Winnipeg Jets had their 1st chance tonight to advance to the 2nd round of this season’s NHL playoffs. Wednesday night saw the Jets use their home ice advantage to help them defeat the Blues 5-3. The home team in this series won the first 5 games of this series, but the Jets were looking to end that trend and avoid a game 7 back in Winnipeg. Mark Scheifele was out of the lineup tonight after getting injured in game 5. Several changes to the Jets line combinations were made tonight, and Nikolaj Ehlers made his return to the lineup after being injured late in the regular season. The Blues looked like the better team in the 1st period tonight, and that carried over to the rest of the game. A stretch halfway into the 2nd period saw the Blues erupt for 4 goals in 5 1/2 minutes, which would be enough to eventually lead them to a 5-2 win. This series will require a “winner takes all” game 7 back in Winnipeg on Sunday.

Both teams started this game with good energy, but you could tell that the Blues had a little extra step in their skates playing on home ice. 6 minutes in, on the Blues 1st good chance of the game, Philip Broberg made it 1-0 Blues. After a nice passing play by Jimmy Snuggerud and Robert Thomas, Broberg fired one passed a screened Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets thought about challenging the goal for goalie interference, but they let it go and decided not to risk a penalty for getting the challenge wrong.

30 seconds after taking the lead, the Blues got the 1st powerplay of the game after Dylan DeMelo took a delay of game penalty. This game was full of penalties throughout, but the Jets did well on the penalty kill limiting the Blues chances. A couple minutes after the penalty was over, the Jets went on the powerplay after an interference call on Jake Neighbours. The Jets struggled in the 1st to get pucks on net, and they weren’t able to tie this game in the 1st period. The Blues got their 2nd powerplay of the game late in the period after a Nino Niederreiter interference call, but they were once again unsuccessful. The Jets went into the 1st intermission trailing by 1 while being outshot 8-2.

The penalties continued just 26 seconds into the 2nd, after Justin Faulk hooked Morgan Barron. The Jets went to 0/2 on the powerplay after this advantage, but showed some signs of trying to get back in this game. 3 minutes after that penalty expired, the Jets went back on the powerplay, this time for a slash by Nathan Walker. Off the draw, the Jets set up, with Josh Morrissey feeding Kyle Connor near the point. Connor passed it down to Cole Perfetti, and he cut towards the goal and eventually “batted” the puck across the line past Jordan Binnington, trying this game at 1.

This goal looked like it would help the Jets turn things around in game 6, as they continued to trail in shots on goal and overall chances. 5 minutes later, the Blues started a stretch where they would score 4 goals in a span of just over 5 minutes. The go-ahead go came from Nathan Walker after he was left open in front of the net. Less than a minute later, Brayden Schenn wristed one past Hellebuyck on the rush, making this a 3-1 game. 1 minute later, Cam Fowler made it 4-1 after a wrister from the point went past a heavily screened Hellebuyck.

The damage wasn’t done yet, as 2 minutes later, following a Jets turnover, Alexey Toropchenko was found open in front of the net before wristing one past Hellebuyck. The Jets took their 3rd penalty of the game before the 5-1 goal, but the Blues remained without a powerplay goal. Logan Stanley took the Jets 4th penalty of the game before the 2nd period was over, but yet again the Jets penalty killers kept the Blues powerplay off the scoresheet. Despite a good penalty kill, the Jets found themselves down 5-1 after the 2nd, and they were outshot 15-9 in the 2nd.

Connor Hellebuyck was replaced by Eric Comrie in the 3rd period after allowing 5 goals on 23 shots. This 3rd period was full of penalties, a total of 15, most of which were off-setting roughing penalties after several post-whistle scrums. The Jets scored their 2nd powerplay goal of the night midway into the 3rd. Vladislav Namestnikov and Mason Appleton set up Nino Niederreiter in front of the net, and he poked the puck past Binnington to make this a 3 goal game. The Jets finished 2/6 on the powerplay, while the Blues went 0/7 on their man advantages.

The Jets pulled their goalie down 3 with around 4 1/2 minutes left, trying for one final push at avoiding a game 7. Jordan Binnington made a few good saves in the final minutes, preventing the Jets from getting any closer in this game 6. The Jets outshot the Blues 12-4 in the 3rd period, but it wasn’t enough to get back in this game, as the Jets lost 5-2 tonight on the road in St. Louis.

Well, my original prediction of this series being Jets in 6 is officially incorrect now. Connor Hellebuyck is now 0-7 in his last 7 playoff road games, and I don’t have much explanation as to why the Vezina and Hart finalist seems to not be able to perform to his usual standards on the road. This series will now come down to a deciding game 7 on Sunday. If the Jets can bounce back from a road loss like they did in game 5, they should be able to put in a good performance, but in a game 7, anything can happen. Mark Scheifele likely won’t be good to go for game 7, but whether he’s in the lineup or not I’d expect some lineup tweaks for the Jets. The two best words in playoff hockey will be at Canada Life Centre on Sunday night. Game 7. This deciding game will have a 6 pm CT puck drop, with the Winnipeg Whiteout sure to be out in full force both inside the arena and outside at the street party.

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