Winnipeg Jets captain Adam Lowry was mobbed by teammates as white-clad followers stood and roared after he tipped within the profitable aim 16:10 into double time beyond regulation for a 4-3 NHL victory over the St. Louis Blues in Sport 7 on Sunday.
The Jets will face the Dallas Stars within the second spherical of the Western Convention playoffs, beginning Wednesday within the Manitoba capital. Winnipeg has by no means performed the Stars within the post-season.
It was the third-longest Sport 7 in NHL historical past at 96 minutes, 10 seconds.
Winnipeg was down 3-1 within the third interval when veteran ahead Vladislav Namestnikov scored with 1:56 remaining after his shot went in off Blues defenceman Ryan Suter.
With goalie Connor Hellebuyck pulled for the additional attacker, Winnipeg seemed prefer it tied it up with 1:06 left however a evaluation dominated the puck didn’t cross the aim line.
Cole Perfetti then scored his second redirected aim of the sport with three seconds remaining to carry 15,225 frenzied white-clad followers out of their seats inside Canada Life Centre. Kyle Connor and Neal Pionk each had three assists for the Jets.
Winnipeg went on the facility play 6:20 into the primary time beyond regulation when St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn was known as for delay of sport. The Jets tried to pound the puck within the crease, however goalie Jordan Binnington coated it.
Binnington additionally stopped winger Nikolaj Ehlers on a breakaway. The Jets outshot the Blues 11-4 within the first further session.
Hellebuyck completed with 26 saves. The finalist for the Vezina and Hart trophies was pulled in favour of backup Eric Comrie within the earlier three video games however made some key saves on Sunday.
The Jets misplaced prime defenceman Josh Morrissey about eight minutes into the primary interval. They have been already with out star centre Mark Scheifele (upper-body harm) for a second straight sport.
Winnipeg gained the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy after having a league-best 56-22-4 regular-season document and have been the favourites in opposition to the eighth-seeded Blues.
The Jets jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the best-of-seven sequence, however ended up internet hosting the first-ever Sport 7 within the metropolis.
Jordan Kyrou scored on the Blues’ first shot of the sport and Mathieu Joseph and Radek Faksa additionally had targets for the guests. Binnington made 43 saves.
Kyrou scored at 1:10 after he and Colton Parayko went on the frenzy. Kyrou handed the puck throughout the entrance of the web to Parayko, who handed it again and Kyrou poked it by a stretched-out Hellebuyck. It marked the quickest aim to start a Sport 7 in Blues’ historical past.
Joseph made it 2-0 after selecting up a free puck dropped by Connor within the impartial zone. Utilizing Morrissey as a display screen, Joseph despatched a wrist shot previous Hellebuyck on the stick aspect at 7:16.
Morrissey went to the dressing quickly after the aim. Earlier within the sport, he received hit into the boards by Blues ahead Oskar Sundqvist and gave the impression to be in ache as he sat on the bench. He didn’t return.
The Jets missed on a pair possibilities early within the second interval, however received the sport’s first energy play and shortly made it depend.
Seven seconds after Sundqvist was known as for slashing, Connor despatched the puck towards Perfetti in conjunction with the web and the Whitby, Ont., product redirected it by Binnington at 11:41.
St. Louis regained a two-goal lead after Ehlers misplaced the puck and Faksa beat Hellebuyck excessive over his glove with 34.1 seconds left within the second.
Playoff pasts
The Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers franchise is now 2-8 all-time when going through elimination. The opposite win got here in Sport 7 of their second-round sequence in opposition to the Nashville Predators in 2018. The unique model of the Jets misplaced a pair of Sport 7s on the highway in 1990 and ’92.
It was St. Louis’s nineteenth all-time Sport 7, probably the most amongst all non-Unique NHL golf equipment. The franchise now sports activities a 10-9 document.
