Winnipeg Jets.

Night three of the NHL playoffs featured the Blues and the Jets game 2 at Canada Life Centre. Kyle Connor’s late 3rd period goal helped the Jets defeat the Blues 5-3 in a wild back and forth game 1. The pace of this series really seems to stand out compared to some of the other playoff game 1’s, with both teams really going for it. The Jets used to same lineup as they did in their game 1 win, while the Blues put Tyler Tucker in for Mathieu Joseph, as they decided to play with 11 forwards and 7 defencemen. Connor Hellebuyck and Jordan Binnington had average game 1s, as both were looking to make a bigger impact in game 2. This game was a low scoring, tight checking battle throughout, but another 3rd period goal from Kyle Connor was the difference maker in Monday night’s game 2.

The 1st period began right away with the same intensity that game 1 had after the first few minutes of the game. Both teams were looking for the opening goal, and each goalie made some good saves to prevent an early lead. Radek Faksa took a tripping penalty at 6:19 to give the Jets the 1st powerplay of the night. I’ll give some credit to the Blues here, as they were able to shut down the Jets powerplay without any prime chances. A few minutes after the penalty expired, Logan Stanley levelled Jordan Kyrou near the Jets blue line, a highlight moment from the tall defender.

Minutes later, Tyler Tucker took a cross-checking penalty at 13:21, giving the Jets another chance on the powerplay to open the scoring in game 2. Once again, the Jets couldn’t get one past Binnington, and this would be the final man advantage that the Jets would get this game, finishing 0 for 2. With just under 4 minutes left in the 1st, the Jets opened the scoring. As the Blues went for a line change with the puck at centre ice, Dylan DeMelo sent Mark Scheifele a pass at the blue line. Scheifele dashed in along the side and cut to the net and backhanded the puck past Binnington after it may have hit off a Blues defender as it was about to go in.

The Jets were looking to take that 1-0 lead into the 1st intermission, but Dylan DeMelo was called for a tripping penalty at 18:06. The 1st Blues powerplay looked pretty good from the start, and they were rewarded with a goal just before the period expired. A nice passing play from Cam Fowler and Pavel Buchnevich found Jimmy Snuggerud open at the top of the faceoff dot, and he wristed one top shelf past Hellebuyck for his 1st career playoff goal.

Shots on goal in the 1st period were 10-8 for St. Louis, and this game went into the 1st intermission tied at 1.

The 2nd period was scoreless, but it didn’t go without some good chances on both sides. The Jets took 2 penalties in the 2nd period, the first one being a Scheifele holding the stick penalty at 10:24. It looked like the Jets made some slight adjustments to their penalty kill after the Blues scored on their 1st powerplay, and whatever they did worked well this time, stopping the Blues powerplay, keeping the game tied at 1.

Logan Stanley played a great physical game tonight, but his physicality almost cost the Jets the lead when he was called for a cross-checking penalty at 16:50. Hellebuyck and the rest of the Jets penalty killers came up clutch with a 2nd strong penalty kill, and the Jets looked to use this momentum to get the lead. Both teams couldn’t find the back of the net in the 2nd period, and the shots on goal in the 2nd were even at 7 each.

The 3rd period started with a bang for the Jets, as Kyle Connor gave the Jets a 2- 1 lead at the 1:43 mark. After some nice puck movement around the boards, Mark Scheifele found Cole Perfetti at the side of the net, before Perfetti found an open Connor right in the slot, and he wristed one past Binnington to give the Jets a 2-1 lead.

The Jets, now with the lead, looked to add an insurance goal, while doing well at limiting the Blues chances just like they did last game in the 3rd period. Luke Schenn, who had 7 hits this game, took a roughing penalty for removing an opponent’s helmet at 8:01. This was one of the best chances the Blues got to tie this game at 2, but just like the last 2 powerplays, the Jets did well to shut down the Blues powerplay.

After the Blues powerplay, the game remained at 5 on 5. The rest of this game was tight checking, with both teams really looking like they didn’t want to give up that next goal. The Blues pulled their goalie with around 2 minutes to play, and they couldn’t generate much during their final push. The Jets almost got an empty netter a couple times, but soon after the Blues ran out of time and the Jets won this game 2-1, taking a commanding 2-0 series lead as they protected their home ice advantage. Shots on goal in the 3rd period were only 7-5 Jets, and the total shots on goal this game ended tied at 22. Blues finished 1/4 on the powerplay and the were Jets 0/2 on the powerplay. I mentioned that this game was physical, and the total hits (33-29 for the Jets) was one numerical representation of that physicality.

The Jets earned this win with a mix of a strong physical game, good forechecking and some clutch penalty kills. The NHL.com’s 3 stars for this game were Mark Scheifele (1 G 1 A), Brayden Schenn (0 points, 5 hits) and Logan Stanley (0 points, 3 big hits). Hellebuyck and Binnington both had strong games, but it was Connor’s clutch goal early in the 3rd period that was enough to give the Jets the win tonight. The series shifts to St. Louis for games 3 and 4, as the series resumes with game 3 on Thursday night. Puck drop for game 3 is at 8:30 pm CT, but make sure to check back here at JetsNation.ca for a preview of this game as the Jets look to take a 3-0 series lead.