For the first twenty minutes, it sure felt like there was no way the Jets could beat Jordan Binnington no matter what they did. But the Jets broke through in the second period and the goals kept coming and Winnipeg not only has new life in this series, but a new reason to hope as they’ve now proven that St. Louis’ rookie phenom in net is very much human.

After two close games that could have easily been winnable by Winnipeg, a dominant third game by the Jets should start to plant seeds of doubt on the Blues side of things.

Absolute domination from the Jets for pretty much the entire period, but Jordan Binnington was masterful in goal for the Blues. Winnipeg held a 13-7 lead in shots, and NatrualStatTrick.com had high danger scoring chances at 2-0 for the Jets, but it sure felt like that should have been higher. Winnipeg was physical, they were relentless.

They also gave up the first goal. David Perron scored his second of the playoffs on a play that needed to be defended a lot better by Dustin Byfuglien than it was. It was a deflating goal and one that could have sank a team, but to their credit the Jets pressed on with a few more chances to end the period, but Binnington was being impossibly difficult to beat.

 

Turns out Binnington isn’t that impossibly difficult to beat.

Kevin Hayes shot a seemingly harmless looking puck from the blueline, but some traffic in front and a deflection help put the puck past Binnington and Winnipeg evens things up early on in the period.

The Jets didn’t let up. A broken play on a puck kept in at the blueline by Jacob Trouba who then found Patrik Laine breaking to the net and it was 2-1. Kyle Connor sniped top corner glove side on the power play and it’s 3-1. Not more than half way into the middle frame and suddenly the game and the series has a very different feel. After a time out to settle things down, the Blues do regain a bit of momentum, but the Jets defense does well to keep things to the outside. Jets again out-shoot the Blues 12-6 and now with the Binnington haven given up some goals – two of the “really, after all that, those go in?” variety, hope feels plentiful for Winnipeg as the dreaded third period loomed.

Binnington broken. At least for tonight.

The Jets first three shots on the St. Louis goalie all get past Binnington, including a wickedly evil shot off the side of the head from Dustin Byfuglien that goes in. St. Louis made a game of it of course, and a goal 1:51 into the period from Vlad Tarasenko on the power play was cause for concern, but the Jets seemed to make it a point to keep attacking, but much like game two was a story of Hellebuyck falling apart in a Jets loss, this game has to be seen as Billington returning to regular human form in a Blues loss.

Billington had not allowed more than four goals this entire season. He allowed six tonight.

There are still issues for the Jets. The defense got a bit sloppy towards the end of the game with the Blues continuing to shoot. Shots were 15-4 for the Blues in the third, but we can chalk a lot of that up to score effects. The Jets continued to be aggressive, but they didn’t over-commit or play out of position.

We now have a series.