior to that. He would be a nice add to the organization's forward depth. There's often a big risk with drafting Russian skaters, and it's the sole reason Rashevsky slipped as far as he did in his draft year. X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyreReporter Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
